NNFA now NPA, with Beijing office
at its convention and trade show in Las Vegas over the weekend - a
rebrand intended to make it inclusive of non-food members.
Formerly the National Nutritional Foods Association, the organization says its new name will make the non-profit organization more accessible to a wider membership audience. The announcement followed the news NPA is opening a Beijing branch to assist members entering the Chinese market - said to have juggernaut potential for US supplement makers.
The name change is significant in that the NPA can now more easily include companies that are not necessarily 'nutritional' in its scope - thereby giving the organization more potential members and more clout.
The news the association was putting the name change to vote was first announced in May, and NPA now says the move was "overwhelmingly" approved by a recent vote of the association's membership.
"From an advocacy perspective in particular, our new name gives us a great opportunity to emphasize our broad base of support, not only from our membership, but from the millions of consumers who use natural products," said NPA president David Taylor.
The association says its membership criteria and code of ethics are not changing, but that the name is more like an invitation to those companies who previously thought they could not fit under its umbrella.
"Natural health and beauty companies, although we do have many as members, had also not looked to us to represent them as their products are not in the strictest sense 'nutritional'," NPA executive director and CEO David Seckman told NutraIngredients-USA.com. "Being called NPA helps to alleviate these misconceptions about the breadth of our representation."
However, the overarching theme of the organization is still health.
" Throughout its 70 years and under various names, this association has always been about promoting health through our members' products," said Seckman.
To better meet the needs of the various segments of NPA members, the organization has added work groups for specific segments to their governance structure. As such, Seckman says NPA will be able to more easily get input from participants to help address the issues relevant to them.
Originally founded in 1936, this is the fourth name change for NPA, which says it changes its name according to the "dynamic" industry. The association represents more than 9,600 retailers, manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors of natural products including foods, dietary supplements, and health and beauty aids.
China office
NPA's new Beijing office is called Natural Products Association China and its aim is to help US members in exporting their products to this market.
The move reflects the industry's conviction in the huge market potential for dietary supplements in China's expanding market. Sales of supplements are expected to grow to grow to more than $10 billion within the next few years in China>
The restrictions for incoming businesses are tight in China, therefore typically only larger companies in the supplement industry have been able to gain entry, says NPA.
" We're hoping with the opening of an office in China that we'll be able to increase accessibility to this marketplace for companies of all sizes," said Seckman.
To begin with, NPA China will address dietary supplements, but Seckman says efforts will not be limited to this category in the future.
"There is a big demand in the Chinese market for American products of all kinds," said Seckman.
The Beijing branch will work closely with headquarters in the US to organize trade missions and act as a liaison to visiting supplement companies looking to do business in China.
There is also an NNFA Japan, but unlike NPA China, it operates independently. Headquartered in Washington D.C., NPA has eight US offices.
