NatExpo East enjoys record numbers

NEW YORK Natural Products Expo East last week posted 7 percent growth in overall attendance this year with more than 25,000 attendees and 1,790 exhibits, the organization announced Tuesday.

“The record-breaking success of this show reflects the escalating economic clout of natural, organic and healthy products,” stated Fred Linder, president of New Hope Natural Media.

With the natural and organic products industry growing at 9.7 percent annually and topping more than $56 billion in consumer sales, according to The Natural Foods Merchandiser’s 2007 Market Overview, Natural Products Expo East benefited from national trends toward healthier lifestyle choices across multiple channels of trade, including food and pharmacy.

Winners of the 2007 New Products Showcase Awards were: BeeCeuticals Organics Bee-Yond Body Rub (Personal Care/Health & Beauty); FoodShouldTasteGood MultiGrain Tortilla Chips and Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods & Oils Organic Hempmilk (Food – tie); Nelsons Rescue Remedy Pastilles (Supplement/Herbs); Sweetriot 100 percent Dark Chocolate Cacao Nibs (Green/Environmentally-friendly); Wise-Acre Frost Teas (Innovation); and Zhena Gypsy Tea (Packaging).

Natural Products Expo East will relocate to Boston in 2008. Scheduled for October 15-18 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, the move accommodates the industry’s growth, the organization noted.