Photo by Marty Caivano

Hector Ramirez, left, and Aureny Alvarez stack hamburger buns for packaging Tuesday afternoon at Rudi’s Organic Bakery. The Boulder-based organic baked-goods maker is one of more than 40 local companies attending the Natural Products Expo West this weekend in Anaheim, Calif.

College basketball's annual tournament will be under way next week, but for some members of the natural products industry, the "Big Dance" starts this week.

By Friday, more than 47,000 people from around the world are expected to converge in the Anaheim, Calif., convention center for the 28th annual Natural Products Expo West. The three-day trade show is the largest of its kind in the $56.7 billion natural and organic products industry, said Nicola Ferrell, executive director of marketing for New Hope Natural Media, the Boulder-based division of Penton Media that hosts the expo.

"We're expecting it to be the largest (Expo West) ever," she said.

The Boulder area has played a big role in the industry to date -- its ideas have generated billions of dollars in sales, its entrepreneurs have spurred innovative advancements and its local companies employ thousands of people -- and is expected to have a significant presence at this year's show.

More than 40 companies from the area will exhibit at the show, which is hosted by the local New Hope Natural Media and marketed by the Boulder-based Fresh Ideas Group. These 40-plus exhibitors include newer firms such as Ice Box Bakery and Mix1, and veterans such as WhiteWave Foods and Hain Celestial Group.

Some familiar faces in the local industry will be looking to build their latest ventures: Silk creator Steve Demos will be exhibiting his Boulder-based NextFoods, and Wild Oats Markets co-founder Mike Gilliland will walk the trade show halls in his latest role heading up the growing Sunflower Farmers Markets.

The show kicks off just months after the highly visible acquisition of Boulder-based Wild Oats by natural foods giant Whole Foods Market, and comes as more traditional retailers continue to broaden their offerings to include more "natural," "organic" and "sustainable" products.

The event is more than a niche affair, said Colin Sankey, chief executive officer of Snikiddy LLC, an organic- and healthy-snack company that recently relocated its headquarters to Boulder.

"We've created an industry that was, what we used to call it, the natural foods industry," Sankey said. "But you know what? This is not the natural foods industry. This is the food industry. This is the evolution of the food industry."

While food manufacturers do tend to dominate the makeup of the nearly 2,000 exhibitors New Hope Natural Media expects at this year's expo, other sectors are represented as well -- from organic dog treats to cleaning products to mascara.

The hope for a young company of Snikiddy's size is to further relationships with retailers and distributors, Sankey said.

As a larger and more established firm, the expectations for Rudi's Organic Bakery are for the Boulder-based organic baked-goods maker to feature new products, such as its wraps and granola, and to demonstrate how it's "been making a difference," said Doug Radi, vice president of marketing for Rudi's, which is part of Charter Baking Co.

"Expo's a great forum to showcase that passion," he said.

Contact Camera Business Writer Alicia Wallace at 303-473-1332 or wallacea@dailycamera.com.