The exhibition convention dedicated to herbal medicine to be held in Parma on 28 and 29 September at the Palacassa Congress Center seemed interesting for three specific factors.
First: the winning formula of training combined with exposure .
Second: 30 reports distributed over two days of the event, held by distinguished academics and technicians, together with the possibility for companies to meet herbalists and talk about themselves, presenting products and news.
Third: the topics dealt with, which cover a wide range of interests, but all remain somehow intimately connected.
These are quite negligible reasons. Not just sales but also sharing, increasing the cultural baggage of each and raising awareness among the various professional figures. Visitors will find all the information on the official website of the fair (information on online membership, directions, affiliated hotel facilities, etc.).
The numbers of the previous edition promise very well: 1.345 Herbalists, 44 conferences, 78 exhibiting companies in 2012: it is from these numbers that the Third Edition of the "Erboristeria" Exhibition Convention starts .
We took the opportunity to ask a few questions to the event coordinator and moderator Dr. Mariella Di Stefano, Journalist and Director of the herbalist magazine .
Let's start with an orientation idea on the herbal sector in Italy. Growing or affected by the crisis?
The herbal sector in our country is made up of 4, 325 herbalists distributed throughout the country; it is one of the most interesting and dynamic realities in Europe, also thanks to the significant tradition of Italy regarding medicinal plants. What is the state of health of this world, which is addressed by the "Herbalist" conference? The data released by UnionCamere (the public body representing the Italian Chamber of Commerce system) at the end of 2012 showed, after a slight decline in June of last year, again a growth in the number of herbalists, with a situation more lively in central and southern Italy and greater suffering in regions such as Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia Romagna.
This sector therefore not only holds the impact of the crisis, but also shows signs of vitality, even more important in this phase. To complete these objective data with the operators' point of view, I would like to refer to a survey conducted among the readers of our magazine, the Herbalist (who collaborates with SENAF at the Parma event) in February 2013: the majority of the herbalists surveyed For the current year, a substantial stability was expected in the sale of natural products that form the hard core of herbal medicine, namely herbal tea, food supplements and plant extracts . Without denying the difficulties of the period, we can therefore say that among the neighborhood shops, herbalists are among the realities that are best resisting the crisis. The data of UnionCamere in the first half of 2013 (expected in mid-July) will say whether the trend just traced for Italian herbal medicine will be confirmed or not.
In this regard, it is worth mentioning also the data of Cosmetica Italia (the association that brings together companies in the cosmetic sector) that reconfirm the herbal medicine as the most dynamic sales channel. The estimated growth for 2013 is around 5%, in sharp contrast with what happens in other sectors and in pharmacies.
Now that the conference is in its third edition, does it reveal how the first spark was born, the original idea from which it all started?
The first edition of Erboristeria di 2011 was born to satisfy the request of herbalists to update themselves professionally . Herbalist is the meeting point dedicated to herbalists and their training: they have had and will have excellent content from illustrious speakers.
The meeting between herbalists and producers is an important moment. The conference aims to give value to this exchange. By what means?
The "Erboristeria" exhibition conference, now in its third edition, successfully uses an original formula, that of the exhibition conference: a large number of update conferences held by experts in the field on subjects of professional interest for herbalists takes place in extremely functional spaces delle Fiere di Parma, allowing companies in the sector to showcase market news.
For companies, this is an opportunity to meet their customers who, in turn, have the opportunity to be informed about the most recent innovations to be offered in herbal medicine. This guarantees the exchange between two important poles of the herbal supply chain in a professional and targeted environment.
Not only herbal medicine but also conferences on other topics such as diet (there will also be space for the very effective food strategy developed by Dr. Kousmine) and much more.
The formula we have devised offers opportunities for updating on all the issues concerning the professional activity of the herbalist, thus giving each operator the opportunity to identify and choose those that he considers of greatest interest: medicinal plants and plant extracts, gemmoderivates and trace elements, phytocosmetics, cultivation of medicinal plants. Of course, we will also talk about nutrition and nutrition, aligned with the Hippocratic principle that our health, now more than ever, is closely linked to the quality of the foods we eat.
The Kousmine method, based on clinical research and on the scientific studies of Swiss doctor Catherine Kousmine, will be the focus of a report that explores its use in the stages of a woman's life; we will also talk about food oncoprotection (in particular to combat degenerative diseases induced by toxic metals), nutrition and environmental allergies, food inflammation, how to prevent and combat a widespread problem such as osteoporosis with an adequate diet.
Bach's psychology and flowers. In the practical reality in Italy is the time of the interview with the flower-therapist considered important or is it still considered marginal? Does it show that herbalists and psychologists collaborate? Or does it often happen that a professional figure also integrates the other with a specific course of study?
Flower remedies are present in the majority of Italian herbalists, of which they constitute a non-negligible sales sector. Catalysts of awareness, can be used on all subjects, even in old age and in children, as well as for animals and in the treatment of plants.
The success of Bach Flowers, the most widespread branch of flower therapy in Italy, is inevitably linked to the ability of those who advise them who, in addition to having a basic education in the subject, must be equipped with the capacity for evaluation, analysis and synthesis, of sensitivity and also intuition. It is necessary, in fact, to know how to listen to what the person wants to tell during the interview, but also to be able to intuit the unspoken. Certainly, to give advice aimed at those who intend to tackle their problems with Bach flowers, it is essential that the operator (flower-therapist, naturopath, herbalist who has followed specific courses, etc.) is able to grasp the range of personal dynamics at basis of the exposed discomfort. There is also wide awareness of this in our country, where many herbalists are supported by naturopaths or experts in flower therapy, developing interesting collaborations. Less common, but present, forms of collaboration with psychologists .
We were also struck by the new media. A conference will be dedicated to new strategies for loyalty in herbal medicine. The use of social networks. How popular is the practice of communication at this level in the herbal sector?
The updating contents we have included, in this and in the previous editions of "Erboristeria", also include marketing strategies to enhance herbal medicine. This in the belief that this is an important element in the herbalist's baggage of expertise, even more so in a phase such as the current one in which the maintenance and re-launch of the sector are also played on the ability to increase the competitiveness of herbal medicine compared to others sales channels.
The professionalism and skills now acquired in decades of activity are a solid starting point that can be completed and enhanced with new promotional tools and more effective communication with the customer, including the rational use of new technologies and social networks .
Herbal medicine is gradually approaching new technologies and, above all among the younger ones entering this profession, the awareness that it is essential today to use this tool to communicate with the client and increase their visibility is becoming established.
Therefore the herbalists that have their own website grow, those that use e-commerce and interact with social networks, Facebook in particular. Point out for example the Forum of Herbalist Techniques, a Facebook group that brings together about 2000 herbalists and students of the degree course in herbal techniques.
If you were to define some main goals of the conference, what would they be?
We like to call the conference "Herbalist" the agora of herbalists, a place not only virtual but made of real people and skills, in which to weave the network of supply chain relationships and relocate the role of the profession looking to the future. Update of herbalists first and foremost, but also meeting between people doing the same job and confrontation / exchange with operators who, at various levels, act in the sector, in particular with companies.
It is therefore an event that brings together producers, growers of medicinal plants and herbalists, those of today and those who are preparing to become one. The presence of students on the degree course in herbal techniques is, in fact, promoted with special benefits (free admission, internships), because we have always believed in the future of this profession.
Similarly, "Erboristeria" maintains a constant relationship with the trade and business associations, which gave all the patronage to the conference. The objective, in short, is to bring together different professionals who are active in the same sector to reconstruct in a concrete way the overall identity of the herbal supply chain.
