LOHAS conference comes to Colorado

Business Report Correspondent BROOMFIELD ? The relocation of a national conference to Boulder County is highlighting the area as a hub for the natural products industry.

On June 20-22, leaders in the natural products industry and the environmental movement are holding the fifth annual Natural Business Market Trends Conference: Succeeding in the LOHAS Market in Broomfield, at the Omni Interlocken Resort.

The conference has been held previously in San Francisco and is moving to Colorado this year because many leaders in LOHAS industry such as Wild Oats, Horizon Organic and Celestial Seasonings are here, said Steven Hoffman, co-founder of Boulder-based Natural Business Communications, which is organizing the conference.

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“It breathes a whole new energy into the event having it in Colorado,” he said.

LOHAS, which stands for lifestyles of health and sustainability, is a $230 billion market. It is supported by about 26 percent of the adult population in the United States, a group categorized as cultural creative consumers.

Hoffman said the cultural creative consumer values health, the environment, organic foods, alternative medicine and personal growth. The focus of the conference is to develop successful products and services, create lasting marketing strategies and build sustainable business practices that appeal to cultural creative customers.

“The upcoming conference will seek to further investigate the markets that serve these consumers, from natural products retailers to solar energy providers, and create a venue to facilitate communication,´ said Frank Lampe, the other co-founder of Natural Business Communications, which publishes and the Natural Business LOHAS Journal and Natural Business News and Analysis for the Healthy Lifestyles Executive.

The conference will cover several topics and feature speakers from the financial community. It also will include intensive seminars, market research presentations and roundtable discussions addressing opportunities and challenges facing businesses in the LOHAS market.

The keynote speaker is Radames Soto, managing director of the Wall Street Journal. Other speakers include Dennis Weaver, founder of the Institute of Ecolonomics; Maria Rodale, vice chair of Rodale Press; Gary Hirshberg, president and chief executive officer of Stonyfield Farm; and Hunter Lovins, who shares the role of chief executive officer of the Rocky Mountain Institute.

“We feel humbly that this is the best conference so far because the speakers reflect all sectors of the LOHAS market,” Hoffman said.

Business leaders in the LOHAS marketplace can benefit from high-quality, face-to-face networking, MBA-level curriculum and interactive idea sharing with the industry’s top executives and business leaders, Hoffman said. Manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, retailers, service companies and investors are invited to attend.

A patron level sponsor for the event is North Castle Partners, a leading venture capital firm serving the LOHAS market. Most conference sponsors are environmentally friendly companies. One local sponsor, McStain, a Boulder-based residential builder, uses recycled materials and designs communities close to parks, Hoffman said.

The cost to attend the three-day conference is $895 per person. The fee includes a continental breakfast and lunch on Thursday and Friday, evening receptions, and admission to all program sessions, the Market Trends Trade Fair and the LOHAS area business open-house tour.

Along with the conference, the first annual LOHAS Golf Classic will be held at the Omni’s golf course on Wednesday, June 20. A fee of $129 per person includes the 18-hole green fee, golf cart, practice golf balls, bottled water and prizes.

For information on exhibiting, sponsorship or to register, visit www.lohasjournal.com.