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Healthy Grab-and-Go Meals and Snacks Draw Retailer Attention

ALEXANDRIA, VA -- Norwegian Jakes Lunch Boxers and Ready to Go fruit and vegetable snacks from Ready Pac were the top items scanned by attendees at the 2006 NACS Show in Las Vegas, held last week.

Thousands of attendees used hand-held scanners in the Cool New Products Preview Room to scan their top product choices and receive a comprehensive print-out of where to locate those selected products on the show floor. Over the course of four days, a cumulative 17,701 new products were scanned; the overall top 10 scans from the NACS Show 2006 were:

1. Norwegian Jakes Lunch Boxers (Norwegian Jakes)
2. Ready to Go Snacks (Ready Pac)
3. ItzaGasCan (Delta Marketing Inc.)
4. Produce Foam Basket (JSI Store Fixtures Inc.)
5. Wrigley's Altoids Dark Chocolate Dipped Mints (Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co.)
6. Gas Station TV (Gas Station TV dba GSTV)
7. E6-MU Espresso/Cappuccino Machine (Schaerer USA Corp.)
8. Chiquita To Go (Chiquita Fresh North America LLP)
9. Sour Wave Juice Drink (joint venture between American Beverage Corp. and Innovative Candy Concepts)
10. Tea/Non-carbonated Drink Dispenser (Leramo Coffee Corp.).

The hand-held scanners also developed reports listing each day's top 10 scans. The overall top scanned item, Norwegian Jakes Lunch Boxers (Norwegian Jakes), was the top item scanned on October 9, 10 and 11. Lunch Boxers is a unique portable meal, packed inside a reusable microwave container, created for active lifestyles and people on the go of all ages. On October 8, the top scanned item was Produce Foam Basket (JSI Store Fixtures Inc.).

The Cool New Products Preview Room included products for resale, floor and counter-top displays, shelving, technology and other types of services and equipment. For the first day and a half of the NACS Show 2006, retailers, wholesalers and distributors had exclusive access to the area where they were able to see new products before the expo floor officially opened. The scanning devices allowed them to capture company and product information, booth location and the product's release date into the convenience channel, which was delivered to users in a customized report.

"The Cool New Products Preview Room was the place to see the latest trends for the industry. It was very convenient because all of the new products were in one central location, and the scanners made it easy for me to capture product information and develop a roadmap to the expo floor to find and make the right connections with exhibitors," noted Kevin Schmuckal, vice president of retail operations for Schmuckal Oil Company, of Traverse City, Mich.

The NACS Show 2007 will take place November 6 to 9 in Atlanta, Ga.
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