Las Vegas, June 28, 2007—The World Tea Expo--the world’s largest trade show dedicated to tea and tea-related products—wrapped up its most successful year ever this June at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.  The Expo hosted 280 exhibiting companies from 15 different countries in an exhibit space totaling 31,350 net square feet.  Over three days, the World Tea Expo welcomed a total of 4,456 visitors through its doors.  A full 75% of the attendees were buyers authorized to make purchasing decisions for their companies, and 49.6% came with the specific goal of placing orders at the Expo.

This year’s event reflects a number of significant changes.  The World Tea Expo management changed the show date from March to June, the venue from Las Vegas to Atlanta, and the days of the show to Saturday through Monday.  All were very pleased with the results.  The new location allowed the show to draw in a large number of first-time attendees, with 28.7% of buyers coming from the South Atlantic region.  The day pattern helped spread the traffic over the three days with many corporate buyers and foodservice professionals coming on Monday, the final day.

Whereas most events that leave Las Vegas show a drop in attendance, the World Tea Expo was happy to see a modest 8% growth.  Returning to Las Vegas in 2008, May 30 - June 1 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, the Expo expects to return to double-digit attendance growth.

As always, one of the highlights of the show was the Iced Tea Shake-Off competition, the event that sets the standard for iced tea in three categories: Commercially Brewed (Foodservice), Ready-to-Drink (RTD), and Freestyle. The competition was especially pertinent as June is National Iced Tea Month.  This year’s Shake-Off enjoyed a record number of entries, exceeding 60 different iced concoctions.  All entries were judged blind by a panel of tea industry movers and shakers.

For photos, interviews with tea experts, and other media inquiries:Jennifer Anderson or Stephanie Teuwen, Teuwen One Image: 212-244-0622 This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it