“You know, I’ve never thought about that question before.” That’s what I’ve been hearing almost exclusively lately when I ask whether there’s anything alarming about the lack of racial and ethnic diversity that I found remarkably easy to observe at Natural Products Expo West.

The sweetener industry would like you to understand that corn syrup isn’t dead. It sees marketers and retailers who have been rushing to swap HFCS from products as following a fad, and not getting a good overall picture of consumer behavior.

Fortune recently profiled Lumi Organics founder and CEO Hillary Lewis, who left a career in finance on Wall Street to make high-pressure-processed juice in Charlottesville, Virginia.

In a category loaded with flavored line extensions, the original, or “natural,” format remains the best-selling variety for most brands. But as flavor innovation and blending techniques improve, the focus is on new products with mainstream and familiar flavors.

The canned juice category has received a shot in the arm through innovation and crossover products. Mountain Dew and V8 have caffeinated the category with Kickstart and V-Fusion, Pellegrino has revamped its products in cans and broadened the line, and FOCO has brought coconut water.

While soy, long the go-to alternative to animal-based protein, is falling out of favor with many of today’s increasingly health-conscious consumers, peas have emerged as the trending plant-based protein source du jour.