SupplySide wraps up biggest show

Compared to 2006 figures, the number of companies exhibiting grew by 11 percent, with the number of booths growing by 15 percent.

With more than 980 booths, this was SupplySide's largest exhibit hall to date.

The organizer, Virgo Publishing, reports that over 8,100 attendees gathered last week - between November 6th and 8th - at the Sands Exposition Center and Venetian Resort Casino.

Attendees browsed the booths of dietary supplement, food, cosmeceutical and pharmaceutical companies on the show floor, and also availed of the opportunity to learn from industry experts by means of the three-day education and Vendorworks programs.

This year, the education program expanded to include sessions dealing with cosmeceutical science, trends and issues.

The events drew speakers from firm such as Aveda, Datamonitor, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Nestlé, SPINS, Coca-Cola, Estée Lauder, the Hartman Group, Hershey, the Natural Marketing Institute (NMI), Unilever, University of California at Los Angeles and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The omega-3 trailblazer Jørn Dyerberg was the featured speaker, addressing attendees on the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids and his research with the Inuit in Greenland.

The Vendorworks program featured 40 presentations on ingredient science, as well as manufacturing and formulation know-how.

Among the company news emerging from the show was Mastertaste's announcement of its superfruit line of flavors.

The division of Kerry Group launched Nutraflavors at the show, saying the line will allow manufacturers to add nutrition and flavor to a product at the same time.

Rainforest Botanicals was promoting the launch of its Peruvian purple corn extract for high antioxidant levels.

HP Ingredients launched an extract from the superfruit Maqui berry.

Also hailing from Latin America, the deep purple berry has historically been consumed by the Mapuche tribe in the Patagonian region, and also boasts a high ORAC value.

Among French extract manufacturer Naturex's launches were stainless turmeric extract Turmipure, Gentianpure gentian extract standardized to isogentisin, Valeripure deodorized valerian extract, Hopsactiv hops extract for support during menopause, Fraxipure fraxinus extract standardized to novel compounds, and branded Hoodiapure hoodia gordonii extract.

A new trade association also held its first meeting at the event.

The Latin American Natural Products Association, or Asociación Latino Americana de Productos Naturales (ALAPN), will set out to spread awareness on the great potential of the nutraceutical industry in Latin America.

The exhibit hall opened at 10am Wednesday and finally closed 5pm Thursday.