Natural Products Expo East Brings Big Business to Boston
7/8/2008
BOULDER, Colo. (July 8, 2008) - More than 25,000 natural, organic and healthy products retailers, buyers, thought leaders and trend spotters will congregate in Boston, October 15-18 for the 24th annual Natural Products Expo East/Organic Products Expo-BioFach America (
www.expoeast.com). The East Coast's largest natural and organic products trade show-featuring products from more than 1,200 exhibiting companies-is moving to Boston in 2008 to accommodate growth, attendee preference and environmentally-friendly practices.
The growth of the trade show mirrors natural products industry sales, which reached $62.4 billion in 2007, according to The Natural Foods Merchandiser's 2007 recently released Market Overview with the Northeast leading the way in natural products retailers' sales. Products from the region will be highlighted at the show with the introduction of the "New England's Best" category, in the 6th annual New Products Showcase Awards.
"With the move to Boston, we're able to provide a venue for retail buyers and manufacturers to conduct business in a progressive city that is so important to natural products," said Fred Linder, president of New Hope Natural Media.
For this year's show, organizers are implementing a recognition program to encourage exhibiting companies to reduce their environmental impact at the show in the areas of waste reduction, travel offset and sustainable booth design. In keeping with this theme, organizers are also introducing a green press room utilizing a paperless method of distributing exhibitor press kits.
This year's keynote will be delivered by Frances Moore Lappé, author of the bestselling Diet for a Small Planet and co-founder of the Institute for Food and Development Policy (Food First) and the Center for Living Democracy. Lappé will discuss her most recent book, Getting a Grip, and address how food is a central issue through which to understand world politics.
Editorial staff meeting press guidelines may attend the show free of charge. Register online at www.expoeast.com/media. This show is open to a professional audience of manufacturers, buyers, retailers, media and service providers. It is NOT open to the general public.
New Hope Natural Media (www.newhope.com), a division of the Penton Media, Inc., is the leading media resource and information provider for the natural, organic and healthy products industry with print, in-person/event, and e-business products and services. Penton Media, Inc. is the largest independent business-to-business media company in the U.S., serving more than six million business professionals every month. The company's market-leading brands are focused on 30 industries and include 113 trade magazines, 145 Web sites, 150 industry trade shows and conferences, and more than 500 information data products. Headquartered in New York City, the privately held company is owned by MidOcean Partners and U.S. Equity Partners II, an investment fund sponsored by Wasserstein & Co., LP, and its coinvestors. For additional information on the company and its businesses, visit www.penton.com.
CONTACT:
Lisa Conover, The Fresh Ideas Group
Phone: (303) 449-2108, ext. 12
E-mail: lisa@freshideasgroup.com