World's Largest Executive Conference on Nutritional Ingredients Draws 4,784 to SupplySide West

LAS VEGAS--Almost 4,900 top executives from dietary supplement, food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies gathered Dec. 4 to 6 for the 6th Annual SupplySide West trade show and conference at the Sands Exposition Center and Venetian Resort Casino in Las Vegas. The SupplySide West exhibit hall consisted of 427 companies occupying more than 596 booths.

"This is the premier show of the supplement industry," said Lynda Doyle, director of marketing, new ingredients and business development, with Parsippany, N.J.-based Roche Vitamins. "Not only was there excellent traffic, but we were pleased with the quality of the attendees."

Attendees included executives from Nutrilite, Twinlab and Pfizer. "Virgo can take great pride to have assembled a professional trade show that delivers results," said Elliott Balbert, president and chief executive officer of Chatsworth, Calif.-based Natrol.

The show was up in total attendance by 23 percent, with booths up 19 percent and total exhibiting companies up 17 percent. "Along with the strong growth in numbers, the show had a very good feel to it," said Jon Benninger, group publisher at Virgo Publishing. "People were upbeat and a lot of business was done."

To start off the show, Virgo hosted the 6th Annual SupplySide West Golf Classic, sponsored by B&D Nutritional Ingredients. Almost 240 duffers participated in the event at Stallion Mountain Country Club, taking up two courses. Frank Ciara, vice president of Chelated Minerals, hit a 160 yard hole-in-one on the Secretariat course to win $25,000. Another hole-in-one was scored by Lucie Nicolls, Carmi Flavors, on the Man O'War course, winning her a plaque for closest to the pin and a pair of gold shoes. The winning foursome with 13 under par consisted of Howard Simon, American Ingredients; Dennis DeLuca, Biotics Research; Greg Painter, Nutrilite; and Mark Zumwalt, B&C Nutritionals.

Networking opportunities abounded off the show floor. More than 500 executives from all over the world gathered for the International Welcome Reception sponsored by CreAgri. On Thursday, the Opening Night Reception sponsored by Roche Vitamins, Natural Health Science and Degussa BioActives attracted around 3,000 people for an evening of excellent food, drink and entertainment. The closing Appreciation Party, sponsored by Virgo, was held on the show floor at the end of the day Friday and saw industry members enjoying a hosted bar and eating pasta, salad and hot dogs.

The SupplySide West seminar program, sponsored by Cognis Nutrition & Health, proved very popular with participants, with packed rooms and hot questions. Highlights included a buyer Q&A panel featuring buyers from Nutrica, Avon and Anabolic Laboratories; an address by an FTC attorney; and scientific presentations from speakers representing the University of Arizona and HerbaMedica. The keynote address, delivered by boxing pro Sugar Ray Leonard, was sponsored by Unigen and AloeCorp, and drew a crowd of almost 500 people. 'We all have a hidden reservoir of strength," Leonard said. "The thing is finding out what activates it."

Overall, industry members were delighted with the show. "This was the best trade show we have attended in years," said Stefan Wypyszyk, vice president of MB North America. "What was most striking to me was the caliber and number of executives who attended this year's show. This is a clear indication that companies are stabilizing and are once again looking for ways to actively grow their businesses."

"SupplySide West gathered the true industry leaders to get down to business," said Peggy Jackson, publisher of Virgo's Natural Products Division. "You couldn't miss the positive energy and buzz in the air. Feedback from the high-level executives in attendance confirmed the success of the show. We're extremely pleased with SupplySide's continued position as the top executive-level show in the nutraceutical industry."