The conference runs from Sunday 24 February to Wednesday 27 February at the Fontainebleau Resort on Miami Beach, Florida.
Around 600 people are expected to attend from large multinationals such as Mars and Hershey, to smaller companies and retailers such as 7-Eleven.
NCA president Larry Graham kicks off the morning session on Monday with a review of 2012, followed by an address on the state of the industry by his colleague Larry Wilson and an analyst from market services provider Nielsen.
The morning session concludes with presentations on economic trends from Goldman Sachs and supermarket insights from the Food Marketing Institute.
Debra Sandler, president of Mars Chocolate North America will also deliver a speech about working collectively to achieve a sustainable cocoa supply.
Tuesday’s sessions include talks from Mondelez’s chocolate head Bharat Puri, KPMG and the president of Family Dollar Stores.
The event will be closed by an address from the former US secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld and a speech on the political economy by Fox News host Lou Dobbs.
The conference will also host a Confectionery Leadership Awards ceremony honoring retail customers for management practices and innovative in-store merchandising.
The winners have already been announced as:
- Julia Bischoff, senior category manager at Smart & Final.
- Kimberley Felice-Dooley, senior category manager at CVS Caremark Corp.
- AJ Jesswani, category merchant - candy and commercial bakery at Meijer, Inc.