Expo West 2027: Dates, Booth Costs & Exhibitor Planning Guide

Expo West 2027 at a glance

Expo West is the largest natural, organic and healthy products show in the US. It runs four days in Anaheim, with education and events on all four days and the exhibit halls open for the final three. Here are the facts that matter for planning.

The 2026 show ran March 3–6, so the 2027 calendar shifts one day earlier. If your team blocks travel off last year's dates, fix that now.

Where Expo West happens: the Anaheim Convention Center campus

The Anaheim Convention Center is the largest convention center on the West Coast, with about 1.8 million square feet in total and roughly 813,600 square feet of exhibit space. Expo West fills nearly all of it and spills into the outdoor plazas and the neighboring Hilton and Marriott.

• Halls A–E: the main exhibit floor and the largest share of booths.
• Arena: a separate exhibit space next to Hall A and the Arena Plaza.
• North Halls: a separate two-level exhibit building (Levels 100 and 200) on the north end of the campus.
• Fresh Ideas Organic Marketplace: a one-day, farmers-market-style outdoor event for certified organic products, held before the main floor opens.

Hall placement affects traffic more than most first-time exhibitors expect. Ask your account manager which pavilion fits your category, and look at last year's floor plan to see where your direct competitors and target buyers clustered. For a local view of venues, hotels and builders, see our Anaheim trade show guide.

Who attends Expo West

The audience is heavily retail. Buyers from national grocery chains, co-ops, independent natural stores, specialty retailers and e-commerce come to find new products, along with distributors, brokers, investors and press. Nearly two-thirds of attendees are qualified buyers.

That mix shapes your booth. Buyers walk fast and scan for category, claims and price points. A clear headline, visible product and a sampling or meeting area usually outperform a large brand wall with little product on it.

How to exhibit at Expo West 2027

Expo West does not sell space to every brand that asks. Every new exhibitor must pass a standards review before booking a booth.

Step 1: Submit the standards application

1. Pay the non-refundable application fee. Payment does not guarantee booth space.
2. Complete the application form with company details, high-quality images of every product side and proof of any label claims (organic, non-GMO and similar).
3. Wait for review. Reviews typically take 5–7 business days, longer in the months before the show.
4. Finish within 90 days or the application expires. Once approved, it stays active for one year.

One application covers both Expo West 2027 and the organizer's Newtopia Now event. The ingredient standards are strict: products with artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners will not pass, so check your full line before you pay.

Step 2: Reserve your booth

After approval, you work with an Expo account manager to pick a booth type and location. Returning exhibitors rebook through their account manager. Standard booths are 8 to 10 feet wide and 7 to 10 feet deep, so a "10x10" can actually be 9x10 or 8x10 depending on the aisle.

• Inline: one open side, 70 sq ft minimum, standard drapery included.
• Corner: two open sides, 70 sq ft minimum charge.
• Peninsula: three open sides, 200 sq ft minimum, hanging signs allowed, designated areas only.
• Island: four open sides, 200 sq ft minimum, hanging signs allowed, limited supply.

Every booth includes a directory and mobile app listing, an electronic press kit slot and six badges per standard 10-foot-wide space.

Options for emerging brands

Early-stage companies have two lower-commitment paths. The Launch Pad is a dedicated area for startup CPG brands that meet size and funding criteria, with its own application. Fresh Ideas Organic Marketplace offers a smaller investment than a full booth and a one-day introduction to the show, but every product displayed must be certified organic. Existing exhibitors can also add Fresh Ideas to extend their presence to four days.

Expo West booth space pricing

Space is the first big line item, and it is billed separately from your exhibit. Expo West's posted rate card (still labeled 2025 pricing in October 2026) is the best public guide until 2027 rates appear. Confirm current figures with your account manager before you set a budget.

These rates sit near the top of the US trade show market. A corner costs about $1,500 more than an inline 10x10, which is often worth it at a show this crowded because you gain a second open side.

What an Expo West booth costs to build or rent

The structure on your space is a separate purchase. Typical 2026 market ranges for the three most common footprints look like this, before space and show services.

For deeper breakdowns by size, see our guides to the 10x10 trade show booth, the 10x20 booth and the 20x20 island.

Food and beverage brands should budget for things other shows do not need: sampling counters with handwash access, refrigeration, ice, extra electrical for coolers and storage for daily product restocks. Tell builders up front if you plan to sample, because it changes the floor plan and the power order.

A sample 10x10 budget

A common planning rule is that total show cost lands near three times the space cost. For a 10x10 inline at Expo West, that means:

• Space: about $9,400
• Turnkey rental exhibit: $3,000–$7,500 for a basic package
• Show services (carpet, electrical, material handling, labor, lead retrieval): several thousand dollars more
• Travel, hotels, samples and staff time: often the rest of the gap

Plan for roughly $25,000–$30,000 all in for a first 10x10, and more if you sample heavily. A trade show booth rental keeps the exhibit line lowest in year one, while brands planning to return every March often move to a custom booth they can reuse.

Expo West 2027 planning timeline

As of mid-October 2026, the exhibit halls open in about 20 weeks. Work backward from March 3.

Anaheim logistics: freight, drayage and union labor

Anaheim is a union labor market, and California is not a right-to-work state. That affects what your own team can do on the floor.

• Installation labor: Display installation and dismantling generally fall under union jurisdiction. At many Anaheim shows, one full-time employee may work without tools for a short window (often about 30 minutes) on move-in and move-out. Anything bigger, or anything that needs tools, goes to union labor. Expo West's own rules in the service kit are final.
• Drayage: Material handling moves your freight from the dock to your booth and is billed by weight with minimum charges. Crated exhibits cost more to handle than pop-up cases, so lighter fabric systems save money every year you ship them.
• Advance warehouse vs. direct: Shipping to the advance warehouse costs more but lowers the risk of a missed delivery window. Direct-to-show freight must arrive on the assigned date and check in at the marshaling yard.
• Hotels and transit: The Hilton and Marriott sit next to the convention center. Book through the official housing block early to get walkable rooms at show rates.

A builder who works Anaheim regularly will know the labor rules, dock schedules and how to keep drayage weight down. That local knowledge is one of the best reasons to hire a builder rather than handle a first Expo West alone. Get 3 free quotes from vetted builders on Exhibitorly to compare options side by side.

Related guides

• Food and beverage trade shows
• Trade show budget planning guide
• Trade show shipping guide
• How to hire a trade show booth builder