More than 3,000 global food and beverage, cosmetic and personal care, and dietary supplement executives from nearly 30 countries attended the 12th annual SupplySide East, held April 26 to 28 at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, N.J.

Professionals from Bayer Healthcare, Bigelow Tea, Bimbo Bakeries, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Cadbury, Campbell Soup Company, Colgate Palmolive Company, Country Life, The Dannon Co., Enzymatic Therapy,  Estée Lauder, Garden of Life, Johnson & Johnson,  J.R. Carlson Laboratories, Jamieson Laboratories Ltd., Kraft, L'Oreal, McCormick & Co., Merck, Nature's Sunshine, Nature's Way, NBTY, Neways, Novartis Consumer Health, Now Foods, GNC, Pepsi, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, Repechage, Smart Balance, Vitamin Shoppe, and Wyeth Healthcare attended.

SupplySide East continues to be a strong and successful event for the industry, said Peggy Jackson, vice president of Virgo Publishings Health & Nutrition Division. Tuesday was an incredibly busy day for both attendees and exhibitors as the aisles were packed with repeat and new participants.  As the economy continues its slow pace of recovery, we are very happy and thankful to all that joined us proving that there is a healthy outlook for the industry.

Hundreds of ingredient suppliers and manufacturing service providers were featured in the two-day exhibit hall, open on April 27 and 28. SupplySide East 2010 attendees met more than 40 new companies not seen at SupplySide East 2009. Thousands of ingredients were available including flavors, vitamins, botanicals, superfruits, sweeteners, probiotics, branded ingredients, minerals and many more cutting-edge ingredients. SupplySide Connect kiosks were available on-site for show participants to network with each other and locate exhibitors offering the ingredients and services they are interested in.

Attendees spanned the breadth of the industry. Michael Murray, N.D., director of product development, Natural Factors, commented, I was amazed at how busy the show is. It's been a few years since I've been here and this is a hopping place. As I walk the show, I'm open to new products and developing new relationships. This show really gives me an opportunity to accomplish that because you get more quality time with the exhibitors here."

Robert J. Bianchini, Ph.D., vice president, Global Skincare R&D, Consumer Health Care, Schering-Plough, said, We're looking for natural materials for some of our skin care products and it's great because everybody is here at one show, so it's easy for us to find a lot of our key suppliers and look for new innovations. We have found a variety of products that we'll sample in our research center."

And Steve Milanese, TDC Program Manager, Campbell Soup Co., added, We'll stop by each and every booth and we'll see what the opportunities are. You get to learn more about the product lines of what exhibitors have to offer as you sit and talk to the individual groups."

The official SupplySide GMP training courses, presented by DBA Analytical, An NSF International Company, were held on April 26 and 27. The two courses drew nearly 40 registrants each day. Trainers in the interactive, hands-on courses discussed documentation management and FDA inspections.

The three-day education program featured more than 30 sessions on ingredient science, regulatory issues and market trends. EPAX sponsored the two nutrition tracks. Nearly 200 participants attended the featured speaker presentation by Carl Reynolds, senior advisor for CFSAN at the FDA, on April 28. Speakers from Hershey Co., Amway/Nutrilite, NIH, Euromonitor, The Hartman Group, NAFFS, Mintel and many other leading organizations presented.

More than 100 attendees joined the free "Innovation, Trends and Issues in Functional and Enhanced Beverages" panel, developed with BevNET.com, on April 28. John McKenna, publisher for BevNET.com, moderated the discussion and Bob Occhifinto, Founder/President of NVE Pharmaceuticals, and Brent Sonnek-Schmelz, Chief Zen Officer for RelaxZen Inc., spoke about emerging opportunities and challenges in the beverage arena.

Daily networking events continued the business conversations over food and drink. After the education sessions ended on April 26, attendees met in the Meadowlands Exposition Center's lobby for Happy Hour, sponsored by One Bio Corp. The Opening Reception and Appreciation Reception, co-sponsored by Cepham and INSIDER, offered beverages and snacks on the show floor, April 27 and 28 respectively.

More than 25 leading companies sponsored the SupplySide East event, including major sponsors EPAX AS, Lesaffre Human Care, National Enzyme Company, One Bio Corp., and Pharmachem Laboratories.

The next SupplySide event will be SupplySide West 2010, scheduled to take place Oct. 19 to 23 in Las Vegas (exhibit hall days are Oct. 21 and 22); SupplySide East 2011 is scheduled for May 2 to 4 in Secaucus, N.J.