Texas food, beverage and wellness companies will have a concentrated opportunity to meet retail buyers when Rooted Expo opens Oct. 20-22, 2026, at the Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas. The first-year trade show is designed to connect consumer-packaged-goods founders with retailers, investors and industry service providers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
The event’s reported buyer roster includes H-E-B, Costco, Whole Foods and 7-Eleven, according to Yahoo Finance. H-E-B is also a founding title sponsor. That combination makes the expo relevant not only as a showcase for local products, but as a potential first step for brands trying to move from regional sales into larger retail distribution.
A buyer meeting is not a shelf placement
Retail attendance should not be confused with a commitment to carry any particular product. Whole Foods’ own local and emerging supplier program says qualifying products may be considered for placement in stores in their home metro after meeting the company’s requirements. In other words, an expo introduction can create a path to review, but distribution still depends on each retailer’s standards and decisions.
That distinction matters as H-E-B expands its North Texas presence. The Dallas Morning News reported that the grocer opened three namesake stores in the greater Dallas area in as many months earlier in 2026 and was considering another location in Flower Mound. More stores could increase the number of local selling opportunities available to Texas-made products, but Rooted Expo itself does not establish that any exhibitor will receive shelf space.
What organizers are projecting
Public estimates for the inaugural show’s size vary. Yahoo Finance reported expectations of more than 250 exhibitors and roughly 1,000 or more attendees. Founder Derek Ramos wrote on LinkedIn that organizers were expecting more than 300 exhibitors and 1,500 attendees. Those figures are projections, not a final attendance or exhibitor count.
The planned lineup covers food, drinks, health and wellness products. Reported exhibitors include North Texas plant-milk company Mooala, Dallas-Fort Worth cookie brand SideDish and Austin-area tortilla maker Tozi, along with companies from outside Texas. The expo will also feature a pitch competition for early-stage founders, with finalists competing for cash and in-kind prizes, according to the event’s organizers as described by Yahoo Finance.
Why the Texas connection matters
Texas already has a documented example of a homegrown packaged-food company entering a national portfolio. The Austin American-Statesman reported that PepsiCo completed its acquisition of Austin-based Siete Foods in January 2025. That deal is separate from Rooted Expo, but it illustrates the kind of longer-term outcome that can make regional brands attractive to national food companies.
The comparison has limits: an acquisition reflects years of brand building and negotiations, while Rooted Expo is a first-time event whose commercial results are not yet known. The more immediate test will be whether exhibitors leave Irving with retailer follow-ups, product reviews or distribution discussions rather than simply exposure.
For now, Rooted Expo is best understood as an experiment in concentrating Texas’ packaged-goods network in one place. Its scale, buyer participation and eventual retail impact will become clearer after the October gathering, when organizers can be measured against both their attendance projections and the business relationships the show produces.
