News Releases

NEW YORK (Feb. 24, 2016) — The North American tea market is bursting with energy as the industry is seeing more and more successful products on the shelf and online; the industry further focusing on quality; businesses innovating with blends; additional U.S. and Canadian tea retail establishments; professionals becoming tea certified and pursuing the tea sommelier role; and North American consumers learning even more about tea, enjoying its health benefits and appreciating its variations, complexities and cultural distinctions. All of these tea developments will come to a head as the global tea industry converges this June for Penton’s World Tea Expo 2016, to focus on tea’s evolution in the North American marketplace.

World Tea Expo (#WorldTeaExpo or #WTE16), the leading tradeshow focused on advancing the business of tea, takes place June 15 – 17, 2016 (with a pre-conference program June 13 – 14) in Las Vegas, Nev. at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Registration and conference details are available at WorldTeaExpo.com.

This year’s agenda will attract thousands of professionals for a five-day platform of new tea products, education sessions, workshops and business-growing activities, setting the pace for “what’s next” in tea. The education curriculum covers a broad range of topics to help businesses boost sales and profit through tea.

World Tea Expo’s core conference sessions are designed to meet the specific needs of retailers, foodservice businesses, distributors, product developers and others in various vertical markets with different levels of experience. Numerous Focused Tea Tastings offer 90-minute organoleptic explorations of tea styles, tea regions and tea pairings. And the Skill Building Workshops hone important industry skills like cupping and blending.

Just some of the hot topics at World Tea Expo 2016 include:

• North America: The New Cutting Edge of Specialty Tea
• State of the Tea Industry: Global Foodservice
• Stop Losing Your Beverage Sales to Water!
• The Romance and Broken Dreams of Direct Importing
• What Tea Style Works Best for Your Establishment?
• Creating Unique Blends
• A New View Into Natural Products Consumers: Who They Are, What They Buy, and Why They Buy
• Why Are There So Few Chain Tea Shops?
• Is There Opportunity for Tea in Retail?
• Products Manufacturing Insights: Tea Bags, Loose Teas and Raw Materials
• Goldmine Resources for Tea Ventures
• In 2050, Will There Still Be Tea?
• The Science of Intuitive Brewing
• How Can You 'Be More Tea' to Sell More Tea?
• Being Provocative: The Art of Merchandising
• Not Your Granny's 'Afternoon Tea'
• Among many other topics

In addition to the education sessions, World Tea Expo’s bustling show floor features hundreds of the latest tea products and services, many of which cannot be found at any other trade show.

Other World Tea Expo Highlights Include:

• Best New Product Awards – Each year, World Tea Expo reviews and selects the very best new tea and related products from among the many exhibitors.
• World Tea Awards – Now in its third year, this awards program celebrates the best and the brightest in the tea industry, covering a broad range of key categories.
• The North American Tea Championship (NATC) Winners Tasting Circle – This is an opportunity for World Tea Expo attendees to taste NATC award-winning teas, some of the best tasting teas that are commercially available in the North American marketplace.
• World Origin Tasting Tour – This full-day, pre-conference learning experience is a highly interactive, educational and entertaining “tour,” covering the tastes and cultures of some of the most important tea growing regions in the world.
• Tea Business Boot Camp – A one-of-a-kind, two-day, intensive and hands-on program that covers critical topics facing the tea entrepreneur, such as the basics of a tea business, financial management considerations, marketing, purchasing and inventory, and Tea 101.
• World Tea Academy LIVE! – This is a "taste" of what World Tea Academy’s online program has to offer. In this pre-conference program, World Tea Academy Live! presents the first class in a new series, Tea Sommelier Protocols: S.1 Designing a Tea Menu. The class will explore the many factors to be considered when designing a tea menu for any setting.

World Tea Expo attendees include top companies and professionals from more than 50 countries, representing: tea and coffee shops, grocery chains, private label brands, gourmet retailers, convenience stores, distributors, online businesses, restaurants and chefs, foodservice, hotels, distributors, manufacturers and beverage developers, among others interested in building their business through tea.

To register for World Tea Expo today, or for additional information, visit WorldTeaExpo.com. And be sure to follow World Tea Expo on Twitter: @worldteamedia (#WorldTeaExpo or #WTE16).

ABOUT PENTON
Penton is an innovative information services company that empowers nearly 20 million business decision makers in markets that drive more than 12 trillion dollars in purchases each year. Our products inform with rich industry insights and workflow tools; engage through dynamic events, education and networking; and advance business with powerful marketing services programs. Penton is the way smart businesses buy, sell and grow.

Headquartered in New York, Penton is privately owned by MidOcean Partners and Wasserstein & Co., LP. For more information, visit http://www.penton.com or follow us on Twitter @PentonNow.

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