Naturally Good Expo partners with Fantastic Food+Drink

Naturally Good Expo is back in 2017, this time in partnership with Fantastic Food+Drink, a sourcing event that’s 100 percent dedicated to specialty food and craft beverages.

The two expos will be co-located at the new ICC Sydney Exhibition Centre on 4–5 June, creating a buyers’ marketplace of 450 plus companies.

This year, the Naturally Good Expo will feature an estimated 350 companies representing thousands of brands, while Fantastic Food+Drink will feature specialty areas including Taste the Farm, the Specialty Chocolate Showcase, Specialty Cheese Providores, Craft beverage Alley and Gourmet Gifts. An Emerging Brands Zone will highlight new market entrants.

Fantastic Food+Drink will focus on the fast growing specialty food category, shining the spotlight on artisanal, local and free-from products, international foods and ﬂavours, specialty and craft beverages, confectionery and snacks, and fresh products like bakery, meat, cheese, deli and produce.

Bob Burke, principal at Natural Products Consulting, said consumers are showing a growing appetite for natural and specialty products.

“We’re at a point where, regardless of what product you’re talking about, consumers want to know the real story and people behind a brand. They want to know what the values of the business, its personality, and whose passion brought these products to market, and this is never more important than when what’s being offered up is a natural or specialty product,” he said.

“Speciality products often lend themselves to being natural by nature, and as consumers continue to demand healthier, handmade, and ethical products, the market for natural and specialty products grows in unison.”

The education sessions, running across the event’s two days, will include:

Trends from the US – health and specialty food and drink
Panel: China strategy – getting it right and avoiding pitfalls in the new Gold Rush
Success strategies for independent retailers
Steps to implementing digital in your retail ecosystem
How to build a profitable brand
The State of the Organic Industry
Mastering your e-commerce strategy – How to transform your current e-commerce strategy for the better
The business case for integrating natural medicines with pharmacy – opportunities for pharmacists, naturopaths and customers
Connected health conscious Australians – key segments and how to reach them
Ins and outs of export finance – what you need to take into consideration for export success
Creating a killer content strategy that scales for growth
End of the hard sell – Using digital marketing to create an endless supply of motivated customers who come to you
Instagram marketing in 2017
Social media masterclass: What to do, where and why

In addition, a Naturally Good Business Summit will be held in the lead-up to the two day event, and will run on 2 June. Topics will include:

Connecting with female shoppers: how to capitalise on the fastest growing economy in the world
E-commerce insider: essential marketing and SEO strategies and how to use e-commerce tools to build a sustainable business
Power buying panel: panel of buyers shares insight on product ranging decisions, insider intel on how to stand out, pitch your product, and get on the shelves of major retailers
2017 best practice for social media ROI: focus on essential strategies that get results.
How to grow and scale a health product business: what it takes for a health business to achieve velocity growth and scale.
Alternative finance for growth: what are your options beyond a bank?
All you need to know about distributors: Understand how to profitably work with distributors to sell more products. Looks at different models and pitching, key players, their role and misconceptions
Ways to win influencers and influence customers: how to build a strategy, engage with the right influencers, and drive and measure your ROI
Email marketing: from capture to conversation: actionable insights to up your email marketing game for serious results.
Expert panel (going global – the where, how, and am I ready?): key factors of readiness to export, different ways to enter China and the USA, costs involved, essential regulations and cold hard facts.
Labelling: balancing health claims with the latest labelling rules