Newco at the NAMA Show, 2026

Posted on by Aaron Johnson
Newco at the NAMA Show, 2026

Arriving in Los Angeles 

I touched down in LA the day before the show and made it to the convention center in the early afternoon. NAMA, the National Automated Merchandising Association, holds its annual trade show to show off the latest innovations for convenience stores, offices, and vending. Newco's been coming to Nama for decades, but I've never been. Walking into the trade show, I was filled with nervous excitement. Meeting Dave and Jeremy, two members of our sales team, made me feel instantly at home in our booth, which they’d already finished constructing. 

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Three men stand in a trade show booth, smiling at the camera.
A sun-soaked exterior of the Los Angeles Convention Center, palm trees in the foreground.
The L.A. Convention center's lobby interior

I helped tidy up, wrapped a few empty pallets for removal, then waited, chatting with the guys, hoping our last pallet with 3 more machines would arrive.  Jason headed out to forage for coffee, the final pallet appeared, we set up our last two brewers, and when Jason returned with Go Get Em Tiger, we had the InfiniBrew calibrated and ready.

Bags of coffee from Go Get Em Tiger sit on top of the cold brew Infinibrew in the foreground, the Infinibrew in the background.
A man (Luke), gestures at the InfiniBrew, as another man looks on. Both men wear sportcoats.
Two men look intently at the InfiniBrew brewer.

InfiniBrew Cold Brew Delivers Delicious

We dropped some of Go Get Em Tiger’s espresso blend, Minor Monuments, into the cold brew Infinibrew and three minutes later, it was ready to drink and startlingly delicious. People sometimes think espresso blends are required for espresso machines, and inappropriate for other uses, but the truth is any coffee bean can be espresso! Also, the beans in espresso blends are often selected and roasted for smoothness and balance, which means they make killer cold brews. Minor Monuments held plummy brown sugar sweetness that was instantly recognizable, just like the label promised. This was my first sip of coffee from the cold brew Infinibrew, and I was not disappointed. Stunning clarity, super smooth, no astringency.

A city street scene, with a man on a scooter zooming past a hi-rise construction project. A mural on a wall fills the rest of the frame.

Walking in the City

By 5pm the booth was looking good, and it was time to hit the road. I needed a reset, so I headed back to my room, before wandering out into the city with my camera. I really wanted to see the Bradbury Building (as seen in Bladerunner) but it was closed when I arrived. I still enjoyed downtown. Angel’s Flight, LA’s last funicular and film noir setting across the decades, was shining in the early twilight. Angel's Flight can also be see in the 2011 The Muppets, La-La Land, as well as tv shows like Bosch and Perry Mason. 


The lower entrance to Angel's Flight, a funicular in Los Angeles, with the trolley car in place under lights at dusk.
A man walks in front of a red neon lit bar, the red light drenching the sidewalk. The sign glows, "Golden Gopher"
The blue and red neon sign of the American Exchange building casts light across the street in downtown LA.
A parking lot with a single car, graffiti covered attendant booth, and huge skyscraper in the background.
A black and white image of a suited man, standing in front of a building with giant letters saying "Mural on other side."

The next day, I woke up early, still on Central time so I headed to the show. It gave me plenty of time to walk and see the city wake up around me. I snapped a few more pictures on my walk across downtown as a warmup, before hitting the show floor.

A Day at NAMA

Our booth welcomed old familiar friends and new faces alike, with fond reunions and new customers circulating throughout the days. The Infinibrews, both hot and cold, drew the biggest crowds, but I was also taken with how many people were excited by the CX-Touch's refresh. Long an office mainstay, the new CX-Touch Horizon's updates include a new black, plastic housing, larger horizontal screen, refreshed menu, and a new light. Hearing long time customers suddenly excited about a brewer they trust and love was wonderful to witness.

Walking the Floor

There's always so much to see at a trade show, but the highlight for Luke and I was getting the freshest matcha I'd ever had, daily, at the Cuzen Matcha Maker's booth. As Newco thinks about the evolving beverage space, we're always thinking about incorporating more types of drinks into our offerings and Cuzen offered something truly unique. Fresh tea leaves, ground into matcha powder as we waited, then added to water and whisked via a magnetic, spinning whisk, to create a rich, verdant cup of matcha was really a treat. 

Two people stand behind two small machines with a small cup of matcha in one machine. They wear green and their surrounds are also green.

Thanks for reading about my experience at NAMA 2026! We'll see you next month at the National Restaurant Association show in Chicago. Check our full trade show schedule and find us in Booth 445 at the NRA show - in the meantime, here are a few more images from the floor in Los Angeles.

People congregate and converse in Coca Cola's trade show booth, which is red and white.
A 6 foot tall anthropomorphic nerd-cluster stands in front of a backlit candy display.
A man in a white suit coat takes a cell phone picture of a vending machine that makes custom cell phone cases.
A man punches a punching bag in a booth that displays "Our Pickles Pack a Punch."