#234 - Startup CPG's Expo West 2026 Preview
The Startup CPG Podcast
Startup CPG
4.9 • 642 Ratings
🗓️ 3 February 2026
⏱️ 39 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, hosts Daniel Scharff and Patricia Menegoto deliver the definitive preview of Expo West 2026, walking through every Startup CPG event and opportunity during the industry's most important week in Anaheim.
The conversation covers Monday's Grocery Run with Gelson's 2.0 in Venice (bigger venue after last year's sellout), Tuesday's Kickoff Dinner at the Anaheim White House featuring industry leader dinners alongside main networking with buyers from Ahold and Whole Foods, the curated Startup CPG section with 20 brands and 500+ one-on-one buyer meetings, Wednesday's transformed Alley Rally (now 50 brands sampling in grocery run format with the top brand winning a free 2027 booth), and Thursday's Founders Dinner at Poppy and Seed designed for authentic founder-to-founder connections.
Daniel and Patricia emphasize tactical strategies: always bring cold product to events, wear brand swag, apply early for sampling opportunities, and don't be intimidated to come solo. They share Startup CPG's culture of radical welcomeness—team members actively introduce people standing alone, making events feel like "camp reunion" rather than transactional networking. Patricia highlights her favorite section brands (Lupini pizzas, Pisca hot sauce) while Daniel emphasizes that Expo success comes from relationships built, not just immediate sales.
Listen in as they discuss:
- Monday Grocery Run with Gelson's: entire buying team + CEO attending, brands getting distribution on the spot
- Tuesday Kickoff Dinner: 300 attendees, industry leader dinners (ops, sales, e-commerce, finance, foodservice), confirmed retailers
- Startup CPG section: 20 brands, 500 buyer meetings, 30+ retailers scheduling appointments throughout show
- How sampling applications work: retailers pick brands they want to meet, not random selection
- Alley Rally evolution: 1,300+ attendees, expanding from 12 to 50 brands sampling, grocery run format
- Thursday Founders Dinner: intimate evening focused on authentic connections without pitching pressure
- Tactical advice: bring cold product everywhere, wear brand swag, buy tickets early (everything sells out)
- Why founder life is lonely and meeting others facing same struggles creates lasting support networks
Episode Links:
- Startup CPG Events: https://startupcpg.com/events
- Daniel Scharff LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danscharff/
- Patricia Menegoto LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pmenegoto/
Don't forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For sponsorship opportunities or to join the community, visit http://www.startupcpg.com.
Show Links:
- Transcripts of each episode are available on the Transistor platform that hosts our podcast here (click on the episode and toggle to “Transcript” at the top)
- Join the Startup CPG Slack community (30K+ members and growing!)
- Follow @startupcpg
- Visit host Daniel's Linkedin
- Questions or comments about the episode? Email Daniel at podcast@startupcpg.com
- Episode music by Super Fantastics
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Friends, did you know that a party has been going on this whole time with 35,000 people and you're invited? |
| 0:09.0 | It's our Startup CPG Slack. |
| 0:11.0 | You hear about it all the time on here, and if you haven't yet joined in, this is your moment. |
| 0:16.0 | Take out your phone, type in Startupcg.com, and then click to join our community you'll be at the party you'll |
| 0:23.1 | hear about all our events you'll get in front of buyers investors brands whatever's most important |
| 0:28.7 | to you we have such big plans ahead but you got to be in the community to hear about all of it see you on the |
| 0:34.7 | slack of it. See you on the Slack. I think being a founder can be very lonely and there are so many struggles and you think |
| 0:58.2 | that you're going from a unique situation. |
| 1:00.4 | But then when you meet other founders, you're like, okay, I'm not crazy. |
| 1:03.3 | Like I got 10-0s from this retailer. |
| 1:06.5 | So I guess it's fine because then maybe on the next email I'm going to get a yeah. |
| 1:11.6 | So you just hear from other founders there struggles as well and I think that's what is like the beautiful thing of our dinners. |
| 1:18.6 | Well startup CPG listeners, it's here. It's really here. It is time for Expo West, our favorite time of the year. |
| 1:27.7 | We're so excited to see so many of you in Anaheim. |
| 1:30.6 | And if you're going, you definitely should listen to this episode where we're telling you all the stuff that is happening before and during the show. |
| 1:38.2 | You're going to want to know about things that you can apply to if you're brand events that you should be at, where the buyers are going. |
| 1:44.7 | We're going to talk about all of that stuff today i am here with patricia who is our head of community events and |
| 1:49.9 | marketing so excited about the week and just to tell you so that you don't miss out on any of the |
| 1:55.2 | very special events and opportunities that we've got so listen in even you're not going, you'll know at least what you |
| 2:01.9 | should have FOMO about. And I can't wait to see all of you there. All right, here we go. |
| 2:11.8 | It's the best time of the year. It's the best time of the year. Patricia, it is the best time of year. What time of year is that? |
| 2:20.6 | Expo West. It's Expo West. Let's not pretend like it isn't the most exciting thing that happens in this industry. Every year, I always look forward to it. I think I think about the year more in terms of how far away we are |
... |
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