The Virginia Food and Beverage Expo, hosted by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services on Wednesday, drew in nearly 200 local food and beverage brands, and for many, it was their first attempt to move beyond the farmers market scene and into wholesale distribution. Richmond-based Sous Casa showed its lineup of frozen breakfast burritos in vegan and vegetarian varieties, which have recently been upgraded with a new look and packed in biodegradable, microwavable sleeves. The company was started during the COVID-19 pandemic by three friends, including Jim Hamilton, the head touring chef for rock band Phish. While the company currently sells DTC in the Richmond area, its burritos are also on-shelf at numerous independent retailers in the Northern Virginia and DC area including Streets Market. It is in the process of growing beyond a commercial kitchen into co-packing as it works to scale up distribution through Rainforest. Two brands that have spawned from the University of Richmond’s Bench Top Innovation course – Absurd Snacks and Noosh – also exhibited during the show. The former, which makes allergen-friendly snacks, just learned it will remain on-shelf at Virginia and DC-area Whole Foods stores after locking in its first placement with the retailer in September. Noosh is looking to follow in Absurd’s footsteps. The baba ganoush dip brand launched in February following its incubation in the same Bench Top course at UR. The dip is positioned as a hummus, salsa and guacamole alternative and is vegan, low-calorie and paleo-friendly. While the VA expo marked Noosh’s initial foray into the trade show circuit, for plenty of others, this was just one event among dozens if not hundreds that they’ve attended over the course of their business’ life cycles. Citing the current macroeconomic environment, brands such as NoBull Burgers, True Made Foods and Myles Comfort Foods said they’ve become increasingly more strategic about where they set up a booth. All made the decision not to attend Expo West earlier this month, and we caught up with each of them in the halls of the Greater Richmond Convention Center. NoBull Burgers co-founder Elizabeth Raymond explained that the 12-year old Charlottesville, Va.-based brand began weighing whether it would return to Expo at the end of last year. The company had already reserved a booth, but was still recovering from a costly co-packing catastrophe amid its national rollout with Whole Foods. Raymond ultimately decided to skip this year’s CPG Super Bowl and invest in production and direct marketing to consumers instead. “As you're scaling, you're investing a lot, and that ROI is so important,” said Raymond. She emphasized that with shows like Expo West, “it's extremely hard to stand out” and over the years, has found it harder to connect with buyers – “you felt like you were being sold stuff, rather than you selling your product.” Check out the full story on Nosh for all the details on why these three brands opted out of Expo West. | 
