Healthy Products Industry Trade Show Celebrates its 25th Anniversary With Largest Attendance in History

ANAHEIM, Calif. (March 27, 2006) — Record-setting crowds visited more than 3,000 exhibits at this year's wall-to-wall industry event. Natural Products Expo West/SupplyExpo is produced by New Hope Natural Media, a division of Penton Media, Inc. (OTCCB: PTON). The nation's largest natural, organic and healthy products trade show, held March 23-26, exceeded past attendance records and provided a forecast of the top healthy food and lifestyle products for an audience of retailer buyers, media and industry members.

Already one of the top 100 largest trade shows in the U.S, according to Tradeshow Week, Natural Products Expo West could climb the rankings this year, as more than 43,000 industry attendees learned about the newest products for health-seeking consumers.

Natural Products Expo West drew buyers from diverse retail sectors (grocery, foodservice/institutional dining, spa, pharmacy and more) looking for the hottest-selling healthy products of tomorrow. "This has been the best Expo West to date. The rate of innovation is accelerating and I've never seen so many genuinely creative products coming to market so quickly," said Jamie Brent, National Category Manager, Grocery, for Wild Oats Markets, Inc.

Highlights from the show included:

• The first-ever North American World Ethnic Market, a co-located show combining ethnic, specialty, kosher and halal products on March 23-24.
• The unveiling of the New Products Launch Pad (www.nplp.com), an Internet site created by New Hope Natural Media that allows buyers a new medium in which to locate, rate and review new products.
• The Nutracon Conference announcement of the 8th Annual NutrAward winner honoring the most innovative ingredient of the year, Avé, from American BioSciences Inc.
• New eco-friendly initiatives meant to lessen the environmental impact of the trade show, including wind credits to offset travel and pollution, organic muslin draping, bamboo and wheat board construction materials, low VOC paints and stains, and increased recycling.
• The presentation of an award from the City of Anaheim, recognizing the contributions of Natural Products Expo West to the city of Anaheim for the past 25 years.
• Presentation of The Natural Foods Merchandiser's biennial Natural Legacy Award to Elwood Richard of NOW Health Group of Bloomingdale, Ill., in honor of his dedication to the natural health industry.

"This year's Natural Products Expo West highlighted the continued interest and demand for natural, organic and health products," said Fredrik Linder, president of New Hope Natural Media. "Our vision has always been to use our Expos as platforms for the industry and as a place of community. This vision was clearly fulfilled at this week's Expo West."

Visit www.expowest.com for more information and event photos.

New Hope Natural Media is a division of Penton Media Inc. (OTCBB:PTON), a diversified business-to-business media company that provides high-quality content and integrated marketing solutions to more than a dozen industries, including natural and organic products.