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First Alibaba.com US Online Trade Show draws interest from 50,000 viewers

Trade shows are cancelled for the foreseeable future due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but these business events are valuable customer acquisition channels. In fact, 55% US small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) cite trade shows as the single most important source of new Business-to-Business (B2B) customers, according to the Alibaba.com US Small and Medium Business (SMB) Confidence Survey. Business owners are losing customers every day that trade shows are on pause.

This past week we hosted the first Alibaba.com US Online Trade Show to help solve this problem and support the US B2B SMB community. The action-packed event served as a new way for wholesale buyers and sellers to connect and build relationships in a digital world. The four-day Online Trade Show featured:

  • Sellers showcasing their Supplements & Nutrition products to over 50,000 viewers
  • Keynote speakers addressing the audience every day, sharing industry insights and trends
  • Pre-scheduled 1:1 interactions between buyers and sellers to continue the conversation and transact

Attendees came away from the event with a deeper understanding of the Supplements & Nutrition industry. They learned valuable — and practical — tips to accelerate their business growth and differentiate themselves from the crowd. If you did not attend the event, you can still benefit from the top takeaways from the keynote speakers' remarks below.

Interested in attending an Online Trade Show? Register for the next category-specific event here.

Day 1 - Supplements: White/Private Label & Raw Ingredients

Keynote speaker: Loren Israelsen, President of United Natural Products Alliance (UNPA)

Kicking-off day one, Loren Israelsen shared predictions for the supplements industry. He broke his presentation into three categories: popular products, what to expect in the upcoming months, and five key success factors for 2020.

Loren attributed much of the recent success and growth of the supplements industry to the COVID-19 pandemic. Feelings of anxiety are driving consumers to purchase supplements for relaxation. Loren then shared his thoughts on ways employers can ensure success for 2020. The top three included:

  1. Hold excess inventory of raw materials in the US. You should expect more supply chain disruptions in the upcoming months. Avoid order delays and have products ready to go, housed in the US.
  2. Stay away from selling products implying the mitigation of COVID-19 effects. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are sending out warning letters about unproven methods. Make sure to comply with their regulations and avoid legal consequences.
  3. Manage your staff as if they have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Ensure their emotional and safety needs are met, more so if your employees are working from home. Create streamlined communications through platforms like Zoom and Slack and understand that sitting at a computer screen all day can be productive but also fatiguing.

Day 2 - Supplements: White/Private Label & Raw Ingredients

Keynote speaker: Laurie Demeritt, CEO of The Hartman Group

Do you know the main reason consumers buy supplements? Or the preferred way of adding supplements to a diet? Thanks to Laurie, all attendees came away with a robust understanding of emerging demand for supplements. During her keynote presentation, Laurie reviewed research conducted in the last two months by The Hartman Group. Her team wanted to understand changing attitudes and behaviors during the pandemic.

The research showed that across 2,367 American consumers:

  • 54% take supplements for a specific benefit or result, such as improved digestion or bone strength. 43% reported prevention of a possible disease, illness, or injury as the main reason for taking supplements, and this group also saw an over-index (defined as greater than 115 users) of females.
  • 55% prefer taking supplements as capsules, gummies, or tinctures with an over-index of consumers between 56-76 years old. 
  • Inherently functional beverages that are not fortified, like bottled water and vegetable juice, were reported as the preferred method of consumption for 25% but saw an over-index of millennials and Gen Z.

Laurie used these differences in preference to point out the growth in niche markets and why developing products for specific groups can help your business stand out.

Day 3 - CBD: White/Private Label & Raw Ingredients

Keynote speaker: Joy Beckerman, Principal of Hemp Ace International

Joy started day three with a comprehensive outline of the ever-complicated US legal and regulatory status of hemp-derived CBD. She began with addressing two important bills passed by Congress over the past decade to distinguish CBD from marijuana and other forms of cannabis:

  • 2014 Farm Bill
    This agricultural pilot program started the replanting of hemp and reemergence of the crop. It defined industrial hemp for the first time in US history and allowed state departments of agriculture to study the growth, cultivation, and marketing of hemp.
  • 2018 Farm Bill
    The definition of marijuana has remained the same for 81 years. This bill amended the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to state that the term marijuana no longer includes hemp. THC derived from hemp was also removed from the CSA. The definition of hemp expanded to include hemp seeds, derivatives, and cannabinoids.

While the hemp and CBD industry made great strides over the past few years, the FDA maintains that it is unlawful to market CBD as dietary supplements. However, they have only issued 53 warning letters since 2015, mainly due to misbranding and mislabeling. There was an increase in warning letters calling out CBD as treatment for COVID-19 or opioid addiction since March 2020.

All in all, the FDA is waiting for more information regarding safety in humans before announcing regulations around CBD. They want certain questions answered, such as what happens if you use CBD daily for sustained periods of time? Or what are the effects of CBD on an unborn child or breastfed newborn? Until further research is done in these areas, CBD cannot be marketed as a dietary supplement.

Day 4 - CBD: Branded Goods

Keynote speaker: Eric Smart, CEO of Myaderm

With Myaderm sold at stores like Dick's Sporting Goods and GNC, Eric discussed three critical components on how to get your products into national retailers. CBD has specific challenges to overcome because it is an emerging market. Eric outlined the three pointers as:

  • Compliance - The FDA only allows topical products to be sold at the national level. This means you need to manufacture topical products at an FDA-regulated facility, follow cosmetic manufacturing standards, and meet FDA specifications.
  • Merchandising - Having a great product isn't enough to succeed in a retail environment. You have to be prepared to offer merchandising options. Use displays and to promote and educate the consumer.
  • Efficacy - Retailers want products that work and bring consumers back to their stores. Highlight your competitive advantage, your differentiator, when pitching the product.

You will have a comprehensive capability to distribute your products after overcoming those hurdles. But you then need to market — a difficult task in the restricted CBD advertising world.

Here's a quick look at all the exhibitors:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Featured sellers

Watch our fireside chat with Frank Lavin of Export Now and Julian Leuthold of GetGlobal as they share their valuable perspectives on how B2B SMBs can access global markets and expand their businesses. You can view our previous fireside chats here.

This week's #B2BTuesday Tip:

Stand out from the competition and focus on niche markets to address a specific need for a product not addressed by mainstream providers.

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