Blending fresh ideas, new trends, and distribution channels with three days of focused buying, selling, and education, World Tea Expo is the leading tradeshow and conference focused 100 percent on premium teas and related products. The event takes place May 29–31 in Long Beach, California, at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, and is co-located with the annual Healthy Beverage Expo. The combined Expos attract around 5,000 attendees, more than 260 collective exhibitors, and top businesses and professionals from more than 50 countries.
"World Tea Expo is a vibrant community that's at the helm of tea's massive growth in the marketplace," says George Jage, group director of The Beverage Group at F+W Media, Inc. "This annual conference and exposition is at the epicenter of the North American specialty tea market and $8 billion U.S. tea industry, which is expected to grow an additional $7 billion by 2015. Exhibitors meet face-to-face with target buyers, deals and key connections are made on the show floor, and business-building, forward-thinking topics are explored in the educational sessions."
As the premier marketplace for this fast-growing category, World Tea Expo attracts retailers, tea room owners, distributors, food and beverage directors, spa managers, specialty grocers, mass merchants, and other business professionals. And all are seeking to experience high quality merchandise, to sample award-winning teas, to understand the latest tea innovations and notions, and to learn best practices and network with peers.
The dynamic exposition floor features "what's next" in tea, as vendors unveil and showcase new products and services. In fact, more than 30 percent of exhibiting companies exhibit nowhere else, so attending World Tea Expo is an exclusive opportunity to visit these suppliers.
In addition to the Expo, the conference education program is designed to meet the specific needs of retailers, distributors and developers with different levels of experience. Some of the educational topics include: Current Trends and the Future Outlook for Tea; How to Source & Select Teas; Cultivating the Next Generation of Tea Connoisseurs; Current and Emerging Regulatory Issues in the Tea & Infusion Products Industry; Building Your Own Successful Tea Business Close to a Teavana; The Science Behind Health Claims on Tea Beverages; and Why Ignoring Herbs Could be Costing Your Business, among many others.
"The U.S. tea market is undergoing a transformational change driven by flavor, variety, and quality innovation," says World Tea Expo presenter David Sprinkle, research director for MarketResearch.com and publisher of Packaged Facts. "At the heart of the change lies specialty tea. Competition by product type and retail channel is fierce, but ultimately the tea industry as a whole is the winner, because specialty tea products translate to more consumer enthusiasm, as well as higher prices at the cash register, than the more commoditized products they are replacing." Sprinkle will present new research from Package Facts, including data collected specifically for World Tea Expo on specialty tea use by mainstream U.S. consumers. He'll present long-term trends by format for bagged, loose and ready-to-drink tea, as well as consumer trends in drinking green, herbal and fruit-and-spice flavored tea. His session will also give a snapshot of current use of trendy teas such as matcha and pu-erh.
