All Things Organic and Natural Products Expo East to Co-Locate Expo East to Serve as Business & Education Hub of Organic Community

GREENFIELD, Mass., March 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Natural Products Expo East has been selected as the new home for All Things Organic™, the organic community's leading business and educational gathering place in North America. In making the announcement, the Organic Trade Association (OTA) stated that the conference will co-locate with Expo East, a partnership that will extend for at least seven years.

"This exciting new partnership unites the business and educational strengths of All Things Organic™ and Natural Products Expo East," said Christine Bushway, OTA's Executive Director. "It will better serve the organic business community by increasing traffic, buyers and attendance at the trade event. Expo East will become the organic hub of the nation."

Beginning with this year's event Oct. 13-16 in Boston, All Things Organic™ will be the branded organic pavilion for North American organic companies exhibiting at Expo East to distinguish organic businesses from other natural companies at the show. Meanwhile, Organic Products Expo-BioFach America will continue to be co-located at Expo East.

The All Things Organic™ conference program will be incorporated into the Expo East educational programs as a dedicated organic session track developed by OTA. In addition, OTA's Annual Meeting will be held at Expo East, and OTA's popular Leadership Awards Dinner and Dance will be held Oct. 15 in junction with the co-location. Furthermore, OTA's International Reverse Trade Mission will help position the event as an international gathering place for organic interests.

New Hope Natural Media, which organizes Expo East, will work with companies that had signed up to exhibit at the All Things Organic™ 2010 Trade Show originally scheduled in June for Chicago to work out their participation in the new co-location.

"Merging the expertise of New Hope Natural Media to produce and manage trade events in the organic space with OTA's mission to promote and protect the growth of organic trade creates an optimal partnership and an investment into the organic industry," said Fred Linder, President of New Hope Natural Media.

OTA companies will continue to receive a member discount when exhibiting at All Things Organic™ at Expo East in Boston. In addition, priority points earned at previous All Things Organic™ trade shows will be applied to the Expo East priority point system for booth selection and placement.

OTA held the first All Things Organic™ Conference and Trade Show in 2001 in Austin, TX, which also hosted the 2002 and 2003 events. In 2004, OTA moved the conference and trade show to Chicago, IL, where it was held annually through 2009.

The Organic Trade Association (OTA) is the membership-based business association for organic agriculture and products in North America. Its members include growers, shippers, processors, certifiers, farmers' associations, distributors, importers, exporters, consultants, retailers and others. OTA's Board of Directors is democratically elected by its members. OTA's mission is to promote and protect the growth of organic trade to benefit the environment, farmers, the public and the economy (www.ota.com).

New Hope Natural Media (www.newhope.com), a division of Penton Media Inc., the leading media resource and information provider for the natural, organic and healthy products industry, with print, in-person/event, and e-business products and services. Penton Media is the largest independent business-to-business media company in the U.S., serving more than 6 million business professionals every month. The company's market-leading brands are focused on 30 industries and include 113 trade magazines, 145 Web sites, 150 industry trade shows and conferences, and more than 500 information data products. Headquartered in New York City, the privately held company is owned by MidOcean Partners and U.S. Equity Partners II, an investment fund sponsored by Wasserstein & Co., LP, and its co-investors. For additional information on the company and its businesses, visit www.penton.com.

SOURCE Organic Trade Association