Stories from Newtopia Now

Borrowed

“Context is everything. What has guided me most as an entrepreneur is the confluence of passion and opportunity (and sometimes serendipity) that leads to the right context for the right idea at the right time in the right place and for the right value.”

From “Setting the Table” by Danny Meyer [Book]

Learned & Thought

I was in Denver last week for natural products trade show, Newtopia Now, with our Partnerships Manager, David. On Thursday, we sponsored a fun indoor mini golf event with Naturally New York. One of our Account Managers, Madison, lives in Colorado and luckily, was able to come for the evening.

It was great to spend time together with the team in person and also catch up with Nate Rosen and Jenna Movsowitz. Nate recently joined Barrel as an Advisor, and he and Jenna run Express Checkout, a CPG newsletter.

Newtopia Now replaced Expo East two years ago, one of the longest-running natural products shows, and it has already become a gathering place for conscious CPG brands and retailers. When I got home, I felt like a kid on Halloween night, unpacking my haul. By Sunday I was shopping at the new local Sprouts, searching for the products I had tried at the show but couldn’t take with me.

What I enjoyed most about the show was the pace. Newtopia Now has hundreds of brands vs. the thousands at Expo West. It was nice to walk the floor, connect with brands, and actually experience what they were about instead of rushing booth to booth. Beyond meeting the teams behind some of my favorite brands, a highlight was chatting with founders and learning what inspired them to start.

There were so many great brands at the show, but here are some of those stories:

Gut Nuts

Gut Nuts was unlike anything I have tasted before. A great snacking nut with the tang of sourdough, delicious and completely unique. The story began when Tim Richards of Philosopher Foods accidentally fermented a batch of sprouted almonds in a room that was too warm. The flavor was so good that he spent years refining the process into a controlled lactic fermentation. He launched Gut Nuts at Expo West in 2023 under Philosopher Foods, which also makes regenerative sprouted nut butters. What started as a happy accident became a product that feels entirely new.

Maazah

The Maazah booth was one of the most inviting, with a delicious charcuterie spread and an incredible array of their chutneys and sauces. Personally loved the Mango Chutney with bread and cheese. Sisters Yasameen and Sheilla Sajady grew up with their mom’s cilantro chutney and began selling it at Minneapolis farmers’ markets over a decade ago. Maazah means flavor in Farsi, and the products live up to the name. Their setup at the show felt like a celebration of that family story.

Sturdy Sauce

Sturdy Sauce was one of the first products I tried at the show, catching David and me totally off guard. A protein… sauce? We have all seen protein-packed bars and snacks, and most of them claim to be high in protein while loading you up with fat and calories. Sturdy flips that idea. Half a cup has 160 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, and 20 grams of protein. A full jar is 80 grams. Yes, 80. It can turn any pasta dish into a protein-forward meal, and if you really wanted to, you could skip the bar and drink it straight from the jar for a higher protein-to-calorie ratio. Founders Chad and Barney set out to reimagine a pantry staple and ended up with something that tastes familiar with a label you can’t ignore.‍

Kloo

I first met Claudia and her husband Hank at a party earlier this year. Claudia co-founded Kloo, a hand-brewed single-origin coffee concentrate, with her mom, Mariella, who is a certified Q Grader, essentially a coffee sommelier. At the time, I had not yet tried their coffee, but I immediately fell in love with the packaging. At Newtopia Now, I finally had the chance to taste the whole line. As someone who drinks coffee black, I was blown away by how smooth it was. They also just launched a small 3.4 oz bottle made for travel, so you never have to sacrifice good coffee on the road or even on a plane.

Love & Cookies

There were tons of cookies and sweets at the show, but Love & Cookies stood out because on day two, founder Ashley was walking the floor, handing them out warm. They were SO good. What I love is that they are not about making a cookie full of claims; they are just tasty cookies with high-quality ingredients. The resealable bags make it easy to toss one in the air fryer and enjoy without baking a whole batch. The story makes it even better. After being treated for Kawasaki Disease, a rare heart condition, Ashley’s son Charlie said all he wanted was to bake cookies with his mom. Baking became a way to reconnect and heal, and soon grew into Love & Cookies.

Spring Sunrise

Spring Sunrise is a family-run ghee brand and a client of AO2 Management, an Amazon agency that recently joined Barrel Holdings. I stopped by their booth and spoke with John Revolinski, who co-founded the company with his wife, Christina, in 1992, naming it after a watercolor their son, Donald, painted as a child. Donald now serves as CEO. They make ghee the traditional way, by slow-cooking butter for hours to separate the golden oil, now in a solar-powered facility in Iowa. I had some ghee drizzled over popcorn. Sadly, my jar got confiscated at airport security. As a newish Dad, I loved hearing John talk about building a company with his son. How special is that?

Loopini

Loopini won People’s Choice at the Naturally Rising pitch event at Newtopia Now, and it was easy to see why. I met young founder Damiano Messineo, who told me he began with a spreadsheet. He knew the exact macros he wanted and kept plugging in ingredients until he got it right. His vision was to take the world’s most beloved food and make it healthy without losing what makes it great. High in protein and fiber, low in carbs, and still true to Italian craft. At one point, he even tested it with his sister, who has diabetes, and confirmed it would not spike her glucose levels. I was impressed by how good the pizza actually tasted. Looking forward to the day when I can grab a pie locally.