Two industries that couldn’t be more different – Natural Products Expo East and the Great American Trucking Show - both saw increases on the showfloor at their recent events.

NPE East, owned by Penton’s New Hope Natural Media, the East Coast's largest natural, organic and healthy products event, brought together more than 23,000 attendees and 1,277 exhibitors Sept. 17-20 at the Baltimore (Md.) Convention Center.

Adam Andersen, show director, Natural Products Expos said, "We are very pleased to be the conduit where passionate, innovative natural products manufacturers bring healthy solutions to market. We also have a goal of leaving a positive impact on the community of Baltimore."

The event drew exhibitors in a variety of categories, including food and beverage, supplements and ingredients as well as beauty and natural living.

The natural, organic and healthy products marketplace is poised to grow to $226 billion by 2018 with an annual growth rate of 8.6 percent.

Trends identified by New Hope include: protein power; probiotics; cold-pressed juices; clean, simple ingredients; and farm-to-face. NEXT Trend also debuted its Innovation Lab, which enables users to tap into the wisdom of crowds with its prediction market research.

"This was the first year I had the opportunity to participate in the VIP buyer program at Natural Products Expo,” said Jenny Stronk, buyer and social media marketer, Thyme & Season Natural Market.

She added, “It was fantastic. It was great to meet face-to-face with the companies and reps I talk to on an on-going basis.”

NPE West 2015 will return March 5-8 to the Anaheim (Calif.) Convention Center, and NPE East 2015 is scheduled to take place Sept. 16-19 back in Baltimore.

The Great American Trucking Show, held Aug. 21-23 at the Dallas Convention Center, attracted more than 54,000 registered attendees — a 16.46 percent increase, compared with 2013 — who own and operate 247,027 power units and more than 354,905 trailers, according to Randall-Reilly’s RigDig Business Intelligence.

Attendees also saw a record 512 exhibits, covering more than 170,000 square feet of exhibit space, which reflected an 8 percent growth in number of exhibitors and a 15.6 percent growth in first time exhibitors.

Exhibits showcased major truck and trailer brands, component suppliers and others aligned with the heavy- and medium-duty truck markets.

“We’re very excited about the momentum we’ve seen this year,” said Stacy McCants, vice president of Events for Randall-Reilly, which owns the show.

He added, “We’re already working on adding exciting attractions and attendee and exhibitor amenities to next year’s show. Our expectations are for tremendous growth in 2015 and beyond.”

GATS also offered attendees an array of seminars supported by the Texas Trucking Association, celebrity appearances by country singer Lee Ann Womack and “Deadliest Catch” star Edgar Hansen, three finalists vying for the grand prize in the Trucker Talent Search and several drawings and giveaways.

The 2015 GATS will take place Aug. 27-29 back in Dallas.