NACS 2026 was BIG: 25,572 attendees and 1,090 exhibitors came to Las Vegas from October 6–9. Across 442,600 square feet of exhibit space, brands introduced new products, explored familiar categories and gave attendees plenty to talk about.
Our Czarnowski Collective team walked the floor with an eye on what these launches might mean for brands planning their next trade show exhibit. From personalized candy bars to protein-packed snacks, six trends stood out, each offering a lesson for exhibitors heading into 2027.
Key takeaways
- Personalization gets attention. Hershey gave attendees a chance to put their own photos on chocolate bars, and people lined up to participate.
- Familiar brands are entering new categories. Nathan’s Famous, SPAM, Oreo, Ritz and Kraft Mac & Cheese were among the names introducing new product formats.
- Function and indulgence are finding common ground. Protein, hydration, unexpected textures and new flavors featured prominently across the show.
Hershey: Make it personal
At the 2026 NACS Show, Hershey gave attendees a chance to put their own photos on a Hershey bar. People waited in line for the experience, turning a familiar product into something personal.
It was one of our favorite in-booth brand activations of the show, and a straightforward example of how participation can make an everyday product more engaging.
What it means for exhibitors: Give attendees something to do, create or customize. When the finished product is something they can take home, the experience can extend beyond the booth itself. Consider how visitors move through the activation, where they wait and how the finished product becomes part of the experience.
Brand extensions: Familiar names, new territory
Established brands used the 2026 NACS Show to carry familiar names into new product categories.
Nathan’s Famous expanded into meat sticks, while Hormel introduced a SPAM hot dog. Mondelēz showcased Ritz Drizzled and an Oreo muffin, and Kraft Heinz brought Mac & Cheese into cheesy ramen.
Elsewhere, Rotten introduced a Chewerz candy format, and SMACKIN’ expanded beyond sunflower seeds into nuts.
These launches reflect a clear approach to product innovation: using an established brand identity to introduce something new. Rather than starting from scratch, companies are extending recognizable products into different formats and occasions.
For anyone attending next year’s show, the Cool New Products Preview Room is a great place to explore what’s new. This year the room held 342 products and attendees logged more than 9,000 scans before heading onto the Expo floor.
What it means for exhibitors: When introducing a brand extension, the booth needs to communicate two things quickly: the name people recognize and what’s new about the product. Give the new format a prominent place in the exhibit, with packaging, messaging and displays that make the connection clear.
Candy: Texture joins the flavor conversation
Candy innovation at this year’s NACS Show went beyond new flavors; texture and the experience of eating came up again and again.
Mars showcased Skittles Gummy Crystals, Amos Food Group featured Peelerz, and General Mills introduced sour and spicy Gushers products.
Peeling, pulling, crunching, sour and spicy. These products put the physical experience of eating candy at the center of the conversation.
What it means for exhibitors: Sampling lets attendees experience a product’s distinguishing characteristics directly. For exhibit teams, that means planning sampling stations, visitor flow, replenishment and cleanup as part of the booth design.
It’s something we know well. At the 2024 NACS Show, we created a 5,000-square-foot neighborhood exhibit for Coca-Cola, incorporating reusable sampling cups across 14 distinct zones. The experience recorded more than 135,000 zone visits.
Protein: More than a product category
At the 2026 NACS Show, protein appeared across a wide range of familiar snacks and beverages.
Cheez-It Protein, new Doritos Protein flavors and Crisp Power protein pretzels brought protein into traditional snack formats. Meat snack brands including Chomps and Archer continued introducing new varieties.
Protein also appeared in more indulgent products. f’real featured a Reese’s smoothie with 20 grams of protein, while Monster Energy presented a relaunch of its protein energy drink.
Together, these products showed how brands are incorporating protein into different formats, including products associated with indulgence.
What it means for exhibitors: Functional claims deserve clear communication. Nutrition information, product comparisons and demonstrations can help visitors understand what distinguishes one offering from another. Thoughtful trade show exhibit design makes those details easy to find and explore, giving buyers a clearer understanding of each product.
Functional products: Benefits on every shelf
Functionality ran through the beverage halls at NACS and into the categories next to them.
On the beverage side, Coca-Cola’s show preview emphasized hydration, protein and added functionality, and emerging brands such as Uchie presented alcohol-free alternatives. In the tobacco and nicotine aisle, Altria and Swisher highlighted caffeine pouches and other functional products that reach for the same shelf space.
Together, these offerings pointed to a broader interest in products tied to specific functional benefits and consumption occasions, whatever the category.
One thing also stood out in our team’s observations: the brands that brought energy into their booth experiences were the ones people talked about.
What it means for exhibitors: Product functionality creates an opportunity for demonstration and interaction. Consider how sampling, product displays, staff engagement and distinct experience zones can help visitors understand what a product offers.
Pistachio and Dubai chocolate: Make room for what’s next
At the 2026 NACS Show, pistachio continued appearing in new flavor combinations and product categories.
Red Bull showcased Pistachio Berry as a seasonal flavor, while happy introduced a Dubai Chocolate latte. Chocolate brands also continued incorporating pistachio into their offerings.
These launches show how quickly a popular flavor can spread across different product categories, creating new opportunities for brands to keep their offerings fresh.
What it means for exhibitors: Product launches and seasonal campaigns can change more frequently than physical exhibit structures. Flexible displays, interchangeable graphics and modular components make it easier to spotlight new products without overhauling the entire experience.
Our work on Red Bull’s modular retail kit offers a helpful example. We designed the kit with a fabric backwall that allowed the brand to swap graphics and update athlete and product messaging. It’s the kind of flexibility worth considering when making a custom versus rental exhibit decision.
NACS Show 2026 at a Glance
For exhibitors planning their next show, these six trends offer practical ideas for presenting products and engaging attendees.
- Personalization | Hershey: Give visitors an opportunity to participate and take home something personal.
- Brand extensions | Nathan’s, SPAM, Oreo, Ritz, Kraft Mac & Cheese: Use familiar brand identities to make new product formats easy to recognize.
- Candy texture | Skittles, Peelerz, Gushers: Build sampling opportunities around the product’s defining characteristics.
- Protein | Cheez-It, Doritos, f’real, Monster Energy: Communicate functional benefits through clear product information and demonstrations.
- Functional products | Coca-Cola, Uchie, Altria, Swisher: Use sampling and demonstration to show visitors what a product does for them.
- Seasonal flavors | Red Bull, happy: Consider modular elements that can accommodate future product launches.
As we saw at NACS 2026, convenience is a place where brands are exploring new combinations of flavor, function and familiar products. For exhibitors, the opportunity is to translate those ideas into experiences that make products easy to discover, understand and remember.
The 2027 NACS Show takes place October 5–8 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. Planning to exhibit? Explore the trade show exhibits we design and build, or talk to our team about your next project.
About Czarnowski Collective
Czarnowski Collective is a global collective of studios specializing in exhibits, events, environments and brand experiences. Through strategy, creative, fabrication and execution, we help brands connect with audiences in meaningful ways.
