I was able to attend SNX 2024, hosted by SNAC International, last week in Dallas, which took place Sunday, April 14 through April 16. This was my second SNX—I attended the inaugural SNX two years ago, in Phoenix, as well. SNX now alternates years with SNAXPO, so in 2025, SNAC International will host SNAXPO, and SNX will return in 2026.

SNX is designed to offer one-on-one scheduled business meetings with leading suppliers in the snack industry to inspire meaningful discussions and decision making, leading to product innovation, efficiencies, and growth.

The opening keynote session on April 14 featured Martin Otto, board member and former COO, H-E-B, who spoke about the state of the snack industry and also how health insurance can tie into that. After the keynote, attendees headed to Gilley's, a music venue down the street, where they were treated to live music, bites and drinks, and mechanical bull riding (if they were brave enough!).

On April 15, attendees were able to choose from a "Brand Level View of the Marketplace," moderated by Sally Lyons Wyatt, Circana, or "Surveying the Regulatory Landscape" with Martin Hahn, Hogan Lovells LLP, and this author chose the former. The panelists included Eric Sword, brand director of salty snacks, Conagra Brands; Megan Reamer, co-founder, Jackson's; Justin French, senior director of R&D North America, PepsiCo Foods; and Dina Reagan, associate VP, snacks R&D, Campbell Snack. The panel talked about flavor trends, best practices for R&D (including bringing a product to life, from beginning to end), collaboration, and healthy versus indulgent snacks. 

After that, attendees were able to choose from "What's New with the American Consumer," again hosted by Lyons Wyatt, with Darren Seifer, or "AI 2030: The Future of Manufacturing," with Professor Tom Kurfess, Georgia Tech. Lyons Wyatt discussed snack stats, including that consumers have about four servings of snack foods on a typical day, with kids leading the way, and also talked about how consumers are more likely to indulge as the day progresses.

Appropriately named "SNAC Bites" could be found on the show floor, as well: half-hour, more informal sessions where attendees could take a seat and listen to more in-depth focuses on topics, such as "Lights Out Mixing: How and Why You Should Implement a Fully Automated Mixing System" that Monday. 

One thing not to be missed at SNX is the show floor, where attendees can connect with equipment, ingredient, and manufacturers. The Flavor Showdown offered attendees the chance to sample chips and other snacks with spices, and being able to vote for their favorite in the app, with the winner being crowned on the last day of the conference.

My favorite of these came in as runner-up—chips with Texas Rio Grapefruit Seasoning, from McClancy—and tied in third place were Texas Smoked Cheddar Hot Links & Hops, from Land O'Lakes, plus Cowboy Brittle, from LifeSpice. The winner this year was El Valle Fajita (on chips) from The Chesapeake Spice Company.

On the last day of the conference, the snack finalists for the third biennial "SNAC Tank" set up shop on the show floor, and conference attendees were able to sample each of their wares before the finalists pitched their brands to a panel of expert judges for the chance to win the grand prize of $10,000 later that day. 

The brands included (winner denoted in bold):

The panel of SNAC Tank judges were headlined by Daymond John, founder of the fashion brand FUBU and star of ABC’s hit television show Shark Tank. The rest of the panel of judges included Monica Watrous, managing editor, Nosh; Jeff Partridge, partner, Highland Partners LP; and Mauro Gomez, chief growth officer, Anita’s Snack Foods.

Related: SNX Flavor Showdown, SNAC Tank winners announced