SupplySide East to draw many first-timers

Over half of registrants slated to attend SupplySide East are new faces, representing a combination of people new to the industry and others with experience who are attending the event for the first time, SupplySide executives told Natural Products Insider.

SupplySide East will be held April 18-19 at the Meadowlands Exhibition Center in Secaucus, New Jersey. The trade show caters to the dietary supplement, food, beverage, personal care and sports nutrition markets.

Laura Feroce, senior event marketing manager with SupplySide, said SupplySide East is expected to draw over 2,700 attendees this year, 54% of whom are attending the event for the first time. The percentage of new people to the trade show is up from 46% in 2022, she said.

“We look forward to welcoming a sizeable group of first-time visitors to SupplySide East,” said Danica Cullins, SVP of SupplySide. “Some have joined established businesses but are new to the industry themselves. Others have meaningful industry experience but are making the journey to the Meadowlands for the first time.”

Cullins said she also is enthused about “the emerging brands looking to meet experts, peers and suppliers that can help accelerate their goals.”

“I am particularly excited about SupplySide East’s partnership with Naturally Network, which is bringing 20 first-time visitors who are part of the Naturally Network minority-owned fellowship program, many of whom are local to the NY/NJ region,” Cullins added. “I had the opportunity to meet several of them in person already, and can tell you that they have tasty, healthy products and an equally healthy ambition.”

Naturally Network, which represents the natural and organic consumer products industry, and NielsenIQ, a global information services company, announced a new fellowship in July 2022 to support minority-owned companies.

Perhaps it comes as no surprise that SupplySide East has a heavy concentration of attendees who hail from the Northeast. Feroce shared that 35% of this year’s registrants are from either New York (11%) or New Jersey (24%). Many people who attend the show also reside in Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

About 12% of attendees this year to SupplySide East, Feroce said, live outside Canada and the U.S. By comparison, SupplySide West—a much bigger show held annually in Las Vegas in autumn—has a greater percentage of international attendees (19% in 2022), she said.

Last year, SupplySide West drew more than 1,100 exhibitors and 15,850 registered attendees, according to executives for the trade show and conference. The event, which was held Oct. 31-Nov. 4 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, celebrated its 25th-year anniversary as a global gathering of industry buyers and suppliers.

Marisa Finnegan is director of events for SupplySide, which along with Natural Products Insider is owned by Informa Markets. She said SupplySide East launched in Atlanta in 1999, and next week's event will be its 24th year.

“This year’s SupplySide East will feature a bustling exhibit hall of global industry suppliers, more first-time and international visitors than we’ve seen in years past, along with inspiring education sessions open to all participants,” Finnegan said. “We’ve also increased our sustainability efforts and will be donating the trees used to decorate the show to the Town of Secaucus, where they will be replanted at local school grounds and parks.”

Education at SupplySide East kicks off at 9 a.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, April 18, with a beverage-focused session on factors to consider when developing new products.

“The education at SupplySide East is an invitation to the supplement and functional food industry to dive into trending topics that push business forward in myriad ways,” Sandy Almendarez, VP of content for SupplySide, said. “Our speakers will help CPG brands understand the market landscape, build the best functional beverages, create outstanding healthy aging products, formulate for women with female-researched ingredients and more. I’m excited to be closing the program with a how-to networking event designed to facilitate better connection and community in the industry.”