SupplySide West 2006 Breaks Previous Participation Records

LAS VEGAS--More than 7,200 industry executives from dietary supplement, food, pharmaceutical and personal care companies gathered Oct. 18 to 20 for the SupplySide West International Trade Show and Conference at the Sands Exposition Center and Venetian Resort Casino. SupplySide West is the world's largest event for healthy and innovative ingredients; participation increased by 1,064, while the exhibit hall included 566 companies, occupying more 854 booths, a 19 percent increase over 2005.

The growth of SupplySide West was fueled by the addition of Food Product Design to Virgo Publishings family and INSIDERs 10 years of dedication to the industry, said Peggy Jackson, director of publishing for Virgo Publishings Health and Nutrition Division. The reason attendees come to SupplySide West is to meet with established contacts/vendors, prospect for global strategic partnerships, and learn from the extensive educational opportunities. This is an event where manufacturers come to do business.

"From both a product innovation and quality assurance perspective we were able to attend both seminars and view products that will help us currently and in the future," said Connie Bell, QA project manager for Jamba Juice Co. "We were able to meet vendors with whom we have done business, but had never met face to face. In addition, we were able to gain clarity around processes and process limitations. We were also introduced to new vendors who may help us expand in areas that we're just starting to inquire. We believe that business is most effective when based on strong relationships and mutual respect. SupplySide West gave us the opportunity to look at innovative ideas, be educated on various subjects, and network all in one show. This is one show we plan to attend in the future!"

"I have been attending this show for almost 10 years and have always found it to be a wonderful place to get a lot of things done in a short period of time, be it meeting with established contacts or prospecting for new strategic sourcing opportunities," said Ori Amrami, director of strategic sourcing with Herbalife International. "This year, I noticed an increase in the number of contract manufacturers who chose to exhibit and I welcome this trend as it is a good compliment to the numerous raw material companies that exhibit regularly."

SupplySide West began on Wednesday, Oct. 18, with the Golf Classic, sponsored by Pharmachem Laboratories. More than 230 golfers participated in the networking event, held on two courses, at the Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort. Trophies were awarded for individual achievement and top scores for each course and the awards luncheon following the tournament.

"My personal opinion is that SupplySide West is the best event in our industry. We're pleased to be a part of this event, and we're especially pleased to help kick it off with this amazing golf tournament." -- Dick Beitel, Vice President of Sales at Pharmachem.

The exhibit hall opened on Thursday at 11 a.m. with more than 850 booths, making it the largest SupplySide exhibit hall to date. Thousands of executives walked the exhibit hall until 5:30 p.m. on Thursday and then again from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday.

"This year's SupplySide West was an exceptional show for Soft Gel Technologies Inc.," said Ron Udell, president of SGTI. "We traditionally use this venue to launch new products, because our customers are interested in learning about our latest supplement offerings.

Virgo Publishing commemorated INSIDERs 10-year anniversary Thursday and Friday afternoon with celebratory cake.

Networking receptions offered attendees additional opportunities to further existing business relationships and connect with new industry peers. More than 500 executives from around the world participated in the International Welcome Reception, sponsored by KGK Synergize and OptiPure/SGTI. More than 3,300 people attended the Opening Reception Thursday evening; the event was sponsored by DSM, SourceOne Global Partners, Stryka Botanics and Unigen Pharmaceuticals. Also, Albion Advanced Nutrition celebrated its 50-year anniversary with an event on Thursday evening. Participants enjoyed champagne and desserts, and $2,500 in Venetian casino chips were raffled away. Lastly, the Appreciation Party closed the event with food and drinks in the exhibit hall on Friday afternoon and was sponsored by Kyowa Hakko, NSF International and Vesta Ingredients.

For the fifth year, the three-day Education Program was sponsored Cognis Nutrition & Health, offering scientific research, marketing strategies and regulatory updates, with an enhanced focus on functional foods and beverages. A third track of seminars was added this year and speakers from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Johns Hopkins University, National Institutes of Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, Ohio State University Food Science and Technology, Health Food Manufacturers Association, Mintel International, Nestlé FoodServices, The Beverage Institute for Health & Wellness at The Coca-Cola Company and many more organizations presented.

Dave Eckert, vice president of Cognis Nutrition & Health, said, "As a five-time sponsor of the SupplySide West Education Program, we continue to be amazed at the quality of information presented by the top experts in their fields. The solid attendance at these sessions validates the interest our industry colleagues share in keeping current on regulatory, scientific and marketing news so we can all do our jobs as effectively as possible. It is indeed a pleasure to work with Virgo in making education a primary focus of the SupplySide conference."

The keynote presentation was given by football legend, author and ESPNs Monday Night Football Analyst Joe Theismann. Co-sponsored by BASF and Natural Products INSIDER, Theismann discussed his "game plan for success", sharing anecdotes on life-changing experiences and the way to make the most of every lesson you learn.

A three-day VendorWorks program gave participants 50 presentations of ingredient science, manufacturing information, formulation know-how and much more to choose from. New in 2006, select VendorWorks Presentations were given in the VendorWorks auditorium in the exhibit hall.

Science at SupplySide Poster Presentations brought attendees a convenient means to review new science and research. Sponsored by nutrilearn.com, the posters were displayed for the duration of the show. Presenters were available on Friday afternoon to answer attendee questions.

Decision-makers from Frito Lay, General Mills, Hormel Foods, Kellogg Co., Kraft Foods, PepsiCo., Proctor & Gamble, Starbucks and many more leading food manufacturers attended SupplySide West this year, said Amy Sharman, marketing and communications manager for Virgo Publishings Health & Nutrition Division. We also saw many executives from companies that have attended in the past like Bayer Healthcare, Country Life, Garden of Life, Natrol, Natures Way, NBTY, Vitamin Shoppe and Wyeth Consumer Healthcare.

For more information on SupplySide East 2007, scheduled for Apr. 30 to May 2 in Secaucus, N.J. or SupplySide West 2007, which will take place Nov. 6-8 in Las Vegas, visit http://www.supplysideshow.com or call (800) 454-5760.

The following photos are available upon request: Joe Theismann delivering keynote, seminar rooms, networking receptions, golf tournament, exhibit hall and registration area. If you are interested in additional photos, please e-mail your request to [email protected].

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 and Natural Products Marketplace magazines.