NBJ 2025 Recap from Elan & Petra
Elan: Best One Yet (Yes, I say that every year—and I mean it more than ever). Roughly 630 days ago, I stood face-to-face with RFK Jr. for the first time and told him our industry was crying out for a champion. He placed his famously strong hands on my shoulders and promised his people would be in touch.
I invested significant energy in connecting his team with our trade association leaders, incurring the wrath of some along the way. And now? MAHA is not only at our NBJ CEO dinner table—they’re taking our input and reporting directly back to HHS, working to improve access to safe, effective natural medicines.
It’s a small win, but a meaningful one. Progress, like fine wine—or a slow-acting herbal remedy—takes time to mature.
Big thanks to Thomas Aarts for bringing the brilliant Calley Means to this year’s summit who is a former food/pharma lobbyist turned supplement evangelist / HHS new-policy-pusher. At the summit Calley delivered the most inspiring of all the keynotes about bridging the nutrition and healthcare system as an economic lifesaver, health booster, and bipartisan no brainer. He essentially made the case that removing junk food from SNAP and offering healthy foods and supplements through HSA is cheaper than treating their illnesses later. Ours is a sick care system; he preaches about an actual health care system where people can avoid sickness rather than just treat it.
The conversation hit different because partisan politics have blurred our industry’s collective missions and after a bit of cooling off, it would appear that we finally have a bipartisan champion with access to and influence in the White House (again) who believes in our industry and wants to see it grow and help Make America Healthy Again.
And to those demanding instant revolution in the dietary supplement world: take a breath. We’re already well-regulated and doing great. These folks are trying to unravel a century of corruption in food and pharma. That takes more than a tweet.
Patience is power. Especially when you know you’re proving the doubters wrong. Now, back to growing the momentum.
Petra: Elan is right. This was the best NBJ so far and yes, we do say that every year. It’s hard to imagine that as I close out my 19th year in this industry, I can still go to NBJ and not only see old friends but also make so many new contacts. The setting, curated content, and energy of Summit lend itself to authentic conversations and connections as well as important business discussions and inspiration. But for me, NBJ Summit this year was about the people. As we head into the fall and final push of 2025, I am thankful for this feeling of renewal and time spent together.
A true highlight for me was winning closest to the pin at the golf tournament at a darn good 4ft 2 inches just past the pin. When I started learning to play golf in 2018, playing at NBJ was a huge motivator so this certainly felt like a full circle moment.
NBJ 2024 Recap from Petra
Last month Elan, Bryan, and I attended the 2024 NBJ Summit at the Terranea Resort in Palos Verdes, CA. This event has become a highlight of my summer, always held in a beautiful place with thought-provoking speakers. It not only educates and inspires but also renews and refreshes.
The State of the Supplement Industry presentation on the first day is always one of the best presentations of the conference. Good news – NBJ data shows botanical and herbal products bouncing back from the 2022 post-covid contraction. Projections are for 5.4% growth for 2024 and a $2.7b increase from 2023 to 2027. Functional mushrooms and ashwagandha were both discussed as top ingredients in the category.
Women’s health was a highlight track at Summit this year. Certainly, as a woman myself, this subject is very personal in addition to being an industry category absolutely worthy of the main stage. I wanted to stand and cheer when NBJ Leadership award hlnkonoree and Founder of Winged Jessica Mulligan said in her acceptance speech “As a woman, calling women’s health a “trend” feels strange. A trend is fleeting, a flash bang, and what we are witnessing is not that. Together we’ve worked to build an awakening of something long overdue. We are just scratching the surface.”
Physician Pamela Peeke gave an enlightening presentation about perimenopause, menopause, and the opportunity for our industry to formulate specifically to these needs. Every word of her presentation was impactful but even more powerful was hearing so many women throughout the hallways having honest vulnerable conversations about our health, our hearts, and the challenges of perimenopause and menopause- with several supportive men joining those conversations.
Taking place the week before my birthday, NBJ Summit gives me the added gift of seeing so many of my friends! The golf event and this year’s Catalina excursion both offered great opportunities to network and form new connections. This is one of my favorite events of the year, offering both personal and professional enhancement, and I’m already looking forward to next year.
NBJ Recap 2023
Elan, Petra, and I were very pleased to attend the NBJ Summit last month, this year returning to the scenic Terranea Resort in Palos Verdes, CA. It brought together industry experts to explore the theme of agility and adaptability in uncertain times. The vibrant ambiance of the resort set the stage for engaging discussions against a backdrop of natural beauty. Evenings spent by the patio fire allowed for relaxed exchanges with industry friends, amplifying the overall experience.
The summit encompassed a diverse range of subjects, delving into in-depth analyses of the U.S. and global nutrition industry, supply chain volatility, and the intriguing dynamic between direct-to-consumer and retail strategies. Highlighting the event’s forward-looking nature, emerging areas such as phage therapy, AI, and psychedelics were thoughtfully examined, underlining the industry’s unwavering commitment to innovation. Claire Morton’s Data and Trends overview held important insights into the post Covid landscape, inflation impacts, and the botanical and fungi category.
Of the many memorable moments, Dr. Merlin Sheldrake’s keynote presentation stood out as particularly illuminating. His insights on the growing significance of fungi in dietary supplements and our everyday life were both captivating and enlightening. This engaging session shed light on the immense potential of harnessing mushrooms’ properties for our well-being. If you are not familiar with his work, I encourage you to read his New York Times best seller, “Entangled Life”.
As I reflect on the NBJ Summit, the themes of adaptability, innovation, and collaboration resound as key takeaways. We always find this gathering valuable, which is why Alkemist is a sponsor. I remain grateful for the experience and am eager to translate these insights into actionable strategies.
NBJ Recap 2022
The NBJ Summit is always one of my favorite industry events, and I was so pleased to be there in person this year. I can truly say that I enjoy it, not just for the amazing education and keynote speakers, but also for the time to reconnect in person with partners and colleagues who have become true friends over my 16 years in this industry.
I got a lot out of many of the educational sessions, but of course one of the best was a panel discussion Elan hosted. “Leveraging Brand and Lab Partnerships to Earn Consumer Confidence” featured our partners Charlotte Traas, Director of Education and Content at New Chapter, and Jessica Mulligan, Founder of Winged Nutrition. So good to see such an important topic covered on the big stage!
Of course, NBJ Summit also provides great options for networking and social time. It kicked off with the annual golf tournament, where Bryan Fine and I represented along with with our Alkemist Assured partner True Grace’s Kristie and Brian Hall as our teammates. We continued our annual tradition of sponsoring a boat, specifically a catamaran, with our friends at NutraSource. After a long week, sailing in the San Diego harbor with friends was really a delight! The Summit wrapped up with the What’s Up with Supps retro party, where Elan’s daughter Mazzy won the hula hoop competition!
The NBJ awards night is always a highlight. The shining moment for me personally was seeing our leader, Elan Sudberg, honored on stage for Efforts on Behalf of Industry. In his introduction, NBJ editor Rick Polito described Elan as a rabble-rouser, which made me chuckle! As Rick said, “Elan Sudberg is not afraid to challenge this industry.” One of the most gratifying aspects of working with Elan is that he is never afraid to share his informed viewpoint and freely speaks on what he thinks is right for the industry even when there is no monetary benefit to the company. Read more about Elan’s efforts here.
Also on awards night, Sandy Gooch was given the NBJ Lifetime Achievement award. Sandy was the founder of the legendary Southern California-based Mrs. Gooch’s health food stores. I can vividly recall shopping at her Glendale location when my family first moved to California. It was not in our neighborhood; we had to drive a little way to get there. I remember our family collecting the brochures and recipes that Mrs. Gooch’s offered for public education and instruction on healthy eating. Having never heard her story of empowerment and trail blazing as a female leader in our space, I was quite moved to hear her story.
Kudos to all on the NBJ and New Hope teams for hosting such a successful conference!
