SupplySide West 2011 Sets Exhibit Hall, Attendance Records

In a record-setting 15^th anniversary event, more than 9,700 dietary supplement, food/beverage and cosmeceutical executives from 64 countries met Oct. 10 to 14 at The Sands Exposition Center and The Venetian Resort Casino for SupplySide West 2011. This years exhibit hall featured 1,340 boothsa 9-percent increase over the record set in 2010, confirming SupplySide West as the worlds largest event for healthy and innovative ingredients.

Our 15-year anniversary is an absolute reflection of how the industry has grown," said Peggy Jackson, executive vice president of VIRGOs Health & Nutrition Network. We thank everyone in the industry for their continued support. Its truly an honor and a pleasure to develop and grow this event for the industry."

Professionals from Alacer, Arbonne International, Arizona Nutritional Supplements, Arthur Andrew Medical, Bayer Health Care, Bio-K + International Inc., Bolthouse Farms, Clif Bar, Country Life, Cytosport, Danone Research, Doctors Best, Fusion Formulations, Garden of Life, Hansen Beverage Company, Irwin Naturals, Isagenix International, Jamieson Laboratories Ltd., Jarrow Formulas, Life Extension, Marlyn Nutraceuticals Inc., Mars Chocolate USA, Metagenics, MonaVie, Natrol Inc., Natural Alternatives International Inc., Natures Sunshine Products, New Chapter, Nordic Naturals, NOW Foods, Nu Skin/Pharmanex, Nutraceutical Corp., Optimum Nutrition, Ortho Molecular Products, Perrigo, Pharmavite, POM Wonderful, Rainbow Light, Reliv International, Sara Lee, Schiff Nutrition, Schwabe North America, Shaklee Corporation, Swanson Health Products, Twinlab, USANA Health Sciences, Wellington Foods and many more leading companies attended.

"This show just keeps growing and growing, which is great to see," said Joe Archer, vice president of sales and marketing for All American Pharmaceuticals. Our customers are coming by for face-to-face meetings and closing deals."

[SupplySide West 2011] is the most awesome show yet, and I have been coming for six years," added Dan Wing, vice president of operations for Irwin Naturals.

I loved the positive energy and enthusiasm found in all the booths and the willingness individuals had to explain their offerings in full detail while answering all of my questions," said Shane E. Durkee, senior vice president, research and development, Schiff Nutrition International Inc. It is amazing the level of knowledge everyone has regarding the details of their products, both from a potential claim perspective and from a technical feasibility perspective. I walked away from the show with no less than 10 new ideas to explore in detail."

The official SupplySide GMP training courses on Oct. 10 and 11, presented by NSF-DBA, kicked off SupplySide West. Many industry professionals participated in the interactive, hands-on courses examining documentation management and FDA inspections.

The two-day workshop Functional Food Product Development: Market, Regulations, Bioactive Compounds and Their Utilization," presented by Smart Short Courses, was the first pre-conference educational offering.

On Oct. 11, more than 240 golfers played in the Golf Classic, sponsored by Pharmachem Laboratories, held at the Revere Golf Club for the fifth consecutive year. A luncheon followed the Golf Classic, and trophies were awarded for individual achievement and top team scores. It was a beautiful day spent with great company," said Colin McIntyre, general manager, Pharmachem Laboratories. [It was] a job well done by everyone."

Two workshops, the Superfruit Update: Science, Consumers and the State of The Category" half-day workshop, and the 2nd Annual Palm Fruit Bioactives Workshop: Advancing Market Potentials of Palm Bioactives through Scientific Discoveries" full-day workshop, developed and sponsored by Malaysian Palm Oil Council, were offered on Tuesday, Oct. 11.

The Manufacturers Welcome Reception, co-sponsored by Lesaffre Human Care and Draco Natural Products, on Tuesday evening offered participants the opportunity to meet, network and enjoy Venetian-prepared fare the evening before exhibits opened.

The expo hall opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, Oct. 12 with 1,340 booths, featuring more than 900 exhibiting companies, the largest SupplySide West exhibit hall to date. Thousands of executives walked the show floor from 10am until 5:30pm on Wednesday and on Thursday from 10am to 5pm.

From 1pm to 4pm, Integrative Healthcare Insider presented the workshop Health Practitioners and Supplements: Channel Data, Strategies and Opportunities for Growth," which was sponsored by EpiCor®.

On Oct. 12, VIRGO offered a live Town Hall Meeting on the new dietary ingredient (NDI) draft guidance, which drew an overflow crowd. The Town Hall, sponsored by EAS Consulting Group, opened with a video message from Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and featured a presentation by Daniel Fabricant, Ph.D., director of dietary supplement programs, Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and a panel of association representatives from the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), Natural Products Association (NPA), and United Natural Products Alliance (UNPA). A Q&A session with audience participation followed the presentations.

We recognize how important this issue is to our audience and industry and believe it is our responsibility to provide such forums," said Jon Benninger, vice president, business development, VIRGOs Health & Nutrition Network. This Town Hall was just one part of our strategy to provide the best content we can around this and other key issues affecting the business."

On Wednesday afternoon, VIRGO presented the SupplySide Scientific Excellence Awards to Maypro Industries for Oligonol®, SEPPIC Inc. for CERAMOSIDES, and Biothera for Wellmune WGP®. Awards were based on science/research methods, scientific breakthrough, innovation and appeal for the manufacturing community. Also that afternoon, VIRGO hosted a champagne toast along with an anniversary cake to celebrate the 15th anniversary of SupplySide West.

The Opening Reception on Wednesday returned to TAO Nightclub in The Venetian. Attendees networked inside the club and at TAO Beach while enjoying a hosted bar and appetizers. DSM and Vitamin Angels co-sponsored the event with the goal of raising awareness of Vitamin Angels efforts to end global childhood malnutrition and hunger. Vitamin Angels raised a total of $42,000 over the course of the SupplySide West show, allowing them to reach 168,000 children.

"This year's [SupplySide West] Opening Reception was an outstanding success for a number of reasons but most significantly because of the generosity of those attending who contributed over $10,500 to help further the work of the Vitamin Angels," said Jim Hamilton, president, DSM Nutritional Products, U.S.A. At DSM, we are proud to be a part of an industry whose products matter and whose people care enough to support organizations, like Vitamin Angels, that are making a positive difference in the lives of millions of people daily."

The three-day, four-track Education Program, sponsored by BASF, offered distinct tracks for dietary supplement, food and cosmeceutical execs, totaling more than 40 sessions. Joy Bauer, MS, RD, CRN, the nutritionist and diet expert for NBCs Today Show, monthly columnist for Womans Day magazine, and exclusive nutritionist for the New York City Ballet, gave the featured presentation on Wednesday. Speakers from FDA, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), NPA, CRN, AHPA, Natural Marketing Institute, Health Food Manufacturers Association, American Botanical Council, Personal Care Products Council, and many more prestigious organizations presented. Nearly 1,200 attendees participated in VIRGOs concurrent education sessions.

What a pleasure we had at this year's SupplySide West Thinking Newtrition together with the thousands of attendees. As the exclusive sponsor of the Education Program, we were on a listening journey to hear from customers and prospects as well as leading experts to discover how we can address the unmet nutritional needs facing our industry. To say it was a successful journey is an understatement. At our booth and at the 40-plus educational sessions, we received outstanding feedback which we will now integrate into our new Think Newtrition market initiative," said Samy Jandali, vice president, nutrition and health, NA, BASF. Each year, VIRGO continues to be a great partner in bringing the best in their fields to help us create innovative, sustainable and beneficial dietary supplements, foods and beverages."

As the person responsible for marketing in our organization, my primary purpose for coming to SupplySide West and other trade shows is to attend the seminars. [SupplySide West] leads the industry in providing speakers at trade shows who deliver relevant content. This years line-up included respected names in the food & beverage industry such as Steve French, Liz Sloan and Steve Walton. For me these are must see presentations," said Ron Schroder, vice president, marketing, Grain Processing Corporation. All of us in the food & beverage industry are trying to make sure that we are connected with consumers and the market, and [SupplySide West] is the organization that helps us do that. [SupplySide West] creates a positive experience for all of the attendees at the show."

In addition to education sessions and workshops, participants chose from more than 40 VendorWorks Presentations on ingredient science, manufacturing technology, formulations and much more.

On Thursday, VIRGO celebrated Food Product Designs 20th anniversary with a cake and champagne toast at their booth.

Two half-day workshops were offered on Friday, Oct. 14: the IPA Probiotic Update: Insights and Perspectives from the Physician, Regulator and Market Analyst" workshop, developed with the International Probiotics Association and co-sponsored by CHR Hansen A/S, Danisco USA Inc., Institut Rosell-Lallemand, Kyolic, Morinaga Milk Industry Co. Ltd. and Nutraceutix Inc.; and the GOED Exchange Update: Regulatory and State-of-the-Market Issues for EPA and Omega-3", developed with the Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3 (GOED) and co-sponsored by Aker BioMarine, Golden Omega and The Scoular Co.

SupplySide West 2011 also saw the introduction of VIRGOs new SupplySide app. The free mobile app offers a dashboard of tools to highlight details of educational opportunities, speakers and exhibitors by categories. Attendees could browse show events and quickly add items to their schedules. The app is available for iPhone, Android and Blackberry smart phones.

Also new for 2011, VIRGO launched the Whats Hot at SupplySide West" site (www.supplysidehot.com). Prior to the show, the site featured Q&As from select show exhibitors, recommendations for must-attend" educational sessions and a live Twitter feed. During the show, the site featured SupplySide Live, a mini-blog" of live updates from the VIRGO team directly from the show floor. Attendees can visit the site following the show for slide shows and post-show recaps and highlights.

All participants received the SupplySide eDaily with show announcements, news and events. All eDaily posts will be available at http://edaily.supplysideshow.com for one month.

SupplySide West 2012 is slated for Nov. 5 to 9 at The Venetian & Sands Expo in Las Vegas. The exhibit hall will be open Nov. 6 through 8 and exhibit space is currently 87 percent sold out. SupplySide Marketplace 2012 is scheduled for May 8 to 10 at the Javits Center in New York City. Visit www.supplysideshow.com or call (800) 454-5760 for more information.