Get ready, Sydney, because next month is the FitHer Expo – the biggest and only consumer-focused expo for women in Australia! What’s New in Fitness had the opportunity to meet with Emma Price, the brainchild of the event, and get the goss on what we can expect at FitHer 2023.
Growing up in Tasmania, Emma says that health and fitness have been a key part of her life since she can remember as a kid on the netball courts. A sea change to the Sunshine Coast six years ago with her family allowed them to embrace a healthy and active lifestyle even more so, and you’ll usually spot Emma running the Noosa National Park track, on the beach watching her kids do Nippers, or out on a family bike ride. “As a mum to three beautiful children (two earthside and one looking down on me), health and fitness have always been a big part of this journey, running and being active well into my pregnancies, then with a stroller in front of me; and now with a bike by my side.”, says Emma.
What is FitHer Expo?
The first of its kind, FitHer Expo brings together fitness, fashion, beauty, health, wellness, and retail in one spectacular weekend. The two-day event is an opportunity for women to connect, explore new brands, products and services, and ultimately shop! FitHer will take place in Sydney at the ICC in Darling Harbour on October 7th and 8th.
The Story Behind FitHer Expo:
We wanted to know more about how FitHer went from an idea to a reality and asked Emma about the journey so far…
How long have you been planning the FitHer Expo? Was this a pre-Covid brainchild that had to wait until the time was right? Tell us about how the idea came about.
Emma: After getting quite excited about triathlons and embarking on my first event (this was pre-Covid and the event was cancelled), I was actually planning an event around that sport until I realised I didn’t know enough about the technical side of triathlons! It occurred to me while spending a lot of time walking and running during COVID-19 times that what was missing was an event that brought women together in a face-to-face environment to connect with each other, explore new brands, and get fit and active together. A few iterations later, the FitHer Expo was created focusing on women being the fittest version of themselves in body, mind, and life and coming together to celebrate this.
Large-scale events like this involve significant planning. Have you been involved in coordinating anything similar to the FitHer Expo before?
Emma: I sure have! My other love outside of women’s health and fitness is supporting parents and families raising children with disabilities. My late daughter, Charlotte, had a rare genetic condition called Angelman Syndrome and because of our own challenges finding information, I created Source Kids. Source Kids has become one of the leading organisations in Australia supporting families through our magazine, online, and expo events that run across five states each year. We have now held over 15 expos over five years and have built an incredible environment for families to connect with product and service providers.
Large-scale events like expos take an exceptional amount of planning, effort, and work across many months/years and I am fortunate to bring a wealth of events experience to FitHer, not just in myself but my incredibly experienced team in the events space.
What have been the main challenges you’ve faced so far in the planning and preparation phase?
Emma: Like any new business, we’ve had plenty of challenges. While we have a wealth of knowledge in event management, as a first-time event we are doing everything for the first time, so we are navigating the path as we go in terms of structuring workouts and speaker stages, creating exciting activations, and managing all logistics of the event. Proudly, our team has conquered all of these challenges and we are incredibly excited to see all of our work in action at the expo in a few weeks.
How do you connect with business owners – particularly smaller start-ups that are out there in order to get them involved with the event?
Emma: All of our team live and breathe women’s health and fitness, so we are always finding incredible brands out there that would be a great fit for FitHer. Because of this we’ve been able to genuinely connect with so many incredible brands across a large range of product and service categories and the support has been overwhelming. We’ve had incredible support from so many businesses including smaller start-ups where FitHer is the perfect platform to reach a large new audience to launch their product or service as well as for those more established brands.
FitHer Founder Emma Price and team member Gabe Dyson. Image courtesy of Candice Epthorp.
What can we expect to see at FitHer Sydney?
FitHer Expo has an exciting line-up of Australia’s top women in fitness sharing both live workouts and presentations on stage, including Kayla Itsines, Kic’s Steph Smith and Laura Henshaw, Katie Martin, and Chontel Duncan, as well as many fabulous brands showcasing a diverse range of products and services around women’s health and fitness, plus some fun activation spaces. Those attending can expect to feel energised, motivated, and connected with other women from the minute they arrive until the minute they leave!
While the expo itself is focused on the consumers attending, there is a wonderful opportunity for business owners and representatives to network with other partners/exhibitors and explore opportunities for collaboration. The “move-in” day will provide a great opportunity for businesses to see what other brands are on display and get to know likeminded businesses, as well as across the event days where networking between exhibitors and partners is encouraged.
We asked Emma if she and her team have noticed any particular health and wellness trends that women are paying attention to at the moment. “A big trend that we are seeing at the moment is women focusing on becoming stronger with more strength based training programs. Women are now looking to build muscle and strength rather than the stereotype that to be fit you had to be thin. Women are also taking a more holistic approach to health and wellness too with a focus on fuelling their bodies with good nutrition and supplements, recovery, and the power of the mind. As a company, our mission is to help women be the fittest version of themselves, in mind, body, and life, whatever that looks like to each individual woman”, says Emma.
How much does it cost to attend FitHer Expo 2023?
The FitHer event is free to attend, but you do need to register for tickets.
Live workouts and attendance at the speakers’ stage will be free for attendees, but due to limited space in the live workout area, this will be a ticketed event with limited tickets available and it will be on a first come first served basis.
There will be a VIP experience released shortly that will have a cost attached to this – full details will be announced soon. There will be a range of brands featured at the expo across several categories of fashion, fitness, nutrition, food and beverages, beauty, travel, and more. To find out more about the exhibitor lineup or to get your hand on a VIP experience, follow FitHer on social media and sign up for their email newsletter.
What's in store for the future of FitHer?
Emma and the team have plans in place for 2024 to take FitHer Expo to other states, after receiving many requests. Stay tuned, because these future dates will be announced shortly after the Sydney Expo, with Queensland and Victoria on the radar!
Check out this short video of what we found at FitHer 2023!
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