On May 19^th, What’s Up With Supps hosted one of several recent in-person gatherings for those in the dietary supplements industry to attend, with a meetup at the Game Vault in Morristown, NJ, with refreshments available at the Iron Bar across the street.
 
Founded last year by Diana Morgan, head of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs for supplement company Care/of, the mission statement of the organizers is “to be the catalyst for creating connections within the health and nutrition products industry to promote unity, growth, and innovation through networking, mentorship, and professional development activities.”
 
“The Gaming & SUPPS event in Morristown, NJ was the largest turnout to date! It was so nice to feel that infamous industry energy in the room,” Morgan said. “The biggest takeaway of the event was how needed this was for so many. As an industry, most of us have made real connections along the way and call them our ‘industry family.’”
 
In addition to serving as a platform for industry to connect, Morgan believes that it’s just as important that these events demonstrate the nature of the dietary supplements industry to consumers as one that is made up of people who take the nutritional products they sell and endorse. At the same time, there is certainly transparency and collaboration across the many corners of this competitive market.
 
“That’s why I started What’s Up with Supps podcasts—to pull back the curtain and show consumers the people in the industry that are passionate about these products and are consumers themselves,” Morgan said. “This ranges from quality labs, to raw material suppliers, to trade associations.”  
 
Attendees who work with ingredients, finished products, trade associations, and more had the chance to connect or reconnect with colleagues following many months spent keeping in touch solely through video chats, e-mails, and other virtual platforms.
 
Keeping Spirits Up & Collaboration Afloat
Large-scale conventions that have historically been such an integral part of the industry have transitioned to online platforms. Turnout at the What’s Up With Supps’ Morristown event, with attendees from across the U.S., indicated that many have been eager to reconnect. With safety precautions in mind, What’s Up With Supps has been able to pull off several events at a time when event planning has never been more challenging.
 
“One of the most important components is being aware of capacity restrictions state by state, but also ensuring adherence to CDC guidelines for gatherings such as temperature checks and social distancing. Whenever possible, events are held outdoors,” Morgan said. She added that when What’s Up with Supps was first gaining momentum, she got a lot of mixed feedback from industry members regarding the potential to pull off in-person events through the past year-and-a-half, but throughout, the enthusiasm to get the ball rolling prevailed. “I’ll never forget, Dan DeMarino from Deerland Probiotics & Enzymes was the first person to respond back to me with ‘Yes! I am so in! Itching to see my industry friends.’ This is exactly how I felt and why I wanted to have these gatherings.”
 
Morgan said that following some experience in the pre-pandemic days in which she organized an industry-inclusive retirement party for her manager and mentor at Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, in addition to the devastation she and others felt following the cancellation of Expo West in 2020, she began to run the idea of hosting more fun-oriented pop-up events for the industry.
 
“That week I ran the idea of an NJ in-person networking event past Ivan Wasserman [Managing Partner at Amin Talati Wasserman, LLP] and Len Monheit [CEO of Trust Transparency Center]. The momentum was forming and so was my board. My board consists of dynamic industry leaders that are passionate about supps and keeping our industry booming!”
 
Following an inaugural get-together at Sushi Lounge in Totowa, NJ, What’s Up with Supps has put on seven socials for the industry and counting, gaining support from sponsor companies along the way.  Plenty of attendees of What’s Up with Supps events also shared with Nutraceuticals World how important it has been for them to keep up with collaborators in person, with plenty of new initiatives to share among peers.
 
“As one of the leading ingredient suppliers in the esports space, we were excited to be present at the event with our nootropic ingredient nooLVL,” said Elyse Lovett, vice president of marketing for Nutrition21. “NooLVL is the first clinically-studied ingredient in gamers for increased cognitive performance, reaction time, and focus. The event brought together Nutrition21’s president and marketing team in person for the first time. It was also great to network with some new and familiar faces.”
 
Uday Gosalia, national sales director of American River Nutrition, likewise said that the What’s Up with Supps events that took place throughout the year have been a much-needed way for he and his colleagues to tell the story behind forming an entire company around the sole ingredient annatto—something which simply doesn’t convey well over phone calls and emails.
 
Further, he said that he was able to work through the psychological adjustment that many re-emerging into the long-awaited “new normal” of 2021 talk about.
 
“Diana has worked so diligently to attract attendees who are all along the org chart, further accentuating the value delivered at these events,” he said. “No titles or high brow cronyism, but just a tribe convening to continue the purpose of delivering value to the dietary supplement industry. Nothing better than sitting down, rubbing elbows, and talking supplements and ingredients with a formulation scientist, VP of marketing, or a board executive. Friendly rivals exchanging war stories while also chatting up the pros and cons of consolidation and M&A activity in the industry. Gaining nuanced perspectives only helps all of us to grow, and thereby the industry thrives. There’s only one mission in these rooms, and that’s how to deliver maximum value to the consumer.”
 
“I have a great amount of gratitude to the What’s Up with Supps organizers for cultivating a space where industry professionals can get back up and running together, as a tribe,” Gosalia said. “It’s a great group of people organizing these events. They’re breathing a whole lot of exuberance and excitement back into the lungs of our industry’s innovation leaders.”
 
What’s Up with Supps’ next appearance will be a pre-party ahead of SupplySide PHX in partnership with Informa Markets on June 10, as well as a single-day pop-up event during SupplySide PHX, which participants can register for online.