SupplySide West 2007 Breaks Previous Participation Records

LAS VEGASMore than 8,100 industry 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. SupplySide West, the world's largest event for healthy and innovative ingredients, celebrated its 10-year anniversary in 2007 and continues to see growth in both participation and the exhibit hall. Compared to 2006 figures, the number of participants grew 13 percent, exhibiting companies grew 11 percent and booths increased 15 percent.

"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. -- Bill Barrier, Vice President, R&D, Dairy Queen & Orange Julius

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. Its really an indication that Virgo is doing things right. Its also good to see that there is more scientifically valid support for ingredients, and my appointments have been very productive. -- Elliott Balbert, Founder and Executive Chairman, Natrol

"SSW 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." -- Mindy S. Goldstein, Ph.D., Executive Director, Biological Research, Treatment Materials Development, The Estée Lauder Companies

"We enjoy working with Virgo Publishing. We think SupplySide West is the number one attraction in our industry. The growth over the last 10 years has been amazing. And, with the addition of Food Product Design to the family, I think it's going to be helpful to everyone in our industry." -- Dick Beitel, Vice President of Sales at Pharmachem

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.

The exhibit hall opened at 10am 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 6pm on Wednesday and again from 11am to 5pm on Thursday.

Virgo Publishing celebrated SupplySide Wests 10-year anniversary Thursday afternoon 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.

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 supplysideinside cosmeceuticals.

The three-day Education Program, sponsored by Cognis Nutrition & Health, expanded to four tracks this year to incorporate sessions focusing on cosmeceutical science, trends and issues. Speakers from the Aveda Corp., Datamonitor, Federal Trade Commission, National Institutes of Health, Nestlé, SPINS, The Coca-Cola Co., The Estée Lauder Companies, The Hartman Group, The Hershey Co., The Natural Marketing Institute, Unilever, University of California at Los Angeles, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and many more organizations presented. Jørn Dyerberg, M.D., the Featured Speaker on Thursday, presented The Health Benefits of Omega-3sFrom 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. 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." -- Dave Eckert, Vice President, Cognis Nutrition & Health.

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 years show.

Following the close of the exhibition, more than 150 professionals attended the Essential Fatty Acids: The Opportunity is Now post-conference intensive on Friday which was sponsored by Accucaps, Cognis Nutrition & Health, Denomega Nutritional Oils, EPAX and Ocean Nutrition. Additional educational opportunities included: the workshop An Education Course on the Final FDA GMP Rule for Dietary Supplements, presented on Monday and Tuesday by Virgo Publishing and the Natural Products Association, which drew approximately 40 participants; the half-day Baby Boomer Trends Workshop: Zooming in on Boomers: The Impact of Baby Boomers on the Nutritional Industry, presented by The Natural Marketing Institute on Tuesday; and Science at SupplySide Poster Presentations, sponsored by nutrilearn.com.

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. Combined annual sales of these companies exceed $20 billion. 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 their first meeting at SupplySide West, launching a program that will stimulate relations between the USA and Latin America.

Among the other exciting SupplySide West events, 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 & CEO of Health For All Seasons, was drawn as the winner.

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 Publishings Health and Nutrition Division. We celebrated our ten year anniversary this year and Id like to thank all the exhibitors, attendees and speakers who have supported us and contributed to the events success.

For more information on SupplySide East 2008, scheduled for Apr. 28 to 30 in Secaucus, N.J. or SupplySide West 2008, which will take place Oct. 22 to 24 in Las Vegas, visit www.supplysideshow.com or call (800) 454-5760.

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 [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, supplysideinside cosmeceuticals and Natural Products Marketplace magazines.