Expo Asia expands target audience

Organisers of Natural Products Expo Asia, held for the first time this year, have added a 'Global Supply Marketplace' pavilion to the tradeshow for next year.

The supply pavilion will focus on raw materials, ingredients and technologies on the supply-side of the nutrition and health industry and will aim to provide manufacturers with the information, technology, and raw material sourcing opportunities needed to create new product strategies.

"The global supply marketplace pavilion has been designed to drive product innovation, from concept to reality, by bringing together ingredient buyers with sellers of the highest quality, science-based ingredients available anywhere,"​ said Scott Griggs, Expo Asia's managing director.

He added that the venue is designed to foster networking and cooperation between buyers and sellers of ingredients and technologies. "There is nowhere in the world right now that needs this event more than the Asian region and Expo Asia is the perfect platform,"​ according to Griggs.

The supply pavilion will bring three key audiences of the ingredient buying market to the show, according to organisers New Hope Natural Media : mainstream brand marketers, product formulators, core natural products brand marketers and direct brand marketers.

In 2002, the trade show and conference event attracted 200 companies from 23 countries and 4,000 buyers from 51 countries around the world. The US pavilion of 17 American companies is said to have generated 1,300 trade leads for its client companies, and close to 100 distributorship agreements in Asia.

The second Natural Products Expo Asia​ takes place at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre from 18-20 June 2003. Product pavillions at the event will include Supplements, Personal Care products, Herbal, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Alternative Remedies, Natural Foodstuffs, and the Global Supply Marketplace.