FMI, GMDC to host joint health, wellness conference next summer

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Food Marketing Institute and Global Market Development Center on Tuesday announced plans for the two associations to partner in offering a comprehensive conference in 2013 focused on health, beauty and wellness. The announcement was made at the FMI's Health and Wellness Conference here.

The FMI and GMDC event will take place May 31 through June 4, 2013, at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country in San Antonio, Texas, and will provide opportunities for food retailers and wholesalers, health and beauty suppliers, pharmacists, dietitians and other health-related professionals to explore health-and-wellness solutions.

“Consumers embracing the journey of a healthier lifestyle are looking for assistance in pulling together all the various pieces — health, food and nutrition, exercise and appearance — in a way that feels holistically right to them,” stated Cathy Polley, VP health and wellness at FMI and executive director of the FMI Foundation. “Combining the resources of our two associations means we can offer food retailers and wholesalers a stronger, more integrated conference — one that will help them tell a cohesive health-and-wellness story resonating up and down every single aisle of the supermarket.”

"Combining education and resources that wed food and pharmacy, cosmetics and cooking, eating and exercise will result in a cohesive retail experience encouraging a healthier America," added Dave McConnell, GMDC president and CEO. "As the public perception of health and wellness expands, retailer resources must synergistically connect across a spectrum of services and provide consumers unified guidance whether they are shopping in cosmetics, the produce department or in the pharmacy.”