 |
 |
 |
E-mail UpdatesOfficial Show Media     |
SupplySide West 2008 Exhibit Hall Sees Double-Digit GrowthOctober 28, 2008 LAS VEGAS - Industry executives from dietary supplement, food, cosmeceutical, pharmaceutical and animal nutrition companies gathered Oct. 22 to 24 for SupplySide West at the Sands Exposition Center and Venetian Resort Casino. The number of booths at SupplySide West, the world's largest exhibition for healthy and innovative ingredients, grew by 10 percent and the number of exhibiting companies grew by 8 percent. "With the global economic downturn, many events are seeing drops in attendance. Total participation at SupplySide West was essentially the same as 2007 with nearly 8,000 professionals," said Peggy Jackson, director of publishing for Virgo Publishing's Health & Nutrition Division. "We continue to see growth in the quality of attendees, as high-level decision makers from global manufacturing powerhouses walked the show floor looking for ingredients and services." Professionals from Alticor, Amway, Aubrey Organics, Aveda, Bayer Healthcare, Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper/Snapple, Dreyer's, Dunkin Brands, Enzymatic Therapy, Estée Lauder, Frito-Lay, General Mills, Guthy-Renker, Herbalife International, Kellogg's, Kraft, Murad, Nature's Way, NBTY, Nestlé Nutrilite, philosophy, Procter & Gamble, Rainbow Light, Safeway, Sara Lee Corp., Shaklee Corp., Shisheido, Solgar, Tyson Foods, Unilever, Wyeth Consumer Healthcare, and many more leading companies attended. "The show is bigger than it's ever been. The people
I've talked to said it's been busy and they are pleased
with the value. We came here with a mission and I think
we've done a very good job fulfilling it. There is a good
group of people to choose from. And they are all here at
one time, so it's easy to compare their offerings. Also,
our current vendors and suppliers are here, so it's a good
opportunity to talk to them. The education seminars were
very good this year. I'm pleased with the upgrade in
quality of the education sessions." "What I like about the show is that it is extremely
compact. I can reach a lot of people, and a lot of people
can reach me in a short amount of time. It's a great use
of my time. IFT is too diverse, while SupplySide West is a
great ingredient show." The Golf Classic, sponsored by Pharmachem Laboratories, on Wednesday, Oct. 24 was the first SupplySide West event. More than 260 golfers participated in the tournament, held at the Revere Golf Club. A luncheon followed the Golf Classic, and trophies were awarded for individual achievement and top team scores. "This year's golf outing was another tremendous
success. It kicks off the show and puts everyone in a
great mood as they prepare for the long hours they will
spend over the next few days. The two courses brought out
lots of golfers and proved very challenging to all.
It was nice to try a new location and everyone seemed to
really enjoy themselves. It is always a great
networking place and a great forum for learning how
everyone feels about business in general. The luncheon was
very well received, and the prizes this year really seemed
to top off the event. SupplySide West is definitely
our best industry event and favorite place to meet
everyone. Another truly superb performance by Virgo
Publishing." Two pre-conference workshops were held on Wednesday, Oct. 24. More than 100 participants attended the "Stevia Update: Regulatory Status, Market Potential and Product Development Workshop" featuring American Botanical Council's Mark Blumenthal and Robert S. McQuate, Ph.D., from GRAS Associates LLC. The Natural Marketing Institute presented the trends workshop "Nutritional Opportunities for Today's 24/7 Lifestyle: Addressing the Interconnected Consumer Needs of Stress - Energy - Sleep." The exhibit hall opened at 10am on Thursday, Oct. 23 with 1,079 booths, making it the largest SupplySide exhibit hall to date. Thousands of executives walked the exhibit hall until 5:30pm on Thursday and again from 10am to 5:30pm on Friday. "The show was more interesting than usual this year. I
saw several truly novel things that are immediately
actionable. This show remains a glimpse into the future of
what will appear on retail shelves in two years. It's a
good combination of science and how to assemble the
pieces." Two networking events offered additional opportunities to connect with industry peers. The first-ever Manufacturers Welcome Reception, sponsored by Celadrin and INSIDER, was held Wednesday night. Thousands of event participants attended the Opening Reception Thursday evening; the event was sponsored by DSM, SourceOne Global Partners and Natural Health Science. The three-day Education Program, sponsored by Cognis Nutrition & Health, expanded to five tracks to incorporate sessions focusing on animal nutrition and food service in addition to the dietary supplement, food and cosmeceutical tracks. Speakers from Estée Lauder, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, International Food Information Council, National Animal Supplement Council, National Institutes of Health, Packaged Facts, The Hartman Group, Tufts University, University of Arizona and many more prestigious organizations presented. Richard E. Collins, M.D., "The Cooking Cardiologist®" was the Featured Speaker on Thursday. "We are delighted to work with Virgo in bringing the top experts in their fields to SupplySide," said David Eckert, vice president for Cognis Nutrition & Health. "The feedback from attendees at the book signing following the featured presentation by The Cooking Cardiologist amplified why Cognis continues to sponsor the SupplySide West education program. Industry colleagues in nearly all aspects of our business commented on how much they enjoyed the talk by Dr. Richard Collins. They also shared insights on seminars they attended and it was clear that they appreciated the high caliber of speakers and valuable information that was presented." A three-day VendorWorks program gave participants their choice of more than 40 presentations of ingredient science, manufacturing information, formulations and much more. Two concurrent presentations were held on Thursday and Friday during exhibit hall hours. On Friday, Virgo Publishing presented the INSIDER Scientific Excellence Award to NIS Labs for their biological assay CAP-e (Cell-based Antioxidant Protection in Erythrocytes), the inside cosmeceuticals Scientific Excellence Award to Nutragenesis for Sensara,™ and the Food Product Design Scientific Excellence Award to DSM Food Ingredients for PreventASe.™ On Saturday, Oct. 25, more than 220 professionals attended the "Essential Fatty Acids: Trends and Opportunities" workshop, developed with GOED, and "Probiotics: Market Trends, Consumer Attitudes & Capitalizing on the Category" workshop, developed with the International Probiotics Association. Additional educational opportunities included: the workshop "An Education Course on the Final FDA GMP Rule for Dietary Supplements", presented on Tuesday and Wednesday by Virgo Publishing and the Natural Products Association; and Science at SupplySide Poster Presentations, sponsored by nutrilearn.com. The following photos are available upon request: seminar rooms, networking receptions, golf tournament, exhibit hall and registration area. If you are interested in additional photos, please e-mail your request to asharman@vpico.com. For more information on SupplySide East 2009, scheduled for April 27 to 29 in Secaucus, N.J., or SupplySide West 2009, which will take place Nov. 11 to 13 in Las Vegas, visit www.supplysideshow.com or call (800) 454-5760. Virgo Publishing produces the SupplySide Trade Shows and Conferences, the Focus on the Future Executive Conference and Retreat, and the online training Web site nutrilearn.com; and publishes Natural Products INSIDER, Food Product Design, inside cosmeceuticals, CULINOLOGY and Natural Products Marketplace magazines. Contacts: Amy Sharman, Marketing and Communications Manager |
