The Rudi’s team arrived back yesterday from the Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, California.  You’d think everyone would be exhausted, but it is quite the opposite, we are all pumped up and energized from the action at the show!

Expo West is the world’s largest natural, organic and healthy products trade show.  The 2011 Natural Products Expo included education, community events and exhibits showcasing the most innovative natural, organic and healthy products and ingredients. This is the show that professionals in the natural industry get a chance to see the hot items and trends for the next year.

This was the busiest show we have been to yet!  In the first day alone we gave away a record amount of samples.   The Rudi’s Gluten-Free booth was hoppin’!  Our CEO, Jane Miller,  was working the griddle trying to keep up with the flocks   of expo attendees that were stopping by for samples.  Another highlight of Rudi’s booth was our trusty VW van, the Loaveswagon, that was parked in the center of the booth and provided a great photo-op for Rudi’s fans.

We introduced our  NEW Rudi’s Gluten-Free Multigrain Hamburger buns to rave reviews! The samplers couldn’t believe that the new GF hamburger buns, “taste like real hamburger buns!”  Along with the new gluten-free hamburger buns we sampled all three varieties of our gluten-free sandwich breads; Rudi’s Gluten-Free Original, Multigrain, and Cinnamon Raisin.  Word quickly got out that Rudi’s was sampling yummy grilled cheese sandwiches, and in no time the crowds were taking over our booth!

The expo was a great chance to catch up with old friends in the industry and from the gluten-free community.  We were happy to see the gals from the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA).  Alice Bast, Jennifer and Becky all made the trip to Expo West, and we enjoyed chatting with them and discussing the success of our Spread the Bread campaign.  The campaign is raising money to help in their effort to better educate physicians in the diagnosis and treatment of celiac disease.  We were also happy to see Deborah Ceizler from the Celiac Disease Foundation (CDF), another organization that we proudly support.  We brainstormed ideas for their annual conference coming up in May.

We had great conversations with other players in the organic and natural foods  industry.  We’re excited about possible future promotions with our friends at  Justin’s Nut Butters and Crofter’s Organic.  Look for some cool new promos coming later this spring.  All in all, Expo West was a great success!  We can’t wait to be back at Expo East in the fall…