Be prepared to be amazed. Whether it's vegetarian caviar made from seaweed, an organic beer based on hemp or additive-free tobacco, Natural Products Europe 2000 has the kind of products you'll never see at more conventional trade shows. Now in its fourth year, the show is the leading event in the natural and organic products' calendar. Anyone seeking the latest developments in this area will find them here. This year's show, which takes place on April 16-17, promises to be the most rewarding to date. It's being held at London's Olympia, a venue that's enabled it to almost double in size. The show's organiser, Full Moon Communications, is expecting about 500 exhibitors, including a strong international presence from Spain, Germany and Denmark, which are taking country pavilions, plus substantial participation from Italian, Dutch and US companies. Swiss, Portuguese, South African, Irish and Canadian companies are also exhibiting, with products ranging from salads to wild rice. To make it easy for visitors to find their way around, the show is being split into three halls covering organics, natural and organic products, and natural products. Organics will be the largest hall, with the criteria for showing in this section being that products must be certified as organic by an approved certifier. Spain is taking space in this section, representing its 11,773 certified organic producers. Organic farming in the country has doubled in the past two years and it exports 90% of its organic output, including wine, olive oil, chestnuts, quince jelly, almonds and wild herbs. Germany, which accounts for a third of all organic meat and dairy product sales in Europe, is bringing eight organic companies under the auspices of its CMA food marketing board. UK director Kurt Bettin says more than 50 food and drink categories will be represented, ranging from dairy, liqueurs and chocolates to jams, soups and sausages. Denmark is bringing 13 companies to the show as part of its biggest ever organic produce export drive. The country's organic boom started in 1993 and with 4% of domestic retail trade coming from organic produce, its exhibitors believe they have a great deal of experience to impart to British retailers. Dairy products, meat and delicatessen, breakfast cereals, pasta, sauces and dressings are among the products that will be featured. New Zealand has a reputation for the high quality and flavour of its organic honey, which is being featured by the New Zealand Natural Food Co, the only registered packer of the country's organic honeys in Europe. Its range includes Comvita Manuka honey, which has antibacterial activity claimed to have natural healing properties. Also from down under is Big Oz's new range of organic puffed breakfast cereal. Organic and gluten free cereal snack bars are set to follow. From the US, Taylor Brothers Farms is bringing its organic prunes, which it has been growing in California for more than 10 years. It has its own processing and packaging plant to ensure quality control. Another US participant, the Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co, will be showing a very different product. Its Natural American Spirit cigarettes are made from quality whole leaf tobacco that is claimed to be free from the chemical additives found in most mainstream brands. The advantages are a natural tobacco flavour with no chemical aftertaste and a slower burning smoking experience, says the company. A hand-rolling tobacco for the fast growing roll your own market is being launched. Organic drinks supplier Vintage Roots is to bring the most controversial natural product to the show ­ Cannabia, an organic hemp based beer. Sales of Cannabia have been legalised by the Home Office Drugs Branch. Cavi Art from Finlay's Foods is another unusual product making its debut. Looking exactly like Beluga caviar in shape, colour and packaging, it is made from seaweed with a price tag that's one seventh of the cost of real sturgeon's roe. Go Organic is featuring its vegetarian pasta sauces, curries and soups, while Gourge Skoulikas will be displaying its range of organic Mediterranean produce. Leading natural and organic food distributors Community Foods and Clearspring will be at the show, as will familiar names such as Clipper Teas, First Quality Foods and P&J Smoothies. {{FOCUS SPECIALS }}