|
SupplySide West Beats the Spread
A record-breaking crowd, expanded educational opportunities, myriad
networking options and innovative ingredients all combined to make the 10th
Annual SupplySide West another high-water mark for the natural products
industry. More than 8,100 executives from dietary supplement, food,
cosmeceutical and pharmaceutical companies gathered Nov. 6 to 8 for the
SupplySide West International Trade Show and Conference at the Sands Exposition
Center and Venetian Resort Casino. Compared to 2006 figures, the number of
participants grew 13 percent, exhibiting companies grew 11 percent and booths
increased 15 percent.
SupplySide West was notable not only for the numbers but also the increasing
depth and breadth of the attendees. For example, Bill Barrier, vice president,
R&D, for Dairy Queen and Orange Julius noted: “I’m here to look for
ingredients that will enhance our Orange Julius line in terms of heart health,
bone health and immune health. I found some companies offering probiotics,
interesting antioxidants and several companies that I've never worked with
before. I’m looking forward to working with them.”
And Mindy S. Goldstein, Ph.D., executive director, Biological Research,
Treatment Materials Development, The Estée Lauder Companies, added: “SupplySide
West has been a real find for us to check out new ingredients and new trends in
the nutraceutical market that we can bring into the personal care market.”
The Golf Classic, sponsored by Pharmachem Laboratories, on Tuesday, Nov. 6,
was the first SupplySide West event. More than 220 golfers participated in the
event, held at the Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort. A luncheon followed the
tournament, and trophies were awarded for individual achievement and top team
scores for each course. Dick Beitel, vice president of sales at Pharmachem,
noted the company continues to benefit from working with Virgo Publishing and
the show. “SupplySide West is the number one attraction in our industry,” he
said. “The growth over the last 10 years has been amazing.”
Tuesday also saw the kick-off of the three-day, four-track education program,
sponsored by Cognis Nutrition & Health. Speakers from Aveda Corp.,
Datamonitor, FDA, FTC, NIH, Nestlé, SPINS, The Coca-Cola Co., Estée Lauder,
The Hartman Group, The Hershey Co., Natural Marketing Institute, Unilever and
many more organizations presented. Jørn Dyerberg, M.D., the featured speaker on
Thursday, presented “The Health Benefits of Omega-3s–From the Greenland
Eskimo Experience to Present Nutritional Knowledge”.
“When our customers tell us it’s a successful show as they have again
this year, that’s our measurement for success,” Dave Eckert, vice president,
Cognis Nutrition & Health. “Cognis continues to invest in sponsoring the
SupplySide Education program so all of us in the industry can together learn the
latest news from the top experts in their fields. Our ultimate goal is to work
with our colleagues worldwide to develop healthy products that resonate with
consumers and this event provides amazing opportunities to learn from the best.
As a leading global supplier, our role is evolving into new areas at record
speed, and these educational sessions provide invaluable insights.”
Also, a three-day VendorWorks program gave participants their choice of more
than 40 presentations of ingredient science, manufacturing information,
formulation know-how and much more. A second track of VendorWorks Presentations
in the exhibit hall was added for this year’s show.
The exhibit hall itself opened at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 7, with more
than 980 booths, making it the largest SupplySide exhibit hall to date.
Thousands of executives walked the exhibit hall until 6 p.m. on Wednesday and
again from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday. Virgo Publishing celebrated SupplySide
West’s 10-year anniversary Thursday afternoon at its booth on the exhibit
floor with cake, a champagne toast and the presentation of the first-ever
INSIDER and Food Product Design Scientific Excellence Awards. Tate & Lyle
received the Food Product Design Scientific Excellence Award for ‘PROMITOR™
Fiber H2O with Protein’ satiety water, and Integrity Nutraceuticals took home
the INSIDER Scientific Excellence Award for Cinnulin PF.
The increased emphasis on science also resonated with attendees. “Through
the years, SupplySide West has become larger, there are more people here and the
quality of the event, particularly the seminars, has shown steady improvement,”
said Elliott Balbert, founder and executive chairman, Natrol. “It’s really
an indication that Virgo is doing things right. It’s also good to see that
there is more scientifically valid support for ingredients, and my appointments
have been very productive.”
Several networking receptions offered additional opportunities to connect
with industry peers. More than 500 global executives participated in the
International Welcome Reception, sponsored by KGK Synergize and OptiPure/SGTI.
More than 3,600 people attended the Opening Reception Wednesday evening; the
event was sponsored by DSM, SourceOne Global Partners and INSIDER. Lastly, the
Appreciation Lunch in the exhibit hall on Friday afternoon was sponsored by INSIDER,
Food Product Design and supplyside—inside cosmeceuticals.
Virgo Publishing also introduced a new program to stimulate international
participation. The “International Business Exchange” program kicked off with
Japan as the focus. Working with Tokyo-based Healthcom, Virgo sponsored visits
by executives from five top Japanese food, supplement and cosmetic companies.
The guests toured the exhibit hall, participated in networking events and met
with leading suppliers. Virgo also welcomed a group of more than 40 Latin
American representatives who are interested in expanding their international
business and presence at SupplySide West 2008. Additionally, the new Latin
American Natural Products Association held its first meeting at SupplySide West,
launching a program that will stimulate relations between the United States and
Latin America.
Overall, SupplySide West garnered rave reviews. “SupplySide continues to
grow because it helps make the crucial connection between suppliers and
manufacturers of dietary supplements, foods and cosmeceuticals,” said Peggy
Jackson, director of publishing for Virgo Publishing’s Health and Nutrition
Division. “We celebrated our ten year anniversary this year and I’d like to
thank all the exhibitors, attendees and speakers who have supported us and
contributed to the event’s success.”
Toyo Bio-pharma sponsored a “Drive a Maserati for a Week Raffle” in which
a convertible Maserati was on display in the registration Wednesday and
Thursday. The raffle culminated on Thursday afternoon when Deepa Shenoy, Ph.D.,
founder and CEO of Health For All Seasons, was drawn as the winner.
Bob Weeks, publisher of Food Product Design, presented Lori Napier,
Tate & Lyle, with the first Food Product Design Scientific Excellence Award.
Tate & Lyle received the award for its ‘PROMITOR™ Fiber H2O with Protein’
satiety water.
Tim Romero, Integrity Nutraceuticals, accepted the INSIDER Scientific
Excellence Award for the company's Cinnulin PF®; Virgo Publishing's Jon
Benninger and Peggy Jackson made the presentation.
|
