We’ve recently created Nutrition Business Journal and The NBJ Summit Facebook Groups.

If you are on Facebook, search on “Nutrition Business Journal” and “The NBJ Summit” to find us and join up!

We will distribute special offers and update this community regularly.

If you have any questions, call Rachel Dederich, NBJ’s Marketing & Subscriber Coordinator at 303.998.9263

-Patrick

The 2009 NBJ Summit

St. Regis Resort, Dana Point, California

July 22-24, 2009

REGISTRATION IS OPEN

The event will showcase world-class speakers and events that highlight the theme: Transformational Partnering in Challenging Times: Orchestrating a Profitable Future.

At the NBJ Summit, you will see proprietary Nutrition Business Journal data, hear high-level insights on future scenarios and learn about new and powerful opportunities in our industry.

Highlights of this year’s agenda include:

• A Keynote Address by Jeffrey S. Bland, Chief Science Officer of Metagenics and President of MetaProteomics

• Supplements & Drugs: The Best of Both Worlds?

• Retail Insights: A CEO Discussion

• Mastering Internet Marketing and Online Media

Don’t miss an opportunity to network and develop high-level relationships with industry leaders at this special event. Last year, The NBJ Summit reached capacity a month in advance of the event and we expect the same for the 2009 event…so register soon.

To reserve your place at The NBJ Summit, register online, call 1.866.458.4935 (Toll-Free) or 1.303.390.1776 (International).

For more information and the most up-to-date agenda visit www.nbjsummit.com

-Patrick

Mark your calendars, The 2009 NBJ Summit will take place July 22-24, 2009 at the beautiful St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point California.

Over two hundred and fifty of the nutrition industry’s key executives and thought-leaders participated in the NBJ Summit networking retreat held at the majestic St. Regis Resort, July 23-25, 2008. The event showcased many world-class speakers and sessions and attracted top executives from around the world, to discuss issues impacting businesses in the $93 billion nutrition industry and how to prepare their companies for changes happening in this dynamic marketplace.

Keynote Walter Robb, Co-President and COO of Whole Foods Market, provided closing remarks on the future of the industry from his leadership position in the billion nutrition and natural products marketplace. He commented on the supplement and functional foods segment and its future direction within Whole Foods Market, retail and the industry in general.

The U.S. nutrition industry grew 10.7 percent in 2007 to $93 billion according to the recently released 2008 Nutrition Industry Overview issue of Nutrition Business Journal. Natural and organic product sales fueled most of this expansion, but the maturing U.S. supplements sector posted better growth than it has seen in a decade.

On July 23rd, 300 CEOs, company founders, Presidents, EVPs and other industry thought leaders and executives gathered at the St. Regis Resort in Monarch Bay, California for the 2008 NBJ Summit. The largest NBJ Summit ever, this year’s event enjoyed dinners under the stars, a challenging golf tournament, a competitive (and windy) regatta and some of the most intriguing presentations and panelists ever seen in the nutrition industry.

But don’t take my word for it, listen to our attendees. Below are a few video testimonials about the 2008 NBJ Summit.

Tom Aarts, Co-Chair of the NBJ Summit and Founder of the Nutrition Capital Network, talks about some of the speakers and attendees at the NBJ Summit.

Tim Avila, President & CEO of Zsweet, Inc. talks about why he comes to the NBJ Summit every year (I think he’s been to them all!)

Len Monheit, President & Editor of NPICenter.com talks about the community feel of the NBJ Summit and details why he and so many top executives attend the NBJ Summit every year.

Chris Hillseth, President of Chris Hillseth Enterprises talks about the NBJ Summit Regatta, one of the NBJ Summit’s signature events.

And finally, Barry Charnay of Bioneutra talks about what he finds most useful about the NBJ Summit for his business and professional development.

Stay tuned, more videos, pics and commentary from the NBJ Summit to come!

-Patrick

At the NBJ Summit this week, we’ll be hosting a panel on “greening” the nutrition industry. Below are a few articles I found on Brandweek.com that caught my attention. They represent a solid balance of perspectives on this challenging, and very new issue for executives. The jury is still out on the longevity of “greening”, but I hope to have some solid suggestions on what to do and what not to do following the NBJ Summit.

-Patrick

Study: ‘Green’ Products Leave Consumers Puzzled

“The good news is consumers are “going green.” But the bad news is they are still pretty green when it comes to understanding what the term really means.

“Here’s the big ah-ha!,” said Suzanne Shelton, CEO of Shelton Group, a Knoxville, Tenn.-based ad agency that specializes in energy efficiency and sustainability. “If you were an alien and you landed on the planet in April of this year, you would think that the ‘green’ market was pretty mature because you’d be hearing about it everywhere—every newspaper, every TV show you turn on somebody is talking about being green. But this is not a mature market.”

Shelton Group recently conducted a national study, called Eco Pulse, which asked consumers open-ended and multiple-choice questions about green issues. What it found was a whole lot of confusion.”

Do Consumers Care that Sun Chips are Solar Powered? Apparently

“It’s getting harder to find a brand that doesn’t claim to be green. But, do they have a solar power factory? Is the rest of their energy use offset by energy credits? And, are they rebuilding a town that was virtually wiped out by a tornado? Not likely.

Sun Chips is different. The Frito-Lay product has rooted its brand in environmental causes as well as health-forward thinking. This strategy has paid off handsomely as Sun Chip sales are up 17.6%, totaling $201.8 million for the 52 weeks ending June 15, per IRI.

Frito-Lay vp-marketing Gannon Jones talked to Brandweek news editor Kenneth Hein about why really being green is healthy for sales.”

Forget the Environment Say the ‘Never Greens’

“About 10% of the population are Never Greens, according to a survey by Mintel International in Chicago, a research firm.

The Never Greens don’t buy green products, don’t remember green advertising when they see it and are irritated by it even if they do.”