Health and Wellness: Surviving a Crowded Market

By Margo McCall -- Tradeshow Week, 6/20/2005

It's survival of the fittest for the dozens of healthy living consumer shows that have flourished since natural products moved into the mainstream.

Veteran producers of such events — which are typically aimed at helping attendees attain physical, mental, spiritual and sometimes even financial well-being — report an onslaught of new competitors. With show names that frequently include some combination of the words body, soul and spirit, the genre seems to encompass everything under the sun, from vitamins, supplements, herbs and organic products, to spa and beauty, aromatherapy, acupuncture and yoga products.

According to the Natural Foods Merchandiser's June issue, American shoppers in 2004 spent nearly $45.8 billion on natural and organic products, up nearly 7 percent from the previous year. Despite the high degree of public interest in healthy living, with so many shows, there might not be quite enough interest to go around.

Andrew John Publishing had intended to launch a consumer show called Body & Soul: Health & Wellness Show, but postponed the event, in part, due to the crowded market. Eventually, the Toronto-area publisher opted to get out of the consumer show business altogether.

"Name a topic and there's usually a tradeshow attached to it. That made it hard to compete, coming out of the gate," said John Birkby, Andrew John group publisher.

Helen Brett Management had planned to launch a show called The Goodlife Expo — Options for Midlife & Beyond at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont March 12–13. Although there was exhibitor interest, there wasn't quite enough to make the show a go, said manager Ken Hajduk. He added that the company still has confidence in the market and will try again, this time collocating Goodlife with a related show.

Meanwhile, a pioneer in healthy living shows, Brad Simpson Holdings, had to move its operations from eastern to western Canada in order to escape the stranglehold of competition. The company, now based in Calgary, Alberta, has been producing its Body Soul & Spirit Expos in a half-dozen Canadian cities each year for nearly a decade. The events draw from 120 to 180 exhibitors and 8,500 to 14,000 attendees.

"We found there were just too many shows like ours in eastern Canada," said Chandler Armstrong, who handles the firm's exhibitor services and sales and marketing. "The last show we did in Toronto, we counted 17 other shows."

Armstrong said the company has found greater demand for its events in the West, as well as lower production costs. "We're not doing it as a charity," he said.

Another veteran, Mid-America Entertainment, has seemingly found a stable niche, despite the competitive atmosphere. Two years ago, the company moved its Body Mind Life Expo from a hotel to the Minneapolis Convention Center. "We needed to move because we needed to accommodate the growth. We have loyal attendees, and we also have exhibitors that come back year after year," said Michelle Roddie, Mid-America vice president of operations.

Last year's event drew 150 exhibitors and about 7,000 attendees, down from the usual 8,000, due to a snowstorm. Besides exhibitors, the event features speakers and occasional entertainment, and attracts a wide range of age groups.

"It's not only fun to attend, it's educational," said Roddie, adding that locating the event in a ballroom lends a casual, intimate atmosphere.

In addition to expanding into fresh territory, Brad Simpson Holdings is also trying to separate itself from the pack by creating an online community to bolster attendance at existing shows and develop demand for future shows in new cities.

The idea was an outgrowth of a popular directory of holistic products and services on the company's Web site. According to the company, past exhibitors, as well as other holistic businesses and groups from Canada and the United States, kept inquiring about how to become part of the site.

The company gives noncommercial visitors free access to the site, while businesses are charged a modest fee to list information about their products and services.

Brad Simpson Holdings also established an entity called the Holistic Lifestyles Foundation, which includes all exhibitors as associate members. The foundation sponsors exhibitor networking dinners during the show, a move intended to further build community. Restaurants donate healthy food in exchange for being featured in the show's program guide. Any money raised by the foundation goes back into the show for extras, such as payments for well-known speakers.

"We were paying for Deepak Chopra — starting at $10,000 U.S. per day. People loved seeing him there, but with the amount people were willing to pay for tickets, we were actually losing money," Armstrong said.

The third aspect of the company's new approach is diversifying into related markets. The company's shows in the past focused on health, personal development and self-understanding. However, now the show is branching more into health and fitness, as well as environmental areas like hybrid cars, solar panels and green solutions.

Armstrong said show producers that emerge overnight, opportunistically gravitating to new trends, often don't realize the hard work — and expense — of putting on a show.

"All these shows popped up. One guy who started one owned a used car lot. He simply wanted to make money," Armstrong said. "If you're in it for the community, a lot of them stick around. If you were in it because it was a new fad, they probably won't."

And the new shows keep coming. Recently, Armstrong said, he received an e-mail from a former exhibitor announcing she was launching a competing show in Edmonton, Alberta, to the north, and was expecting to draw 24,000 people.

The Rebedeau Group and author Kathy Arnos are launching a 30,000 net sq. ft. consumer show called The Whole Children, Whole Planet Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center next April 22–23. And even Reed Exhibitions this year got into the act with Live Well New York, held April 23–25 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and drew a reported 150 exhibitors.