Products that create loyal daily customers took center stage at the 2026 NAMA Show (Part 3)

While there were rave reviews and plenty of excitement surrounding all the new technology at the 2026 NAMA Show in Los Angeles, the beverages, snacks and legitimate dining options on display — and available for tasting — are always a big part of the show experience.

In Part 3 of our Vending & OCS Nation podcast coverage from the NAMA Show, Bob Tullio walks the convention floor speaking with suppliers, innovators, operators and emerging brands, focused on helping convenience services operators build stronger customer loyalty through smarter product selection.

This episode's highlights:

• Protein-forward snacks and healthier options driving consumer demand
• Functional beverages and clean-label energy drinks
• Premium grab-and-go innovation
• Office coffee trends and new beverage formats
• Shelf-life solutions and operational efficiency
• Data-driven merchandising and product selection
• New product launches from major brands and emerging companies

Key product takeaways from the show:

• Operators are increasingly focused on products that combine convenience, health, and strong margins
• Protein continues to dominate snacking trends across vending, micro markets and OCS
• Clean ingredients and natural formulations are becoming major differentiators
• Operators are relying more heavily on data to customize client programs and optimize product mix
• Premiumization remains a major theme throughout the convenience services industry

Featured guests and companies:

• Larry Atnip of Atnip & Premier Broker Partners LLC
• Maggie Eich of Nestlé Professional Solutions
• Monte Farrar of Jack Link's Protein Snacks
• James Kolodziej of Wonderful Pistachios & Almonds
• Dylan Reiner of Odyssey Functional Energy
• Kinsley Torpin of Alliant Coffee Solutions
• Drew Smith of Mondelēz International
• Eli Owings of Primal Eats
• Haley Eggum of Hormel Foods
• William Cross of Tina’s Burritos
• Jessie R. of E.A. Sween Co.
• Linda Saldaña of Seventh Wave Refreshments, NAMA 2026 Operator of the Year

Bob Tullio: Hi everybody, it’s Bob Tullio. On this episode of Automatic Merchandiser’s Vending & OCS Nation podcast, we’re focusing on products for the convenience services industry — from suppliers we depend on, large and small. It’s part three of our coverage of the 2026 NAMA Show in Los Angeles. So, come walk with me on the convention floor, where I talk to a wide variety of exhibitors who offer products that create loyal daily customers for operators.

My first stop on the walk was to see Larry Atnip, president of Atnip and Premier Broker Partners, who said that while this show was all about technology, the traffic in his booth was largely driven by products and the generous promotions that are offered during the NAMA Show in particular.

Bob Tullio: When people come into your booth, what is resonating with operators?

Larry Atnip: For us, our operators come into our booth, they’re looking for our promotions that we have with our manufacturers here on the show floor. So, we always have strong NAMA promotions to add to their value of coming to this show. So, I think that’s probably one of the biggest things. They come in and talk to our team, find out what the promotions are and take advantage of those promotions.

Bob Tullio: Good. I think it’s good for especially the new operators to understand that opportunity is out there.

Larry Atnip: Yeah, and we work hard with our manufacturers to get good deals that are meaningful to the operators.

Bob Tullio: Back to that convention floor walk. I was getting a little hungry. So, it was a perfect time to visit the folks at Nestlé Professional Solutions.

Maggie Eich: Maggie Eich, Nestlé Professional Solutions. We are the out-of-home division for Nestlé, so we are all food service. And this NAMA Show allows us to highlight all of our opportunities within OCS, vending, micro markets. So, we’re really here highlighting our food and beverage for those specific channels.

Bob Tullio: Excellent. How has the NAMA Show been for you?

Maggie Eich: Well, from a food perspective, it’s been great. It allows us to highlight new products that we’re launching into our portfolio, like the CPK [California Pizza Kitchen] pizzas. They are highlighted in the new product zone this year.

And then, we also are highlighting a new sandwich that we’re launching, the Stouffer’s Italian-style sandwich, that we get to get direct feedback from operators. We get to sample it with everyone that stops by, and are really excited by the feedback we’re getting for a totally ready-to-eat solution that we’ll be launching later this year.

Bob Tullio: Of all that’s happening here, at least from your end of things, what’s really resonating with operators when they come into the Nestlé Professional Solutions booth?

Maggie Eich: I have noticed from our food perspective, they love seeing legacy brands like Stouffer’s and Lean Cuisine, and how they stack up against newer, some of our newer solutions like CPK [California Pizza Kitchen]. They’re ready to introduce new items to their customers in micro markets, but they don’t want to get rid of the true favorites like Stouffer’s mac and cheese. So it’s a great way to introduce new products while also highlighting what is doing well in their operations right now.

Monte Farrar: Monte Farrar, Jack Link’s Protein Snacks. Jack Link’s is all about family. Honestly, we’re still a family company. Jack Link is very much still involved in the business, and we’re just trying to put the best protein meat snacks out there.

Bob Tullio: What has really resonated with operators when they come into your booth?

Monte Farrar: Well, right now, as we walk around the showroom floor, you can tell protein is very much on consumers’ minds. And then manufacturers have followed suit in trying to give them protein. And what we think is, “What’s better than natural protein sources?” So, that’s what our meat snacks offer, and right now, the category is really doing well.

James Kolodziej: James Kolodziej, Wonderful Pistachios. We are the number one selling snack nut in all convenience sales in the U.S. So we are homegrown. We’re based out of California. Our headquarters are here in L.A. We grow our pistachios up in the valley in middle California. We are vertically integrated: We grow it. We process it. We ship it to grocers, to vending operators, to all channels.

Bob Tullio: So you’ve seen some success in this channel?

James Kolodziej: Oh, very much, very much. Convenience sales — we’re the number one selling snack nut there. It translates into vending sales, on the go, snacking, or no shells specifically, no plant waste, easier to consume, make it very easy, which made sense for this channel.

Bob Tullio: Sure.

James Kolodziej: We’ll call the heavy hitters of the industry, and then even mom and pops that are independents that have come by.

Bob Tullio: What’s really resonated with operators when they come by your booth?

James Kolodziej: Well, I think first and foremost, some of the health trends, where we fit in, some of the segments in their business, whether it’s schools and USDA, maybe it’s protein, maybe it’s a better option, maybe it’s an option that tastes good but also fits in that health category too, we kind of check all those boxes.

Dylan Reiner: My name is Dylan Reiner with Odyssey Functional Energy.

We’re really bringing something fresh to the energy category. When you take a look at most brands out there, they’re using the sucralose, the taurine, the added sugars — not good for you, all artificials and chemicals.

We use all real fruit juice and monk fruit, very clean formula, functional ingredients, lion’s mane and cordyceps, great for the brain health, for focus, cognition, natural energy. And then we have a high caffeine product line, more of that traditional energy drink, as well as a low caffeine product line, more of a functional beverage.

Bob Tullio: How’s the NAMA Show treated you?

Dylan Reiner: Oh, it’s been fantastic to be able to connect with all of our current customers, meet, you know, prospective clients that we’ve been looking to work with a long time. It’s great to see everyone here in the same place and kind of make some connections.

Bob Tullio: What is really resonating with operators when they come into your booth?

Dylan Reiner: The market is shifting towards clean, natural products. You know, people are trying to get away from these artificials, from these chemicals, and that’s really what we’re bringing to the table. Not to mention, our sales are great. The velocity is fantastic. So, it’s really a win-win for the operator.

Kinsley Torpin: Kinsley Torpin with Alliant Coffee Solutions.

Alliant Coffee Solutions is about having recognized brand names and multiple formats for everybody in the OCS industry to be able to provide a one-stop shop for office coffee services.

Bob Tullio: Fantastic. How has the NAMA Show been for you?

Kinsley Torpin: The NAMA Show’s been great. We’ve had quite a bit of people stopping by, good decision makers to see and talk, and relationship making is always great. We’ve loved it. It’s been good.

Bob Tullio: One of the pieces of feedback that I’ve received is that there’s quality in terms of the people that are coming by, in terms of people who really can make decisions. Are you seeing that really?

Kinsley Torpin: Yeah, absolutely. We do have, you know, we work with a lot of operators nationally, and we see, you know, the people that show up for the NAMA Show are the people that we usually want to talk to. We get to put faces to the names of emails. I’m inside sales, so being able to actually make connections face-to-face is a big deal for me.

Bob Tullio: That’s great. What is really resonating with operators when they come into your booth?

Kinsley Torpin: We’ve recently launched a matcha latte for office coffee machines. It’s been a hit. You know, we’ve been serving a lot and pumping it through the machines, and it’s been awesome.

Drew Smith: Drew Smith from Mondelēz International.

Mondelēz is about providing the best snacking options for the people in the right places at the right packages for the right pricing to make sure that they’re enjoying their time, whether it be through breakfast, lunch or dinner, or any of their downtime.

Bob Tullio: And you guys rely on data quite a bit, too, to support operators. Is that correct?

Drew Smith: Absolutely. Yeah, data is essential for us to understand what that right product is, what that right package is for that consumer.

Bob Tullio: How’s the NAMA Show gone for you guys?

Drew Smith: NAMA’s been great. We’ve been able to spend a lot more time with our bigger customers this year, having more in-depth conversations. So, it’s been good that way.

Bob Tullio: When operators come into your booth, what’s really resonating with them this year?

Drew Smith: Innovation, new products. What’s new? What can catch my consumer’s eye? You know, what is something that I can get them to spend a little bit more money on this next time around?

Eli Owings: Eli Owings and Primal Eats.

Bob Tullio: Where are you located?

Eli Owings: We’re in Green Bay, Wis. So, we started as a Texas BBQ restaurant up in the North Woods, and then we got into making brisket meat sticks. I like to say, bigger and better. We do a three-ounce brisket meat stick. It’s all naturally fermented. We’re not doing any additives or anything like that. We even have a grass-fed line that’s no sugar and super healthy for you.

Bob Tullio: Wow, that’s great. And is this your first NAMA Show?

Eli Owings: Yeah, this is our first NAMA Show. It’s been really good. We’re pretty new to this. The company’s about a year old that we’ve been doing this. We’re very heavy in the Midwest, so it’s nice to get out and see people from different parts of the country. We’re getting a lot of really good feedback. People really like what we have going on.

Bob Tullio: That’s great. Well, the product was delicious. Tell me what is really resonating with operators when they come into your booth?

Eli Owings: So, what’s kind of resonating with them is that there’s a big push for more premium products. There’s a lot of different meat sticks out there and ours, it varies completely compared to everything else. So, it really resonates with them, and people are looking for premium things because they’ve been burned over too many times by the usual stuff.

Haley Eggum: Haley Eggum, Hormel Foods. We’re here today featuring Columbus Craft Meats and Planters Nuts.

Bob Tullio: Charcuterie trays.

Haley Eggum: Yeah, charcuterie snack trays. Very premium.

Bob Tullio: They are fantastic. My question, very simply, is how’s the show been for you?

Haley Eggum: Yeah, NAMA is a great show. It’s a really excellent way for us to connect with our brokers and our operators in a low pressure way because it’s not a sales event. So, it’s just a great way to connect on another level.

Bob Tullio: What is it that’s really resonating with operators when they come into your booth?

Haley Eggum: Yeah, outside of the giant peanut mobile we have here today, operators are really looking forward to the different protein-forward options we have with all the trends going on in the industry. So they’re really excited about our snack trays and our nut offerings.

William Cross: William Cross representing Tina’s Burritos, Vernon, Calif. Overall, it’s been good. It’s been exciting. It’s our first year here at the NAMA [Show], and it’s been exciting just talking and learning about the vending business. As a family business ourselves, meeting all of the unique family operators has been really cool.

Bob Tullio: So, this is a channel that you’re really starting to move into.

William Cross: Yeah, we’re a national brand on the retail side. We have such a great convenient and value product that it’s just been a natural move for us to go into this channel.

Bob Tullio: What has really resonated when you see operators coming into the booth? When the light goes on, and you really connect with somebody, what is it that’s making that happen?

William Cross: So, the big thing here has been our innovation through price. Like I had mentioned, we’re a national brand, the retail side, and our mission has always been to provide the most accessible burrito that tastes the best. And so, when we tell them about the price and how we’re making 1.2 million burritos a day, all hand-rolled from scratch, their eyes light up and... a lot of family businesses we’re dealing with here. And so, just a lot of connections across the board there.

Jessie Reichle: I’m Jessie Reichle, and I work for E.A. Sween Co.

E.A. Sween is a family-owned and operated company from Minnesota. We’re located out of Minnesota. We have three brands underneath us, and that is Deli Express, Market Sandwich, and San Luis. And we’re all about just making people’s lives easier and offering really good quality options for people that are on the go, from sandwiches to burritos, wraps and subs. So, we’ve got everything, and our quality is really our highest standard and convenience for people.

Bob Tullio: That’s great. I must say I’ve had many E.A. Sween samples sent to me, and I really do know your product line very well.

Jessie Reichle: Yeah.

Bob Tullio: It’s funny. But anyway, how’s the NAMA Show been for you?

Jessie Reichle: Oh, the NAMA Show has been absolutely wonderful. We’ve had a lot of foot traffic at our booth, and so we’ve been able to offer up and show a lot of our new innovations that we’re coming up with, and be able to tell some exciting news that we’re going through.

So, we have some product launches we’re sampling that we’ve been able to get really good feedback on, connect with different operators, talk about the news of our rebrands coming up and even innovation that’s coming out down in fall too, as we’re focusing on protein and fiber and those sorts of things in our products.

Bob Tullio: Fantastic. We’ll look forward to hearing more about that. What’s really resonating with operators when they come to your booth here at NAMA?

Jessie Reichle: Yeah, I think the biggest thing, one of our huge competitive advantages that we have is the shelf life we offer with our products. So we, under a lot of our products that are in map packaging, it’s called, they undergo the map package process, giving us a 30-day shelf life once our products are thawed. So that’s huge for operators, just that long shelf life. And so that’s a comment we hear all the time. So, what map packaging is, in our process, they flush out the oxygen and replace it with nitrogen, which preserves the product.

Bob Tullio: Finally, I had a chance to catch up with Linda Saldaña of Seventh Wave Refreshments, who along with her partner, Dave Carroll, won NAMA’s Operator of the Year Award for 2026.

Linda, congratulations on your award, and your presentation, and your thank you speech was just so heartfelt. I think everybody really enjoyed it. You did a great job.

Linda Saldaña: Thank you.

Bob Tullio: What have you seen so far that’s blown you away? Anything in particular?

Linda Saldaña: It sounds really silly, but we’re always looking for that one thing in the market. And there’s this product here. They’re the little rice cakes. They brought us so much joy. We brought a team of 13 this year, and I think we walked around a good bunch, and all of us just had a blast at that booth. So really glad that they’re here. It’s the first time that they were here at NAMA, and we just enjoyed that whole thing.

Bob Tullio: Well, it’s exciting if you find a product probably not going to be out there in a lot of competitors’ pantries. So it gives you an opportunity to have to an edge, doesn’t it?

Linda Saldaña: Absolutely.

Bob Tullio: Linda, what do you think operators need to do to succeed moving forward?

Linda Saldaña: I think just move fast. Right now, a lot of things are changing. Client needs are changing. We have to really work on the data we’re receiving and act on the data we’re receiving. So it’s just a lot of information.

Bob Tullio: So, are you relying on data more than ever before?

Linda Saldaña: Absolutely. At this point, we’re taking data to clients to be able to customize the programs, even when we’re already in there. Yeah, absolutely. We’re leaning heavily on data.