Natural Products Community Proves Businesses Can Thrive By Doing Good

BALTIMORE, Sept. 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Over 22,000 engaged attendees, 1,200 exhibitors, including 400 first-time exhibitors, experienced the energetic atmosphere of the 28th annual Natural Products Expo East www.expoeast.com, in Baltimore, MD September 25 – 28, 2013. This year's event proved without a doubt the natural and organic products community is stronger than ever and companies who care have great potential for growth.

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"Each year I come to Natural Products Expo East in search of the newest brands to carry on my store's shelves. This year I noticed more and more mission-driven brands, and I'm inspired by the stories behind their products," said Gabrielle Antinora of Mother Earth's Storehouse.

Keynote speaker Dr. Raj Sisodia spoke to the Conscious Capitalism movement, and how this business approach is being adopted by many successful enterprises.  "The potential for social change is incredibly motivating for our industry and continue to drive the goals of new and legacy brands alike," said Natural Products Expos Group Show Director, Adam Andersen.

The exhibit floor was full of excitement for three days as retailers had the chance to meet the people behind the products that make their stores so successful. During the event some of the most innovative brands were recognized and awarded with Natural Products Expo East Show Awards.  Winners include:

• Best Packaging: The Gourmet Salt Collection by The Spice Lab
• Most Innovative: Kombucha Wonder Drink by Tea Tibet
• Best New Green Product: Red Palm Oil by Nutiva
• Best New Food: Gluten Free Uncured Pepperoni Pizza by Smart Flour Foods, and Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt by Apollo Food Group
• Best New Health & Beauty: Peppermint Creme Nourishing Facial Refresher by Dairyface
• Best New Supplements/Herbs: QuinoaSure by Factoria Quinoa
• Best of East Press Award: Ocean's Halo, the Seaweed Chip, Kombucha Wonder Drink by Tea Tibet, and Orange Creme Drinkable Yogurt by Maple Hill Creamery
• NEXT Accelerator Pitch Slam: Smooch Snacks

In addition to finding new products and meeting new people, attendees had the chance to see the launch of NEXT™, a unique portfolio of data and analytics tools from Natural Products Expo East show producers, New Hope Natural Media.  Products include the NEXT™ Accelerator www.nextaccelerator.com, a unique online tool for entrepreneurial manufacturers in the natural products industry and NEXT™ Trend www.nexttrend.com, a transformational new data and insights solution for industry innovators.  Visit www.nextknows.com for more information.

Natural Products Expo West will be held March 6-9, 2014 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California.

For in-depth coverage of Natural Products Expo East visit newhope360.com.

About Natural Products Expo East
Natural Products Expo East, produced by New Hope Natural Media, a division of Penton, is the largest natural, organic, and healthy products trade show on the East Coast.  Natural Products Expo East is ranked as one of the top 200 tradeshows in the U.S.

About Penton
For millions of business owners and decision-makers, Penton makes the difference every day. We engage our professional users by providing actionable ideas and insights, data and workflow tools, community and networking, both in person and virtually, all with deep relevance to their specific industries. We then activate this engagement by connecting users with tens of thousands of targeted providers of products and services to help drive business growth. Learn more about our company at www.penton.com

Penton is a privately held company owned by MidOcean Partners and U.S. Equity Partners II, an investment fund sponsored by Wasserstein & Co., LP.

CONTACTS:
Heather Smith
Public Relations
New Hope Natural Media
Phone: (303) 998-9232
Email: [email protected]

Kate Spellman
SVP, Marketing
Penton
Phone: (212) 204-4351
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Penton