Show News
‘Retail Doctor’ To Speak At Health & Nutrition Show
Free Book Signing To Follow Keynote Address In Long Beach, CA
Bob Phibbs, known professionally as the Retail Doctor® and author of the critically-acclaimed new book The Retail Doctor’s Guide To Growing Your Business (Wiley & Sons), has been confirmed as a keynote speaker at the 2010 Health & Nutrition Show. This year’s trade show for members of the health and natural products industry will be held November 6-7 at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, CA.
An expert in helping retailers improve their overall approach to business, Phibbs will address Health & Nutrition Show attendees the morning of Sunday, November 7. There is no charge to retailers for attending this and all other educational events at the show.
“We are very excited to have a retail expert like Bob Phibbs speak at this year’s show,” said Health & Nutrition Show Director Daniel McSweeney. “He is one of the top retail speakers in the country, and our show’s attendees will benefit tremendously from his vast retailing knowledge and unique approach to business.”
You Can Compete!
A frequent guest on MSNBC’s “Your Business” segment, Phibbs and his work have been featured in Entrepreneur magazine, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. Phibbs has helped hundred of small and medium-sized businesses in practically every major industry, and is a nationally recognized expert on business strategy, customer service, sales and marketing.
In his 90-minute educational session entitled “You Can Compete,” Phibbs will challenge retailers to think outside the proverbial box and learn how to apply old techniques with a better, more positive result. Having worked in retail for more than 30 years, Phibbs will explain how to succeed and get some leverage.
According to Phibbs, “The current economy is not all gloom and doom as the media would have you think.
Retail businesses can thrive during the recovery period and seize the competitive advantage!
“Discounting is not the answer,” Phibbs contends. “And, it’s not really about the economy — it’s how you run your store.”
Free Book Signing
Following his keynote address, Phibbs will be signing free copies of The Retail Doctor’s Guide To Growing Your Business. The first 100 retailers in attendance at his keynote presentation will receive a free book, with the book signing to take place immediately after his keynote address inside the Health & Nutrition Show exhibit hall.
Admission to the Health & Nutrition Show is free for all natural product retailers. To register online for attending the show, visit: www.healthandnutritionshow.com.
Two Mexican Riviera Cruises To Be Awarded To Retailers
As Grand Prizes At Health & Nutrition Show This November
All retailers attending the upcoming Health & Nutrition Trade Show this November in Long Beach, CA, will have an opportunity to win a seven-day Mexican Riviera Cruise for two people aboard the dazzling Carnival Splendor cruise ship. A total of two cruises (each for two people based on double occupancy) will be awarded to the winning retailers during the weekend of the show.
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The Health & Nutrition Show will take place November 6-7, 2010, at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, CA. One Mexican Riviera cruise will be awarded each of the two days of the show (Saturday and Sunday), giving retailers who come on both days two chances to win!
All Aboard!
The seven-day Mexican Riviera cruise aboard Carnival’s Splendor ship departs each Sunday from the port of Long Beach, with ports of call visits to such exotic Mexican destinations as Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas. Upon completion of the vacation cruise, the ship returns its passengers back to Long Beach.
The Carnival Splendor, built in 2008, is one of the largest and most modern ships in Carnival’s fleet. Its innovative 40,000-square-foot Cloud 9 Spa contains a variety of beauty treatment rooms, thermal suite, thalassotherapy pool, salon and state-of-the-art fitness center. A beautiful winter garden with ceremonial teahouse adds an elegant and calming touch to the spa area.
Aboard the ship, guests can enjoy a game of mini golf, stay active on the sports deck or take a dip in one of four pools including a mid-ship pool with a two-deck-high retractable dome. The Splendor also boasts seven hot tubs, a poolside jumbo movie screen, as well as flat screen TVs in all staterooms.
Delicious gourmet cuisine is available at the Pinnacle Supper Club and two other main dining rooms. The Carnival Splendor also features a 24-hour pizzeria, grill, sushi bar, coffee shop and delicatessen, as well as complimentary room service. All meals are included as part of the cruise! Also featured on the luxury cruise ship are some 22 bars/lounges, a casino, showroom, movie theatre, library, beauty salon and shops.
How To Win
In order to qualify to win one of the two Carnival Mexican Riviera cruise raffle prizes, individuals must attend the Health & Nutrition Show in person on either Saturday, November 6, or Sunday, November 7, 2010. Eligibility to enter and win the raffle prize is only available to retailers of health and natural products.
All retailers who come to the show will automatically receive one free raffle prize drawing ticket. Additional raffle tickets will also be given to retailers for each product order placed with exhibitors during the show. The more orders placed at the show, the more chances retailers have to win the cruise prize, as well as other prizes that will be raffled during the show!
Online registration for the show is now open, and registration is free to all health and natural product retailers.
VRM To Sponsor New Health & Nutrition Trade Show
Vitamin Retailer Magazine, Inc. (VRM) and its sister company TLC Tradeshow Productions have announced plans to co-sponsor the first US trade show that is completely focused on the dietary supplement and nutritional products industry.
The new Health & Nutrition Show (formerly the Healthy Harvest Show regional trade show) will take place November 6-7, 2010 at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, CA. The two-day event is open to members of the trade only.
“Considering that the US dietary supplement industry is a $24 billion dollar marketplace, we felt the time was long overdue that this growing industry have a trade show of its own,” commented Daniel McSweeney, president of VRM and TLC. “We are inviting health and nutrition retailers from throughout the entire country along with companies who manufacture these products to participate in our all new and reformatted trade show this November.”
Focus On Nutrition
The Health & Nutrition Show will offer an exhibit hall of some 200-plus nutritional product companies featuring a variety of vitamins, minerals, herbs/botanicals, sports nutrition, specialty supplements, natural remedies, HBA and other nutritional products.
“We are limiting the exhibit hall size to approximately 200 exhibitors in order to keep the intimate feel of our show that retailers prefer,” said Show Manager Yoko Ito. “And in keeping with our show’s very specific focus, all of our exhibitors will be showing nutritional products and health supplements.”
Ito noted that booth space sales for the Health & Nutrition Show are already well underway, with several major industry companies such as NOW Foods, Solgar, Bluebonnet Nutrition and NBTY/Good ‘n Natural already signed up to exhibit.
All exhibitor booth reservations are being taken on a first-come, first-served basis, Ito said. She added that companies interested in exhibiting are encouraged to reserve their booth soon in order to secure their preferred booth location in the exhibit hall.
Booth prices for the Health & Nutrition Show are between $1,300 and $1,600 and come complete with a table, chairs, carpet and wastebasket.
Interested exhibitors should contact TLC Tradeshow Productions immediately at (805) 646-4373 or (805) 646-4246.
Retailer Sales Training
According to the show organizer, a key focus of the Health & Nutrition Show will be the inclusion of a retailer education program geared toward training store owners and their staff about ways to improve their sales techniques pertaining to nutritional supplements. In addition to this staff sales training, the Health & Nutrition Show will also feature several expert speakers who specialize in nutritional research and related health information.
“Retailers from throughout the country should mark their calendars now and save the dates of November 6-7 to attend the Health & Nutrition Show,” McSweeney said.
“We plan to provide our retailer attendees with a great trade show including a free education program featuring top-notch sales training for store owners and their key staff members.”
West Region Trade Show Produces “Healthy” Results!
Nearly 900 industry members converged on Long Beach, CA in mid-October for the fifth annual Healthy Harvest Show, the West Coast regional health and natural product industry trade show. The annual event was held October 10-11, 2009 at the Long Beach Convention Center, and was deemed a successful event by exhibitors and attendees alike.
Off The Floor! The Healthy Harvest Show kicked off Saturday morning with a free retailer breakfast sponsored by Bluebonnet Nutrition. Retailing guru Danny Wells followed with a lively and inspirational discussion titled “Recession Proof Retailing,” offering tips on how to succeed in today’s challenging economy. Noting the “new frugality,” Wells said consumers are dining out less, shopping closer to home, canceling newspaper subscriptions and engaging in other money-saving behaviors. He suggested retailers prioritize and simplify by challenging every expenditure and focusing on the basics: who you are and what you do best. “Don’t think you are Wal-Mart,” he said. “You can never compete with them on price. You have to differentiate your store. Brainstorm with your staff and listen to customers.” He also stressed that retailers monitor inventory closely and reduce it to only good, better and best sellers. In his seminar, titled “Personalized Nutrition for Today’s Consumer,” Carl Germano, RD, CNS, CDN discussed nutrigenomics and how nutrients interact with particular genes. He noted that genetic testing has its limitations and is best done in conjunction with other tests. “Genes play a role, but so does diet and exercise,” Germano said. He also discussed findings on vitamin D and the benefits of a properly planned, plant-based diet. On Sunday, Wells gave a second presentation titled “Capitalizing on Natural Market Trends,” in which he discussed the evolution of natural foods and the new trends driving the market. “‘Fresh’ is extremely important to consumers” when selecting foods and beverages, noted Wells. He suggested a business plan that features finding out what customers want and giving them more of it, and finding out what they don’t want and giving them less of that. Wells offered retailer “commandments” including “Thou Shall Make Money,” and “Thou Shall Merchandise.” Pointing to the success of Trader Joe’s grocery stores, Wells said, “Simplify choice. Adding more options confuses and angers customers.” He also pointed out that retailers should market to their customers and deal with problem customers one at a time. “If a customer says, ‘I can get this cheaper somewhere else,’ ask yourself, ‘Why are they in my store?’” President of Retail Insights Jay Jacobowitz followed Wells with a talk on “The Future of Natural Product Retailing.” “The true value of health does not exist in the realm of money,” Jacobowitz said. “The true value of health is in achieving it and maintaining it.” He also suggested that, with conventional supermarkets carrying natural and organic products, the question to natural product retailers is, “to food or not to food?” Dr. Sherrill Sellman, author of Hormone Heresy and ND with Sprunk-Jansen, led a discussion titled “Rediscovering Ancient Greek-Arabic Herbal Medicine.” Always guided to find exceptional natural products, Sellman’s journey ultimately led her to a “large chunk of history that has been forgotten,” Middle Eastern healing. As Sellman described, the fall of the Roman Empire and subsequent European Dark Ages left the church in a leadership position that even encompassed healing, leaving patients in hospitals where the only medicine was prayer. At this time, the Middle East was experiencing a healing renaissance, during which healers recovered and recoded lost Greek healing traditions. “Twenty-five percent of all modern pharmaceuticals are based on ancient Greek-Arabic herbs,” she pointed out, before launching into a full discussion on Sprunk-Jansen products and how they utilize the ancient traditions.
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“Our show’s intimate and ‘user-friendly’ environment provided retailers and exhibitors with a most rewarding trade show experience according to the majority of feedback we received,” noted Daniel McSweeney, president of show organizer TLC Tradeshow Productions. “Attendees and exhibitors said the Healthy Harvest Show was particularly successful in providing opportunities for manufacturer/retailer relationship building, product education and order writing, all within the personal, relaxed setting of a regional trade show.”
The 2009 Healthy Harvest Show featured about 100 exhibitors including over 40 first-time exhibitors, many of whom introduced a variety of new products to the delight of more than 500 retailer attendees that were present.
“We had another good show in Long Beach and will be back again next year,” said Bob Barrows, vice president of Bluebonnet Nutrition (Sugar Land, TX). “We picked up at least 12 new retailer accounts at the Healthy Harvest Show so we are very pleased.”
“This show is going great for us,” said Tor McPartland of Orange Guard (Carmel Valley, CA). “In Long Beach there are a lot of retailers who need these kinds of products. As a first time exhibitor myself, I’m learning a lot.”
Exhibitors said they were impressed with their ability to expand their connections in the Southern California region that may not have gotten attention in the past.
“I’m pleasantly pleased and surprised,” said Mark Kaylor, consultant with the East Rutherford, NJ-based Maitake Products. “We met with some stores that might have been overlooked otherwise.”
“I like how intimate it is,” agreed Jesse Kuznkowski with Pacific Coast Naturals, representing W.S. Badger Company (Gilsum, NH). “It’s good to meet retailers in this area.”
“This is our first time here, and we’re meeting a lot of different people and making lots of great connections,” noted Teresa Sallie, sales rep at DSM Functional Foods (Parsippany, NJ). “It’s a great opportunity for us.”
Other exhibitors enjoyed the more personal atmosphere of a smaller, regional show.
“We do just as well here as we do at Expo West,” said Patty Serina, western regional sales manager at Life Extension (Fort Lauderdale, FL). “It’s not quantity, it’s quality. At this show, we get time to talk to people.”
“It’s a nice, cozy show,” agreed Maral Barsoumian, co-owner of Lo-Gly (Camarillo, CA). “The people who come by are the decision makers, so it’s a satisfying experience. You have time to spend with people.”
“In Anaheim, you get information overload. Here you have one-on-one time for retailers,” added Elizabeth Bertani, vice president of marketing for Sprunk-Jansen (Petaluma, CA). “I think retailers who don’t come are missing an opportunity. The show was very good for us, because we enjoyed the opportunity to talk with retailers in a casual environment. It’s a leisurely pace and there are serious people—it was a productive event for us.”
All in all, Brian Taschereau, sales manager at Highland Laboratories (Mt. Angel, OR) summed it up well: “We’ll be back next year.”
Retailer Reaction
Retailers noted that the Healthy Harvest Show was a good opportunity for them to discover new products and take advantage of show specials and discounts offered by exhibitors. This year’s Healthy Harvest Show also featured the debut of a new Retailer Discount Voucher Program whereby participating exhibitors gave retailers an additional $25 dollar discount for orders placed directly at the show.
“We placed lots of orders,” said Christie Hong of Nature’s Way Health Food Inc. (La Verne, CA), “to take advantage of the discounts.”
“We love the show,” said Donna Stiles, a buyer with Total Nutrition in Huntington Beach, CA. “We look forward to it every year because of the exhibitors. There are many innovative companies here, like Jarrow and Buried Treasure, and you’re dealing with decision makers. We also like the intimacy of the show and we find more resources here. We like innovative products and we want our customers to find those excellent products in our store.”
“The show is fantastic,” enthused Margeret Modesty of Long Beach, CA-based Beach Health Tree. “There’s a lot of good info, good prices and good attitudes.”
“The new products were great, the show is well organized and there is a great variety of products here,” said Luis F. Munoz, of Rainbow Holistic Center in Huntington Park, CA.
Indeed, the new products at this show were a great draw for attendees.
“We met great people this year,” said Gail McDonald-Tune of Topanga, CA-based Family Health. “It’s always a joy to see colleagues, and there’s always a new product to learn about and for that I’m grateful.”
Retailers were also impressed with the educational sessions offered this year.
“Danny Wells’ talk was excellent and we got great advice and information from Jay Jacobowitz,” said Jeffrey Ginsbarg, also of Beach Health Tree. “I came last year and I’ll come back next year.”
“I sat in on Danny Wells’ lecture on Sunday; it was magnificent and it was so appropriate,” agreed Susan Levee, vitamin buyer/store manager at Grassroots Natural Market (South Pasadena, CA). “I also attended Terry Lemerond’s seminar on curcumin. He took so much extra time to speak with us after the talk. I felt so lucky to have been at the show to sit and talk with Terry about his Curamin products.”
Reception News
During the well-attended Retailer Welcome Reception, winners of Vitamin Retailer magazine’s annual Vity Awards that exhibited at the show were presented with winners’ certificates. Among those awarded were Barlean’s, Boiron, EuroPharma, Naturade, Natural Factors, Nature’s Plus, NOW Foods, Nordic Naturals, Rainbow Light, Threshold Enterprises/Source Naturals and Wakunaga.
Also during the reception, Jarrow Rogovin, president of Jarrow Formulas (Los Angeles, CA), held an impassioned talk with retailers regarding the Senate’s “Food Safety” bill. Rogovin pointed out that section 306 (c) 5 of the bill commits the U.S. government to an objective of international “harmonization” of food and supplement standards through the Codex Alimentarius process.
The words of the bill instruct government agencies to develop “recommendations to harmonize requirements under the Codex Alimentarius.” This presumably means harmonize all countries, including the U.S., and amounts to a pre-endorsement of Codex standards, which place an increasingly restrictive regime on supplements. Jarrow said the provision is a threat to the supplement industry and should be deleted from the bill as soon as possible, noting that the Senate may take action on the bill once Health Care Reform is completed, and warned retailers to take action.
And the Winner Is…
Retailers also had the opportunity to enter a number of raffle prize drawings, held at the close of the show each day. One raffle ticket was distributed to each retailer upon registration; however, retailers had the opportunity to earn additional tickets for each order placed on the show floor. Raffle prizes from gift baskets to counter displays were donated by Advanced Bio Institute, Arete Labs/The Mineral Owl, Vitalah, Standardized by Nature, Omica Organics, Highland Laboratories, Master Supplements, EuroPharma, Goldfaden Skincare, Eon Foods International, Harmony Cone Ear Candles, Sapere Natural Foods and Himalaya Herbal Healthcare.
Most notably, health and natural food retailers in attendance at this year’s Healthy Harvest show had the opportunity to enter into a grand prize drawing for a luxury, seven-night, all-inclusive Caribbean vacation. The lucky winner of the the grand prize drawing was Ramiro Arvizu of Rainbow Holistic Center in Huntington Park, CA.
Save the Date
Next year’s Healthy Harvest Show will be held November 6-7, 2010, with the show returning to the Long Beach Convention Center.
For more information about next year’s Healthy Harvest Show, visit www.healthyharvestshow.com
