ORLANDO, Fla. — Next year, the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and the Global Market Development Center (GMDC) will hold a joint conference focused on health, beauty and wellness.
The two trade groups announced the new event Tuesday at FMI’s Health and Wellness Conference in Orlando, Fla.
Plans call for the FMI and GMDC conference to be held May 31 to June 4, 2013, at the JW Marriott Hill Country Resort in San Antonio.
"Consumers embracing the journey of a healthier lifestyle are looking for assistance in pulling together all the various pieces — health, food and nutrition, exercise and appearance — in a way that feels holistically right to them," Cathy Polley, vice president for health and wellness at FMI, said in a statement.
"Combining the resources of our two associations means we can offer food retailers and wholesalers a stronger, more integrated conference, one that will help them tell a cohesive health and wellness story resonating up and down every single aisle of the supermarket," explained Polley, who’s also executive director of the FMI Foundation.
The event is expected to draw food retailers and wholesalers, health and beauty suppliers, pharmacists, dietitians and other health-related professionals, and the conference program will explore solutions to meet the range of consumers’ health and wellness needs.
"Our health and beauty supplier and retail and wholesale members are excited about the possibilities this conference partnership opens up for the industry," stated Dave McConnell, president and chief executive officer of GMDC, a trade association for general merchandise and health and beauty aids retailers, wholesalers and suppliers. "Combining education and resources that wed food and pharmacy, cosmetics and cooking, and eating and exercise will result in a cohesive retail experience encouraging a healthier America. As the public perception of health and wellness expands, retailer resources must synergistically connect across a spectrum of services and provide consumers unified guidance, whether they are shopping in cosmetics, the produce department or in the pharmacy."
