Last week I attended the Spring ’11 edition of SpaTec, a buying forum for the spa and beauty industry.  SpaTec is a great event where buyers and sellers get to know each other through pre-scheduled 20 minute long one-on-one meetings.  Sellers can present their products and services in a quiet, focused way that differs greatly from the typical industry trade show.  In a two-day period, I met with 22 suppliers and was able to get a deeper understanding of their latest developments and initiatives.

The conference at Chateau Elan in Braselton, GA began with a keynote presentation by Dr. Elaine Dembe, an author and life coach, who gave us an inspiring talk on how to get the most of the time we have in this world.  Her web site says that this “‘cheerleader for life’ will inspire you to be your best with her prescription for a personal and work life filled with passion, purpose and joy,” and she really delivered.

Both buyers and sellers reported solid results for 2010 and shared a lot of excitement for the outlook of 2011.  Some of the standout meetings I enjoyed were with Babor, emerginC, Laboratoire Dr. Renaud, SkinPhD, and Natura Bissē, who demonstrated their Magnetic Ritual treatment on my hand.  They begin with a chakra balancing with gemstones, then utilized mud that contains diamond dust to exfoliate the skin.  The mud is then removed, almost magically, by magnetic gloves, leaving only super-soft skin with the glow of diamond dust behind.  What fun, and a great treatment for spas that lack a wet body treatment room.

Buyers saw many options in the organic and sustainable vein, with Comfort Zone showing their new Sacred Organics line, Primavera Life presenting their Primavera and Amala holistic and organic products from Germany, Hylunia Skincare with products which are not only organic but vegan, H. Gillerman with unique organic essential oil remedies, and Takara Belmont sharing their new line of beautiful and sustainable spa furniture.  A La Turca Textiles presented robes made with a blend of bamboo and organic cotton, as well as their new Hamam Collection of throws, robes, towels and accessories such as copper  bowls and loofahs to create the perfect Hamam experience.  There were more terrific options in products, equipment and packaging that are too numerous to mention.

The conference closed with an enjoyable farewell dinner and hilarious film clip, prepared by the SpaTec organizers at McLean Events, which was done in the style of a CNN news report, in homage to the Atlanta region.  All of the buyers left with new ideas and options for building business in the coming year.