Natural Products Expo East Continues to Grow, Brought More New Exhibitors and More New Products than Ever Before to Largest Natural, Organic and Healthy Products Event

BOULDER, Colo., Sept. 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The 29^th annual Natural Products Expo East, the East Coast's largest natural, organic and healthy products event, brought together more new exhibitors and more new products than ever before.  More than 23,000 attendees and 1,277 exhibitors filled the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, MD last week with the collective goal of bringing more health to more people.  The event was produced by New Hope Natural Media.

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"This was the first year I had the opportunity to participate in the VIP buyer program at Natural Products Expo.  It was fantastic. It was great to meet face-to-face with the companies and reps I talk to on an on-going basis," said Jenny Stronk,
Buyer and Social Media Marketer,
Thyme & Season Natural Market.

The event brought together exhibitors in a variety of categories including food and beverage, supplements and ingredients as well as beauty and natural living. The event shone a light into the natural, organic and healthy products marketplace, which is poised to grow to $226 billion by 2018 with an annual growth rate of 8.6 percent.  Trends identified by New Hope include: protein power; probiotics; cold-pressed juices; clean, simple ingredients; and farm-to-face.  NEXT Trend also debuted its Innovation Lab, which enables users to tap into the wisdom of crowds with its prediction market research.  

Natural Products Expo East's conference sessions offered attendees key wisdom from presenters, which included a keynote presentation from Doug Tompkins, an American environmentalist, prominent landowner, conservationist, entrepreneur and the founder of The Foundation for Deep Ecology.  Additionally, the exhibit floor and pavilions were filled with exhibitors connecting with attendees. 

"Natural Products Expo East has been an integral part of our continued growth and expansion.  The ability to connect directly with our key partners is invaluable," said Jeff Church, CEO and Co-founder, Suja Juice.

New Hope is an advocate for new companies interested in launching products in the natural products marketplace.  With over 450 first time exhibitors, Natural Products Expo is the ideal platform to launch a new product.  The NEXT Accelerator workshop, an in person extension of the free resource nextaccelerator.com, offered a half day of knowledge and solutions designed to inspire, educate and connect entrepreneurs.

Adam Andersen, show director, Natural Products Expos said, "We are very pleased to be the conduit where passionate, innovative natural products manufacturers bring healthy solutions to market.  We also have a goal of leaving a positive impact on the community of Baltimore." 

Each year Natural Products Expo strives to be a positive influence on the community of Baltimore.  New Hope collaborated with exhibitors to donate left over products to the Maryland Food Bank. 

In addition, New Hope, in partnership with Boulder Brands, supported Real Food Farm through donations and selling water bottles at Expo East.  Real Food Farm, a Baltimore organization that raises awareness about the issue of food deserts in the city of Baltimore, brings healthy, fresh food to those who may not otherwise have access. 

Natural Products Expo West 2015 will return to the Anaheim Convention Center, March 5-8, 2015 in Anaheim, CA. Natural Products Expo East 2015 is scheduled to take place at the Baltimore Convention Center, September 16-19, 2015 in Baltimore, MD.

Follow @NatProdExpo or #ExpoEast on Twitter for ongoing conversations or connect on our Facebook or LinkedIn groups to keep up on Natural Products Expo latest developments.

About New Hope Natural Media
New Hope Natural Media is 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.

CONTACT:
Heather Smith
New Hope Natural Media
(303) 998-9232
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE New Hope Natural Media