Bluebonnet Nutrition will sponsor a free breakfast and educational lecture by Carl Germano, CNS, CDN, at the upcoming Naturally Independent Expo (NIE) in Palm Springs, CA. The annual conference and trade show for West Coast independent health food retailers takes place Nov. 14-15 at the Palm Springs Convention Center.

Germano, a long-time fixture on the health food industry trade show lecture circuit, will offer a new educational presentation during the breakfast on the topic, “Beyond the Gym: How Gut Health Fuels Movement, Recovery and Longevity.” Germano’s lecture, which takes place at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15, will explore the powerful, science-backed connection between the gut microbiome and physical performance.

The Naturally Independent Expo opens on Friday, Nov. 14, with its Retailer Education Day starting at 10 a.m. The theme of this year’s education program is “Nuts & Bolts of Natural Products Retailing,” with a number of industry experts and retailers scheduled to participate in discussions focused on helping independents improve their sales, operations, customer service and overall level of success!

Among the natural products industry experts scheduled to appear during Friday’s Retailer Education Day is Eric Fuchser, founder of Vintage Grocers, who will give a lecture on “A Natural Retailer’s 35-Year Industry Retrospective.”

Some of the other topics on tap for NIE’s educational program include:

• “Good Things Come in Small Packages” – How small stores can compete against online sellers like Amazon as well as big box retail competitors. Moderated by Jeremiah Bogenhagen of Positively Natural Network (PNN), the expert speakers on this panel include Billy Jones of Save Naturally, Torah Torres of Adventure CPG and Jennie Thomson of OrderDog.
• “All Bout Sales” – Featuring Starkie Sowers, director of education at Clark’s Nutrition, who will lead a discussion about training store staff to successfully interface with consumers to boost sales results. Also providing sales advice during this session will be Micah Corrigan of B-Alive Nutrition and nutritionist/educator Jessica Sharp, formerly of Lazy Acres.
• “Buyers Beware” – Dan McSweeney of Vitamin Retailer magazine will moderate a panel of seasoned natural products buyers in a discussion of best practices for keeping the store shelves filled with top brands and products to meet ever-changing customer needs. Retailer buyers confirmed to participate are Kaleb Goodwin of Goodwin’s Organics and Dave Smith of Clark’s Nutrition.
• “Let’s Work Together”– A discussion on how vendors, distributors, brokers and independent retailers can work together for mutual benefit! This can’t miss session will offer expert commentary from moderator/broker dawn Schmidt, The Other You; Tyler Martin, Palko Services; and Marsi Yencszko, WholeSun Wellness.
• “What’s New – Now?” – Strategies for keeping up to date with the newest products and emerging health trends in the natural products industry. Rob Seeman of Whole Earth Marketing will lead this discussion which also features George Goodwin of Goodwin’s Organics.

In addition to these “Nuts & Bolts” sessions, NIE’s Friday Education Day will also include several vendor-sponsored Product Education Seminars. Included among these are such topics as: “Nitric Oxide For Healthy Aging and Longevity” sponsored by Berkeley Life; “The Role of Dietary Supplements in Managing Dermatological Conditions” sponsored by Codex Labs; and “Microplastics’ Impacts on Human Health and Defense Strategies” sponsored by 1 Life Science.

Free Admission & “Show Dollars”

Admission to the Naturally Independent Expo is free to all qualified health and natural product stores and their employees. And all stores attending this year’s event will automatically receive a free, one-year membership to PNN, which provides a variety of benefits and services to independent retailers.

According to Bogenhagen, some of the other benefits and perks to retailers for attending this year’s NIE conference include:

• Hotel Room Vouchers up to $250 are available to a limited number of qualified natural product retailers on a first come, first served basis. Visit the show website for more information and to apply.
• $2,000 “Show Dollars” Raffle to be held each day of the show ($1,000 per day on Friday and Saturday), giving retail attendees an opportunity to win $100 vouchers that they can apply toward product  orders placed during the show.
• Carnival Cruise Grand Prize Gift Card Raffle for retailer attendees that takes place at the close of the show on Saturday, along with other valuable prizes. Retailers must be present to win.
• Exclusive show-only specials and discounts from exhibiting companies.
• Free meals and networking opportunities.

“We are planning to have a great show in Palm Springs this November, and we encourage all independent health food stores from the West Coast and beyond to join us!” Bogenhagen remarked.

To register for the Naturally Independent Expo, visit the show’s website at www.positivelynatural.org.