April 27-29, 2009
Meadowlands Exposition Center
Secaucus, New Jersey

SupplySide West 2006 Grows in Booths, Attendance and Education Programming

PHOENIX – Virgo Publishing announced that SupplySide West 2006, scheduled for October 18-20 at The Venetian & The Sands in Las Vegas, exhibit space is more than 20% greater than the 2005 event with companies continuing to reserve booths. Attendee pre-registrations are more than four times higher than 2005 pre-registration figures. And a third education track has been added to the three-day education program, enabling the addition of more sessions focused on healthy food and beverage topics.

"SupplySide West is the world’s largest event for manufacturers and suppliers of healthy products," said Peggy Jackson, director of publishing. "And this year, the strong participation of food and beverage companies has added to the already exceptional growth."

Show organizer Virgo Publishing suggested several reasons for the exceptional growth:
-- The show's reputation continues to attract additional exhibitors and attendees from around the world;
-- The acquisition of Food Product Design magazine by Virgo Publishing has enabled the rapid expansion of food and beverage industry participation; and
-- An expanded education program provides even more options for executives who attend.

Expanded Education Program
SupplySide West 2006 features a three-track education program, adding 10 more sessions than the program offered in previous years. The expansion allows Virgo Publishing to include more sessions focused on food and beverage topics, a move designed to take advantage of the company's acquisition of Food Product Design magazine. The company also created a Food Science Advisory Board to help with the program that includes representatives from Kraft, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Ohio State University and SR Strategy.

"There is intense interest in healthy, functional and natural ingredients among the world's leading food and beverage companies," said Jon Benninger, Virgo Publishing's director of business development. "While many of these companies have been attending SupplySide events for years, the participation from the food sector looks to be larger than ever."

This year's expanded education program, sponsored by Cognis Nutrition & Health, features speakers from the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), The Beverage Institute for Health and Wellness (Coca-Cola), Canaccord Adams, The Cooper Institute, Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Health Food Manufacturers Association (HFMA), Mintel, Nestlé, The Natural Marketing Institute, Natural Products Association (formerly NNFA), National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), Pharmavite, University of Illinois College of Pharmacy, SPINS and many more. Highlights include:

-- A special Featured Presentation will be given by Carolyn Moore, Ph.D., R.D., principal scientist at The Beverage Institute for Health and Wellness, which was founded by The Coca-Cola Company.
-- A panel featuring representatives from the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, FDA and Johns Hopkins will discuss the Systematic Review Process used to evaluate health claims, set policy and develop official statements such as the recent report on multivitamins and chronic disease.
-- Steve French of The Natural Marketing Institute will unveil new data from the NMI consumer database that now features seven years of trends compiled from more than 300,000 consumer responses.
-- David Thibodeau, managing director at Canaccord Adams Investment Banking Group, will speak about the rise of both public and private investment in the natural and nutritional products sector, recent mergers and acquisitions, and drivers of the investment community.
-- Marc Ullman will lead the two-session "State-of-the-Industry" panel with the leaders of AHPA, CRN and NPA.
-- World-renowned pharmacognocist Norman Farnsworth, Ph.D., will discuss the benefits of botanical dietary supplements.
-- Najla Guthrie of KGK Synergize and Terry O'Reilly, M.D., of Unigen Pharmaceuticals will speak about conducting clinical trials, avoiding common pitfalls, incorporating this research into a successful business model.
-- Lynn Dornblaser of Mintel International will examine key trends in the global functional food and beverage market.
 
Additional presentations will cover topics such as the effect of obesity on product development, a Pan-Asian update, dietary supplement usage by athletes, health benefits of omega 3s, science-based GRAS determinations, risk assessment of non-essential nutrients and much more. A complete agenda is available on the show website at www.supplysideshow.com/west.

SupplySide West also features more than 50 vendor-sponsored seminars covering a wide range of innovative ingredients, services and technologies. For the first time at SupplySide West, some of these VendorWorks sessions will be held in the VendorWorks auditorium in the exhibit hall. A full schedule of the VendorWorks sessions is available on the Web site. Additional research can be found at the "Science at SupplySide" poster display which remains up throughout the show. Poster presenters will be at their displays to answer questions on Oct. 20 from Noon to 1 p.m.

The SupplySide West Keynote Presentation, co-sponsored by BASF and Natural Products INSIDER, will be delivered by NFL great and Monday Night Football analyst Joe Theismann. Theismann led the Washington Redskins to a Super Bowl championship and was selected as the NFL's Man of the Year in 1982 for his community service and dedication to the health and welfare of children. Author of the book The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Football Like a Pro, Theismann will share his game plan for success and then meet SupplySide West attendees at the BASF booth immediately after the presentation.

Networking Events
SupplySide West also provides ample opportunities for networking, beginning with the SupplySide West Golf Classic, sponsored by Pharmachem Laboratories. The always-popular event takes place Oct. 18 at the Paiute Golf Resort and includes a $25,000 hole-in-one contest. The four-person scramble tournament generally sells out with more than 250 golfers, and separate registration is required. The $199 entry fee includes the round of golf, transportation to and from the host hotel, continental breakfast, awards luncheon, raffle prizes and more.

The networking continues the evening of Oct. 18 with the International Welcome Reception co-sponsored by KGK Synergize and OptiPure/Soft Gel Technologies. The event is complimentary for all international visitors and includes a hosted bar and hors d'oeuvres. Tickets for the event are $55 in advance or $75 on site. When the exhibit hall closes on Oct. 19, all SupplySide West participants are invited to attend the Opening Reception co-sponsored by DSM, SourceOne Global Partners and Natural Products INSIDER. This event attracts thousands of industry executives for continued conversation in an informal atmosphere. Later that same night, Albion Advanced Nutrition is throwing a blow-out 50th Anniversary Party with champagne, appetizers and $2,500 in raffle drawings. And finally, the show always ends on a high note with the Appreciation Party sponsored by Kyowa Hakko, NSF International and Vesta Ingredients. This event takes place in the exhibit hall and delivers complimentary food and drinks to all SupplySide West participants.

More information and registration details can be found at www.supplysideshow.com or by calling (800) 454-5760.

About SupplySide West and Virgo Publishing
SupplySide West is a three-day event offering industry the opportunity to learn about the latest innovative and healthy ingredients, meet new vendors and formulators in the 850+ booth exhibit hall, and source ingredients, packaging, labeling and private-label manufacturing services in one location.

Virgo Publishing produces the SupplySide Trade Shows and Conferences, the Focus on the Future Executive Conference and Retreat, the online training Web site nutrilearn.com, and publishes Natural Products INSIDER, Food Product Design and HSR: Health Supplement Retailer magazines. 

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