We’ve teamed up with Progressive Grocer Magazine & Nielsen Business Media to give you three full days packed with exclusive research presentations, content-rich education, trend analysis, and best practices for the growing health & wellness retail category.

Here you will identify and anticipate the key trends and growth opportunities shaping today's market.  While you're there..match the insights you gain from the education to the “right” products on the trade show floor!

2009 Health & Wellness Education Schedule

**Schedule subject to change.  Please check back as you make your plans.

Tuesday, June 16th

2:00pm - 3:00pm

Weight Management: Making Calories Count Again

Modern approaches to healthier eating have been focused on what to take away from, rather than what to bring in to the diet. Are a good food/bad food, or what-to-avoid approach, the best long-term prescriptions for weight management that is also health management? Or, will diets based on nutrient density and sensible consumption levels come back in vogue? Nutrition trends experts will discuss these issues and offer ideas on how to be sure your program is ready to adapt as this ongoing trend evolves.

Speakers:  Dr. Robert C. Karch - Health Promotion Program at American University
Track: Consumer Nutrition Trends
Room 353A

3:00pm- 4:00pm

Organic Merchandising Best Practices

A breakdown and assessment of the differing approaches grocers continue to take in search of optimal sales of organics throughout the store. Is the segregation\integration debate settled? What is the most effective pricing strategy to take? What’s the latest retail state of the art regarding marketing, advertising, promotion? All with an eye toward current climate of the food market. This could take panel discussion and\or case study format.

Speaker: Martin Goodwin - Goodwin's Organic Foods & Drinks
Track: Organic Trends Panel
Room 353A

KEYNOTE SESSION: Richard Seireeni "The Gort Cloud" 

“Green” has gone mainstream, and for many companies caring for the environment is not just a philosophy, it’s a marketing strategy. So how does a company genuinely committed to green principles separate itself from its greenwashing competitors? Richard Seireeni has interviewed over 30 “eco-capitalists” (including the likes of Ben & Jerry’s, Stonyfield Farm, and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters) and has compiled a rich source of wisdom for green businesses getting off the ground or for any business aiming to improve its environmental performance.  Seireeni discovered that what binds these companies together is The Gort Cloud — a term that illustrates the vast and largely invisible network of the green community and has the power to make or break green brands.  Integrating the Gort Cloud into a brand development strategy is critical to the success of any aspiring “green” brand.

Keynote sessions are open to all show registrants -
conference registration not required.
Room E450A

Wednesday June 17th

8:30am- 9:30am

Health & Wellness.com: Selling Health Online

Web sites offer the ability to provide unlimited information on health and wellness, as well as the ability to execute creative and innovative merchandising around healthy living. This session will highlight some of these programs via case studies from traditional retailers with ecommerce offerings as well as online-only grocers.

Speaker: Tony Stallone, VP Merchandising and Food Safety, Peapod
Track: Personal Care
Room 353A

9:30am- 10:30am

KEYNOTE PANEL:  Building Consumer Loyalty through Wellness

Join Phil Lempert, the Supermarket Guru, as he hosts a panel of industry experts in a discussion around creating and implementing overall in-store wellness programs. Hear first hand thoughts and challenges about vitamins and supplements, super foods, free-from and value added products, allergen-free, diet products, medications, exercise and wellness-related products, and most importantly, educating your own department around these wellness/fitness related consumer trends and needs.

Panelists: Darden Heritage R.Ph, Star Supermarket and Star Discount Pharmacy Edward Keady, Director, Benefits;  Schnuck Markets, Inc.
Betts FitzGerald, Guiding Stars Licensing Company

Keynote sessions are open to all show registrants -
conference registration not required.
Room E540AB

11:30am- 1:30pm

Progressive Grocer Round Table Discussion

An invitation-only roundtable discussion among supermarkets, distributors, and suppliers, coordinated by Progressive Grocer magazine.  Topics include: Key trends in consumer Health & Wellness impacting retail; Challenges for retailers to compete in the H&W arena; Leveraging the “relationship touchpoint” and “rewards touchpoint” to develop highly utilized, sustainable H&W programs for health-conscious shoppers; and Utilizing data-driven platforms to create retail-based H&W marketing programs that:  are scalable (cost-effectively supporting large consumer populations); are personalized (relevant and targeted to the individual consumer); drive sales and elicit manufacturer support. A follow-up article will be published in one of Progressive Grocer’s 2009 issues.
Room 353C

1:30pm- 2:30pm

In-Store Nutrition Guides - What's Their Future?

A recap of the nutrition guides already in the field or in development\testing; and pointed discussion of the real world impacts this merchandising\education tactic is having at retail on sales, consumer shopping behavior, and more. How can they be improved, and what lies in the future for such product specific nutrition guides?

Speakers: Lieutenant Col Karen Hawkins - Defense Commissaries of America
Andrea Astrachan, VP Consumer Affairs, The Stop & Shop/Giant Food
David Diamond, David Diamond Associates and Progressive Grocer Contributing Editor
Track: Consumer Nutrition Trends
Room 353A

2:30pm-3:30pm

Exclusive Report: Retailing’s critical role in revolutionizing health care and revitalizing the economy

Of all the hubs of health care activity in the overarching delivery system, food and drug retailers provide the greatest touch points with consumers in terms of access, frequency of interaction, and pre-existing relationships of trust and loyalty, as well as  the ability to  deliver powerful incentives and education to motivate desired behaviors. Yet retail is largely overlooked as an important participant in plans to re-engineer the health care system.  This session will highlight the enormous potential role retailers can play in improving consumer health and wellness – improving their bottom lines, transforming the health care industry and energizing the U.S. economy in the process – via data-driven, technology-based solutions.

For more information, download the full Exclusive Report on this topic at www.progressivegrocer.com/progressivegrocer/research-analysis/stay-well.jsp or www.staywellcustom.com/promos/get-white-paper/.

Speaker: Dave Nazaruk, SVP, Retail Business Development for StayWell/MediMedia USA.
Room E450B

3:30pm-4:30pm

The Intersection of Ethnicity and Wellness

Markets across the country are becoming rapidly more ethnically diverse, and with food as a prime cultural touch point. How should cultural trends and food preferences affect how retailers market health & wellness to the major ethnic groups in their markets, including Hispanic, Asian, and African-American? The right level if understanding and right messaging is crucial.

Speaker: Armando Martin - XL Edge
Track: Consumer Trends
Room 353A

Thursday June 18th

8:30am-9:30am

KEYNOTE SESSION: Nielsen Economic Advisor – What You Need to Know

With the global economy in a consumer driven recession, CPG companies are increasingly focusing on the economic landscape and are looking to Nielsen for our perspective and view into the factors affecting consumer spending and retail sales.  In addition to presenting an update on key economic metrics, we will deliver a comprehensive view on which departments and categories (including those with specific healthy label claims) are being impacted the greatest and the role private label and branded offerings are having on those trends.  We will also illustrate how consumers are changing their trip and transaction behavior across key retail channels. Insights into how best to navigate this environment, including opportunities to leverage opportunities and mitigate risks, will be provided.

Speaker: Todd Hale - Nielsen

Keynote sessions are open to all show registrants -
conference registration not required.
Room E450B

KEYNOTE SESSION: Research Presentation:
Into the Mouths of Babes - Parents' reflections on organic for kids

Join the Organic Trade Association and Kiwi Magazine as they unveil the findings of their original research study of 1,200 families across the country.  Learn how parents choose products for their kids, what parents understand about organic, and how organic fits into their value systems, priorities, and efforts to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Then participate in a consumer panel with real parents from the Chicago area, who will give you the opportunity to get candid answers to your questions about organic for kids.

Keynote sessions are open to all show registrants -
conference registration not required.
Room E450A

1:00pm-2:00pm

NielsenHealth: Tying Pharmacy Holistically to the Store

How can retailers most effectively leverage the pharmacy and pharmacist as the center of store-wide health and wellness strategy? What are the advantages and pitfalls?

Speaker: Dennis Callahan - NielsenHealth
Track: Consumer Trends
Room 353A

2:00pm-3:00pm

The Rx for Supplements and Homeopathic Remedies

How to incorporate alternative medicines into your health and wellness offerings, including educating shoppers on the topic, hiring appropriate staff (naturopathic physicians), and cross merchandising with other departments.

Speaker: Nancy Gahles, Executive Director, Health & Harmony Wellness Education
Track: Personal Care
Room 353A

3:00pm-4:00pm

Educating Consumers: Today’s Best Tools of the Trade

Once grocers decide they need to play a more active role in helping customers navigate the complex world of eating healthier, their potential paths for how to get there are opening up, among them interactive kiosks, healthy-cooking classes, on-staff nutritionists, Web site resources, store associates, and more. At the cutting edge are initiatives such as Safeway’s Foodflex program, which promise more customized solutions. What programs are the most effective in the eyes of shoppers, deliver the best ROI for retailers, offer the most flexibility, and the most power to differentiate against competitors? (Consumer research: what are consumers looking for re: H&W?)

Speakers:
David Diamond - David Diamond Associates & Progressive Grocer Columnist
Donald G. Fallon - Ring Bros. Marketplace
Track: Consumer Trends
Room 353A