Natural Products Expo West/SupplyExpo 2008 Continues Upward Climb with Record Attendance
4/7/2008
BOULDER, Colo. (March 19, 2008) - More than 52,000 retailers, manufacturers, and industry professionals attended the country's largest natural, organic, and healthy products trade show, Natural Products Expo West/Supply Expo 2008 (
www.expowest.com), an increase of 11 percent over last year's attendance. In its 28th year, Natural Products Expo West/Supply Expo, produced by New Hope Natural Media, a division of Penton Media, attracted a record 3,392 exhibits to the Anaheim Convention Center in Calif.
Keynote speaker, The New York Times best-selling author, Michael Pollan told a capacity crowd to think about "not just what is in our food but how we enjoy our food," and reminded the audience that shopping is part of the pleasure of food.
The $57 billion dollar natural and organic products industry continues to enjoy brisk sales with strong growth in certified organic meat and seafood, beer and wine, pet products, herbs and botanicals, and personal care, according to The Natural Foods Merchandiser's 2007 Market Overview. Innovation continues in this marketplace with new biodegradable goods, from housewares and home cleaning products, to certified fair trade products and organic fiber fashions and bedding.
"Each year, Natural Products Expo West gives a sneak peek into what the public will find in America's stores tomorrow," said Fred Linder, president of New Hope Natural Media. "This year, more buyers from the full retail spectrum-from supermarkets, pharmacies, club and convenience stores to independent co-ops and ethnic markets-saw more products than ever before."
Based on new product trends discovered at Natural Products Expo West/Supply Expo, shoppers will soon see thousands of new healthy products from the following categories in their neighborhood markets:
Gluten-Free: breads, brownies, cereals, pastas, and snack foods
Certified Fair Trade: personal care products, rice, teas, chocolate, snacks, coffee
Whole and Sprouted Grains: pizza, kid snacks, nutrition bars, dinner rolls, desserts
Healthy Omega-3 Fats: capsules and culinary oils to breakfast and dinner foods
Reusable Shopping Bags: certified organic, hemp, recycled materials and biodegradable
Pre- and Pro-biotics: from vitamin supplement capsules to yogurt snacks, drinks and bars
Natural and Organic Personal Care: men's and women's skincare, shea butter products, mineral cosmetics
Exotic ‘Superfruit' Ingredients and Flavors: mangosteen, goji berry, yum berry, acai, yerba mate'
Healthy Kid-sized Foods: drinks, snacks and everything in-between
New Hope Natural Media (www.newhope.com), a division of Penton Media, Inc., is the leading media resource and information provider for the natural, organic and healthy products industry with print, in-person/event, and e-business products and services. New Hope also produces Natural Products Expo East/Organic Products Expo-BioFach America (www.expoeast.com), Natural Products Expo Asia (www.naturalproductsasia.com), the NBJ Summit (www.nbjsummit.com), the Organic Summit (www.theorganicsummit.com), and the Healthy Foods Conference (www.healthyfoodsconference.com). In June 2008, New Hope Natural Media and Supermarket News will launch the Healthy Foods International Exposition and Conference (www.healthyfoodsintl.com) in Dallas, TX.
Penton Media, Inc. is the largest independent business-to-business media company in the U.S., serving more than six million business professionals every month. The company's market-leading brands are focused on 30 industries and include 113 trade magazines, 145 Web sites, 150 industry trade shows and conferences, and more than 500 information data products. Headquartered in New York City, the privately held company is owned by MidOcean Partners and U.S. Equity Partners II, an investment fund sponsored by Wasserstein & Co., LP, and its coinvestors. For additional information on the company and its businesses, visit www.penton.com.
CONTACT:
Kuvy Ax, The Fresh Ideas Group
Phone: (303) 449-2108, ext.14
E-mail: kuvy@freshideasgroup.com