Vision Expo East 2025 bringing it all: Fashion, innovation, technology, and patient care

With Vision Expo East 2025 around the corner, Ashley Mills, CEO of The Vision Council, details what makes the show stand out from the rest and what is new and exciting at this year's event. According to Mills, the Vision Expo East 2025 aims to provide a unique, contained environment for attendees, with events and activities concentrated in a specific area including a convention center and attached hotels. The show will feature over 300 exhibitors, including major brands and independent boutiques, and nearly 300 hours of education. New additions include an independent lab activation and an over-the-counter pavilion. The expo emphasizes the integration of fashion and healthcare technology, offering a comprehensive experience for the optical community. It also highlights trends through presentations and a trends showcase, and aims to support a thriving optical industry through advocacy and data communications.

Vision Expo East will run from February 19-22, 2025 in Orlando Florida. Free registration is now available through the show's website.

Video transcript

Editor's note: This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

Ashley Mills:

I think the feedback is overwhelmingly excited. I think people are ready to have a different environment and to be better connected in a more contained community feeling. And we'll definitely be able to deliver that between the convention center and then there are 3 hotels that are attached, plus all of our events are taking place in in that area. So when you spend your day in conference, the conference happy hour will take place right there. And then you can walk out, and as you're on your way back to your hotel, you'll stumble upon the opening night party or a tropical reception or a pool activation. So it will just be very contained. It will be a completely different experience. Anyone who still wants to come, I can give you a free reg code right now: VEE2025.com, and then /TVC, that stands for The Vision Council, and you'll get free registration, so do that. Then there are plenty of hotels that were sold out at the hotels that are attached by walkway, but there's still adjacent hotels, and we have a shuttle bus running constantly. So again, it'll all be in the same neighborhood. Nothing's too far.

So in terms of evolution of the show experience, I do think that they will make better connections at this event, just by nature of all of the networking activities, the happy hours, the cocktail parties, etc, but the proximity. So I think new connections certainly. But in addition, we've made an effort this year to think a little bit outside of what is typical at an optometric event. And so 2 examples are, we're launching an independent lab activation. So we have an indie lab speakeasy on the show floor. That's at the back, at the same kind of area as the main stage. But you have independent labs that are really having a resurgence, and we're seeing all these new businesses come online, and they're really looking to talk to practices and make connections about maybe a different lab relationship for practices that could be advantageous. So that's something to look for. And then we've also added an over-the-counter pavilion, being cognizant of the fact that some patients want to buy an over the counter reader or at a different price point. And there'll be people there to talk about how you can integrate that into the practice experience, to either upsell after an exam or attract patients who might not be ready to go into a prescription lens, but still would like to talk about their vision. So those are some new things that I think our brand, it's completely different than anything we've ever done, and we see it as a real way to expand.

So another thing this show does better than any other event, really, is just in its scope and size and scale. And so in addition to almost 300 hours of education, we have over 300 exhibitors, so everyone from an independent boutique fashion designer like KIO YAMATO, all the way to the biggest brands that you know, and then, of course, all of the technology, equipment, and practice services in between. So really, again, an emphasis on the integration of fashion, healthcare, technology.

I think what Vision Expo East does for an attendee and for a practice is make the most of time spent away from practice. So in truth, if you have a day, if practices from the southeast are coming for 1 day on the train, they can get education and see everything that the show floor has to offer and catch some programming. If you have a day and a half, I mean, you can really maximize your time out of practice, because we are showing, again, independent eye wear, big brands, technology, equipment, [C]++ programming, and then also what we do, and really is unique to us, is it is the entire optical community gathered in 1 place. I know that there are a lot of other events out there that offer very, very specific programming or experiences. Butthis event offers absolutely everything, and so it's really the best way to educate yourself, your staff, and then also do the buying that you need, or even kick the tires on equipment that you're trying to make a decision on.

You know, our goal just to explain, as The Vision Council, we're the industry trade association, but we're mission driven, and our mission is a strong and thriving optical industry, and that benefits everyone. And so Vision Expo is actually how we do that. We do it through advocacy and data communications and consumer awareness, and everyone benefits from that. But really the success of this show will be just a thriving optical community.
For anyone interested in an opportunity to see what trends are coming their way, we have really done a lot to partner on the fashion side. So everyone will have access to a presentation by the Doniger Group this year on what their trend spotting reporting is looking like. And we have our Now Trends Showcase, which is going to focus on 4 different areas this year: sensorial design, innovation, memories are made of, and consciously designed, and so that will be showcased all the products throughout the show. And then there's a Now Award ceremony on Friday afternoon. So really a great place to see everything, see what's trending, and then take it back to the practice and see how the patients are responding to it.