Expo West Draws 31,000 Participants

Expo West Draws 31,000 Participants

ANAHEIM, Calif.--More than 31,000 manufacturers, retailers,media and other industry members attended the 23rd annual Natural Products ExpoWest here, according to show organizer New Hope Natural Media. The company addedit estimated more than 50,000 products from 30 countries were featured at 2,360exhibits, with more than 600 new products being introduced.

There were several new additions to Expo West. The "Store of theFuture" was a 2,000-square-foot prototype retail environment built on theshow floor. It included non-toxic, earth friendly, sustainable building productsand finishes. The "Store of the Future" was the grand prize in adrawing won by Robert Roman, who will incorporate items from the prototype intohis store, Nature's Food Patch in Clearwater, Fla.

New Hope (www.newhope.com) alsocontinued its integration of Nutracon and the raw material channel into the ExpoWest plan. Global Supply MarketPlace included the seminar aspects of Nutraconplus a SupplyExpo, which consolidated raw material suppliers into a singleexhibit hall with open hours for manufacturers and limited access for retailers.