Delicious New Vegan Foods Debut at Natural Products Expo West

Over 100,000 visitors — including Compassion Over Killing — flocked to Anaheim, California earlier this month for the 2013 Natural Products Expo West! The annual trade show features thousands of vendors representing the natural and organic food industry, making it a prime location for us to highlight the many benefits of choosing vegetarian foods. This was our fourth year tabling at this exclusive event.

During the three-day show, 11 dedicated COK volunteers handed out nearly 3,000 pieces of pro-vegetarian literature including our new, 2013 edition of the Vegetarian Guide to Los Angeles, as well as our Easy Vegan Recipes booklet, Vegetarian Starter Guides, and Compassionate Action magazines. Also popular were our Restaurant Manager Cards, as people loved the idea of being able to quickly and easily request more veg options when dining out. Additionally, we sold a record number of logo style and “Ask me why I’m a vegetarian” tee shirts, as people purchased them for themselves and as gifts.

We also got to rub elbows with some of our favorite people, including:

• Food Network star, cook book author, and chef Chloe Coscarelli
• Cooking Channel chef Jason Wrobel
• Eco-Vegan Gal’s Whitney Lauritsen
• Celebrity trainer John Pierre
• Dairy Tree Foods co-founders Chris Hoar and Jessica Schlueter
• Cavewoman Bars founder Alyssa Boyle
• Holistic healthcare guru and author Heather Lounsbury
• VegNews staff including Co-Founder and Publisher Colleen Holland, Managing Editor Elizabeth Castoria, and Editors Jennifer Chen, Hilary Pollack, and Anna Peraino
• Healthy Voyager Carolyn Scott-Hamilton

In between all the hustle and bustle at our table—the most highly trafficked nonprofit booth at the venue—we also said hello to many of our friends and generous US VegWeek corporate sponsors who were debuting the latest animal-friendly products to hit the market:

• Chicago Vegan Foods (Dandies marshmallows, soft serve, and Teese nacho cheese)
• Field Roast (gourmet grain sausages and frankfurters)
• Go Veggie! Dairy Free (new vegan cheese and cream cheese)
• Gardein (new chick’n sliders and breakfast patties)
• Sjaak’s Organic Chocolates (caramel bars and beautiful vegan chocolate Easter eggs)
• Allison’s Gourmet (delectable vegan candies and cookies)
• Parma (vegan parmesan cheese in a variety of flavors)
• SOL Cuisine (healthy grain veggie burgers)
• Sophie’s Kitchen Vegan Seafood (new vegan smoked salmon)
• Soyatoo (rice and soy whipped creams)
• Tofurky (new hot pockets and quiche)
• Upton’s Naturals (outstanding seitan)
• Viana (patés and spreads in flavors like lentil and mango)
• WayFare (oat cheese, sour cream, and bac’n bits)
• ecoVegan (Blissful Bits and other delicious vegan meats)
• Honest Tea (unsweetened, bottled herbal teas)
• Peanut Butter & Co. (wholesome peanut butter)
• Way Better Snacks (guilt-free snacking chips)
• Whole Soy (delicious soy yogurts)

We also saw:

• Beyond Meat (grilled, southwest, and lightly seasoned chicken-free strips)
• VegeUSA’s Vegetarian Plus (vegan meats in Asian flavors and sauces)
• Quorn (vegan burgers)
• Zevia (all natural, zero-calorie sodas)
• Hodo Soy Beanery (award-winning Egg-less Egg-Salad)
• Hilary’s Eat Well (veggie burgers and bites)
• DF Mavens (vegan ice cream in 10 flavors, winner of VegNews’ Best New Product)
• Nutty Cow (vegan ricotta and garlic herb and maple pecan spreads made from nuts)
• Bee Free Honee (made from apples)
• Dominex (vegan eggplant cutlets and burgers)
• Chia Pod (chia, coconut milk, and fruit breakfast bowls)
• Amande (almond milk yogurt)
• Bold (vegan cheese pizza)
• Cruncha ma me (freeze-dried edamame snacks)
• Asherah’s Gourmet (quinoa vegan burgers)
• Peas of Mind (vegan nuggets and snacks)
• Chez Marie (hemp, harvest, and spicy bean vegan burgers)
• Seabirds Truck (vegan food truck with beer-battered avocado tacos, taquitos, and more)
• Nate’s Meatless Meatballs (vegan meatballs in 3 flavors)
• Daiya (4 new frozen pizzas, 3 new cheese slices, and 3 new flavors of cream cheese)
• Mary’s Gone Crackers (curry and chipotle tomato pretzels, and new graham crackers)
• Earth Balance (new vegan white cheddar popcorn and puffs)
• Follow Your Heart (3 new vegan cheese shreds and blue cheese)
• Eat Pastry (chocolate chip, peanut butter, oatmeal raisin, and sugar cookie dough)
• Vega (vegan supplements and shakes)
• Teeccino  (fancy-flavored herbal coffees)
• Ceres (vegan jello)
• The Elegant Vegan (pickled items and desserts)
• Amy’s (new vegan ice cream, pizza, tofu scramble and Indian-style burritos)
• LYFE (refrigerated vegan pilaf)

Have we made you hungry yet? Sign up for our US VegWeek 7-Day VegPledge and you’ll get a free Veg Starter Pack loaded with recipes and product coupons from many of these wonderful companies. And don’t forget to TWEET or SHARE our Facebook page to tell your family and friends, too! After all, what better way to show them how easy and delicious vegan eating has become than by celebrating and sharing with them all the awesome animal-friendly foods available today?

Take a look at our photo gallery to get a glimpse, and then hurry to your nearest grocery store with canvas bags in hand!