The Food Marketing Institute heads to Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay for the annual FMI Show.

What happens in Las Vegas won’t stay there if the Food Marketing Institute’s annual FMI Show plus Marketechnics has anything to say.

The show will be held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center on the Las Vegas Strip May 4-7, 2008.

The show will be attended by thousands of retailers, wholesalers, distributors and importers/exporters from around the world. Those attendees will also have the chance to see more than 1,000 exhibitors from suppliers such as Dakota Beef LLC, Coinstar Inc., the Hershey Co., Humane Farm Animal Care, Amerlux Lighting Solutions and many more.

The show will focus on education and getting the best ideas and profitability on the retail level, with a full day added for educational sessions. Two of the big highlights of the 2008 show are the keynote address and an educational super session.

Andrew Winston, author of “Green to Gold” and founder of Winston Eco-Strategies, will give the keynote address: “Green to Gold — How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage.” He will be speaking on how some of the leading companies have implemented sustainability into their business plans to the benefit of the customer, local communities and profitability.

The super session will be given by Martin Lindstrom, author of “BrandSense” and “BrandChild.” His session, “Today’s Global Kids and Brands,” will give him a chance to share his insights into children’s minds and the required components of branding. Other educational sessions will touch on the use of Internet in retail, consumer insight, store operations, the leader ship and talent gap and sales/marketing and merchandising.

For international attendees, a trade center will be set up so people can conduct new business. A special session in Spanish, “Evolving Consumer Expectations in Latin America,” will also be held with the cooperation of Asociacion Latinoamericana de Supermercados (ALAS).

The FMI will also be recognizing those at the front line of retail with the Store Manager Superior Service Awards. The contestants will be judged by a panel of experts with nine of the best receiving the award on May 5.

The Supplier Diversity Program will also be returning for the eleventh year. The program connects women- and minority-owned suppliers with retail buyers with access to exhibit space and services at a reduced rate.

Four other conferences have been co-located to Las Vegas this year. Marketechnics, being held with the FMI Show, will allow people to attend technology sessions and visit the show floor. The United Fresh Marketplace will offer attendees to see new innovations in ready-to-eat items, new produce and creative merchandising tools to help increase sales and profitability of fresh produce.

United FreshTech will let attendees find technical solutions and food-safety products to help improve the efficiency and profitability and post-harvest operations. The Supermarket Pharmacy Conference, which requires a separate registration, will cover how pharmacies add to the total supermarket business.