This was my second Expo West — but my first as an exhibitor.

As always, Expo West is intimidating simply by its sheer size and scale. Over 80,000 visitors gather over three days at the gigantic Anaheim Convention Center, creating something that feels part wellness festival, part global marketplace for innovation. Beneath the colourful atmosphere, endless healthy food tastings, and bustling crowds, Expo West is ultimately a place where people come to connect, discover new ideas in natural health and functional wellness, and build businesses.

For the SkinSync™ team, this was a major milestone. We were fortunate to exhibit as part of the New South Wales pavilion with the support of the Australian and NSW governments. We arrived prepared — colourful shirts, plenty of samples, brochures, and a lot of excitement.

Of course, we had interesting discussions with potential distributors, partners, retailers, and investors. But what surprised us most were the interactions with everyday people walking past the booth.

Because we were located closer to the food and beverage area than the supplement section, most visitors were not specifically looking for dermal patches. Our simple hook became:

“Interested in natural support?”
“Curious about 72-hour patches?”
“Looking for relief from everyday soreness or tension?”

What happened next was fascinating.

As soon as people stopped and engaged with the concept, they immediately understood the appeal. A simple patch delivering plant-based support steadily over multiple days just made sense to them. At first, we almost hesitated to mention CBD — but the reaction was overwhelmingly positive:

“They contain CBD? That’s great.”

Sometimes we forget how mainstream CBD has become in the United States, where millions of adults already use it as part of their wellness routine.

We were quite careful with the samples we handed out. We wanted each person willing to try the patches to understand how to apply them correctly and how to get the best experience from them. Each sample included a simple illustrated guide, a QR code linking to the product information page, and another QR code inviting users to provide feedback in exchange for a free box of patches.

And that was really the key for us:

feedback.

At heart, we are scientists. We love data, but more importantly, we love understanding how people genuinely experience our products in their daily lives.

Out of roughly 200 patches distributed, we received 16 completed feedback questionnaires — and the responses were extremely encouraging. Complete strangers were telling us that the patches helped support them through long days, ease tension, or simply made them feel better overall.

Some even came back to the booth specifically to tell us about their experience. One fellow exhibitor suffering from persistent back discomfort tried our Heat+Help patch and spent the next two days enthusiastically telling others about it.

Moments like these stay with you.

Beyond the business discussions, the retailer meetings, and the growing brand awareness, what we will remember most from Expo West are the people who stopped by our booth looking for something to help them feel better, move better, and live better.

Those are the people we think about every morning when we wake up and continue building SkinSync™.