Retail Advisory Board to Help Steer Natural Products Expos

Boulder, Colo.-based New Hope Natural Media, a division of Penton Media, Inc., has formed a 20-member advisory board to provide guidance to the industry's two leading annual trade shows, Natural Products Expo West and Natural Products Expo East. The board is composed of prominent members of the natural products retail community. "With these leaders on board, Natural Products Expos West and East will be better positioned to provide cutting-edge information and news to industry professionals," says Brian Henderson, Senior Vice President, Trade Shows.

The first meeting of the Retail Advisory Board will take place at the nation's largest natural products trade show, Natural Products Expo West, March 8-10, 2002, at the Anaheim Convention Center. A second meeting will be held at Natural Products Expo East, which takes place October 3-6, 2002, in Washington, D.C. The Retail Advisory Board will include senior executives from the following companies: Akin's Natural Foods, Bashas, Chamberlin's Market & Cafe, Green Acres, Hector's Health Company, Impakt, Kroger Corporate, Kroger -- King Sooper's, Lowes, Nutrition World, Roundy's Pick 'N Save, Seattle Super Supplements, Sunbelt Sales and Marketing, Tree of Life, Tunie's Nutrition Center, Whole Foods, Wild Oats, Vitamin Cottage.

Moderator Comment: How do traditional big box retailers create a successful natural products business within the existing operational model?

Natural products have gone mainstream America as evidenced by the inclusion of Bashas, Kroger, Lowes and Roundy's executives in the retail advisory board for the Natural Product Expos East and West. [George Anderson - Moderator]