A big thanks to all the attendees and exhibitors who flocked to sunny Florida for the debut of Informa’s Ingredient Marketplace (IM). The event, held April 7-9 in Orlando, attracted the buyers and suppliers that drive the nutrition, health, food and beauty industries and offered valuable education, industry trends and high-quality exhibitions.
“The big move to Orlando and the many other investments we’ve made in Ingredient Marketplace paid dividends for both attendees and exhibitors," said Jon Benninger, vice president of Informa’s Health & Nutrition Network. “This was a very active show with a positive ‘buzz’ that left most who came very happy."
Ingredient buyers and sellers from around the world explored more than 350 booths, learned from renowned speakers and participated in industry-shaping training programs and presentations. IM also provided attendees with numerous networking and business development opportunities.
The Trends In presentations delivered critical market information across five hot ingredient categories—Sweeteners, Probiotics, Omega-3s, Protein and Hemp. The 30-minute sessions featured the latest market research on purchasing trends and sales, as well as examples of new products illustrating how the ingredient is being used in the global consumer market. The sessions were so well-received that we have put together slide shows and downloadable PDFs for your convenience. Just click on each topic to learn more.
Susan Martin, director of ingredient quality, Coca Cola, said: “IM is a great place to see what new ingredients are coming to market so I am ready when my team presents them to me for future formulations. There’s a lot of interesting vendors and variety and I appreciate the diversity of set up as well."
Just in its second year, IM had a total of 39 countries represented with 73 percent of attendees visiting for the first time. Key companies in attendance included Bacardi-Martini Product Development, Bayer HealthCare, Chobani, Clabber Girl Corporation, Domino Specialty Ingredients, Florida Supplement, Florida’s Natural Growers, Garden of Life, Land O’Lakes, Inc., Nature’s Way, Nutrisystem, Swanson Health Products, Talking Rain Beverage Company, The Coca-Cola Company, Tyson Foods, Walmart Stores, Inc., Whole Foods Market, Wrigley and more.
Exhibitors were impressed by the quality of attendees at this year’s show, as well as the change in venue. Here’s what they had to say:
“We have a line of teas that we are reintroducing to market and we are looking for functional ingredients to add to sweeteners and teas. This show is good because it offers me the chance to learn about many ingredients I didn’t even realize existed. We attend a lot of CPG shows, but we like the ingredient shows because I can attend and really focus on that aspect."
— Jorge Perez Avila, global supply chain director, Sweet Leaf
“We love the new venue—it’s excellent for this show. We’ve had good traffic with high-quality, serious buyers. We have a list of new leads—we are in acquisition mode as a company and so this show allows us to network and advance our goals. We feel that this show lets us spend a lot of individual time with buyers."
— Bryan McNally, president, Stryka Botanics
“We attended a luncheon during IM and 35 of the 37 attendees were new to us. IM is a fabulous networking opportunity, and we were able to connect with people we would not have been able to connect with if not for the show."
— Aparna Kalidindi, manager, technical sales and marketing, Natreon
“IM allows us to have successful, unrushed meetings. The size of the show allows us to find solid sales leads through those meetings and a lot more gets accomplished."
— Melanie Brechka, regional sales director, East Coast, Glanbia.
I invite you to make plans to attend the 2016 Ingredient Marketplace, which will be held April 26-28 at the Marriott World Center in Orlando. Until then, I look forward to seeing you at SupplySide West, Oct. 5-9 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.