I just returned from the annual symposium held by the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) in Scottsdale, Arizona. Speakers included a wide variety of experts from the FDA, Vitamin Relief, The Council of Better Business Bureaus, CRN, the General European Commission, NBTY, The Vitamin Shoppe, Natural Alternatives International, Shaklee and ABC News.

CRN President & CEO, Steve Mister, called for for CRN members to increase self-regulation of misleading advertising and prepare for implementation on adverse event report systems and manufacturing GMPs.

However, the two sessions I found most interesting were from Jeremy Haft of BChinaB and David Katz of ABC News. Mr. Haft, author of All the Tea in China: How to Buy, Sell and Make Money on the Mainland, detailed the challenges of sourcing supply in China from a first had perspective. Mr. Katz mixed science with common sense, to make an argument for a fmore sustainable dietary supplement future.

Executives from all the largest industry players were in attendance. Sponsors included Shaklee, Pharmavite, DSM, Perrigo, Kyowa Hakko, Venable, Nutrilite, Bayer, Covington & Burling, NSF, EuroFins, Miami Research Associates, SafetyCall and Cognis. CRN is virtually on par with the NBJ/Newport Summit when it comes to networking with heavy hitters in the nutrition industry.

Though the daily sessions were dense with information, the evenings were full of fun. “Casino Royale” night and the “CRN Ranch Round Up” encouraged everyone to let their hair down, and it’s hard not to chuckle when you’re trying to talk business with someone in three piece suit, cowboy hat and bandana.

For more information on next year’s event, go to www.crnusa.org

Natural Products Expo East paid a fond farewell to Baltimore last week, as it prepares for a move to Boston in 2008. Nothing could be more fitting for Expo East, as the east coast’s largest natural products trade show has outgrown its venue and must move to a larger setting.

For me, it was a sad goodbye. The 1999 Expo East in Baltimore was the first tradeshow I attended in the natural products industry. I was a financial analyst at Health Business Partners and was talking up our mergers & acqusitions services as the market boomed into the new century. It was a great show and a great time to be in the nutrition industry.

Natural Products Expo East 2007 possessed the same booming vibe - the organic industry is growing 17% annually, the number of international exhibitors that were part of Biofach continues to climb and Nutrition Business Journal was still canvassing the floor…looking for contacts and innovation in a rapidly growing and dynamic nutrition industry.

I presented a “Market Trends & Opportunities” presentation to the Global Business Program attendees - international executives looking to break into the U.S. nutrition industry. I presented NBJ’s latest research on the specialty supplement markets, paying particular attention to probiotics, fish oils and enzymes. My presentation will soon be posted in the Subscriber Only section of nutritionbusiness.com. Please take a look and let me know what you think via the “comments” feature of this blog. I always appreciate your feedback!

For the first time in many years, I spent alot of time on the tradeshow floor. Most of it was spent in the natural personal care, organic and supplements sections. The organic industry just doesn’t seem to lose any steam. At least half of the companies I visited with were at their first or second natural products tradeshow, nestled tightly together in their 10×10 booths. The energy was very positive in organics. Many were integrating sustainability into their marketing strategies.

The natural personal care section of the tradeshow floor seemed more open, with larger booths being occupied by companies like Aubrey’s Organics and Jason’s Naturals. This category has enjoyed 14-20% growth over the last few years and the booth sizes show it. Many of the exhibiting companies have benefited from private equity investments, detailed in NBJ’s natural & organic personal care issues over the years.

In the supplement section, many of the same companies were present in particularly large booths including Garden of Life, Nature’s Way and newcomer, Aboca. Unfortunately, these supplement companies are struggling with innovation - leaving a little bit to be desired. With new GMP regulations to be phased in over the next few years, I hope these companies won’t struggle with new GMP costs, and will spend on research and development.

All in all, it was a good show for NBJ. If we met at the show, I hope to speak with you soon and appreciate your help in our research. If not, I’m sorry we missed one another and I hope to see you at the shows I’ll be at through 2007: CRN, Nutrition Capital Network, Investors Circle, Supply Side West and UNPA’s China Seminar in December. After that run…I’m booking some time with my snowboard.

Companies/Entrepreneurs Urged Apply by Thursday, September 13th

As applications for presentation spots at the Nutrition Capital Network’s inaugural meeting on October 17 in San Francisco surpass 50, entrepreneurs and growth companies in the nutrition industry are encouraged to submit their applications before the September 13 deadline.

Formed with the mission of connecting the best innovators with the smartest capital in the nutrition industry, NCN is now steeped in its rigorous screening process to assure that the 20 early- and mid-stage companies approved for presentation to the assembled investors are of the highest quality.

At the meeting, NCN will also present awards to the top start-up concepts and present a broad-ranging discussion panel of strategic acquirers, investors and entrepreneurs. Beyond October 17, NCN will offer ongoing connections through on-line and in-person forums, so companies are advised to continue to apply and to monitor upcoming announcements for future opportunities to raise capital.

The inaugural meeting of Nutrition Capital Network starts October 16, 2007 with a welcoming dinner at Campton Place near Union Square in San Francisco. Following its companion event the Health & Wellness Investor Roundtable held on October 16, attendees from both meetings to network at the Campton’s renowned restaurant.

For more information on NCN, the Investor Meeting, registration, NCN principals and Campton place, please visit www.nutritioncapital.com

Nutrition Business Journal and Vitamin Angels have teamed up to offer new NBJ Corporate Electronic subscribers a free ticket to the Vitamin Angels dinner at Natural Products Expo East.

Through September 21, 2007, Nutrition Business Journal is offering 1 FREE ticket to Vitamin Angel’s “Celebration of Angels VIP Dinner” at Expo East with the purchase of a $2,500 Corporate Electronic Subscription to NBJ. Call Mandi Hogan at 303.998.9225 for more information.

An NBJ Corporate Electronic Subscription provides expanded access to NBJ’s database of nutrition industry information, analysis and intelligence. The subscription is renewable on 12-month terms and includes:

• A PDF version of each NBJ issue (plus up to 5 hard copies of each issue of NBJ on request)

• The right to post the PDF version of each NBJ issue on your corporate Intranet

• NBJ issue-specific data files in Excel format, including spreadsheets of the issue data and company lists

• NBJ Weekly eNews delivered to an unlimited number of company readers

• Up to 5 users of the nutritionbusiness.com subscriber-only area, including an archive of selected data and text files associated with each issue, the NBJ Weekly eNews archive and presentation files delivered by NBJ staff and affiliates

• 10% discount on NBJ products including reports, webcasts, data charts and more

Vitamin Angels “Celebration of Angels VIP Dinner” is an exclusive event for visionary leaders in the natural products industry. The event benefits “Operation 20/20,” a campaign to end childhood blindness by the year 2020, as well as many other humanitarian aid projects that address malnutrition throughout the world. Learn more about Vitamin Angels at www.vitaminangels.org.

Save the date for next year’s NBJ/Newport Summit. The 2008 NBJ/Newport Summit will again be hosted at the St. Regis Resort in Dana Point, California on July 23-25, 2008. Walter Robb, Co-President & Co-Chief Operating Officer of Whole Foods Market will be one of the keynote speakers at the 2008 event.

The 2007 NBJ/Newport Summit, a CEO-level conference and networking retreat held July, 18 – 20 at the St. Regis Resort in Dana Point, California, served as a meeting place for key executives and thought-leaders in the $85 billion nutrition industry.

Attracting top executives and CEOs from around the world, the NBJ/Newport Summit included nine sessions devoted to the theme: Capturing Healthcare Dollars. In addition, two industry thought-leaders, Stewart Emery, co-author of Success Built to Last, and noted neurologist David Perlmutter, MD spoke to nearly 200 executives about how to prepare their companies for changes happening in the marketplace.