Ahead of the show floor opening at Vision Expo West 2025, EB editor-in-chief Kerri Ann DeCindis caught up with The Vision Council CEO Ashley Mills to discuss show highlights and what's ahead for the show's annual format.
Eyecare Business: What are some highlights for the show this year?
Mills: Vision Expo is the one place where people bring their new collections and launch products, so we have a lot of amazing activations in our exhibitors' booths this year. We've also known from all of our research that attendees come to the show to see what's new and the latest in innovation, so we have a huge focus on technology this year, plus a lot of celebrity appearances, giveaways, and special events.
Eyecare Business: Can you share more on the technology front?
Mills: Today for the first time at Vision Expo, VSP has brought the Global Innovation Challenge to the show. It's a global contest. We had some tremendous applicants and the six finalists will be presenting on this stage today at four o'clock; we will have a winner. These are technologies that will absolutely change the game in terms of diagnosis, disease management, and [more].
Eyecare Business: There is some exciting news coming down the pipeline for 2026 for Vision Expo. Can you share a bit about that?
Mills: I would love to. This is our last Vision Expo West, as we'll be moving to one show. It's what the industry wants. It's what the profession wants. It's the most effective way to see absolutely everything that there is to see for your business. It will take place in March in Orlando. The following year we will come back to Vegas, and the following year we'll go to New York. So we'll be moving the show around, but what's most exciting is really to deliver on that promise that you will see everything new. We're working with our exhibitors now to incentivize them to do all of their product launches [and] to bring their new collections. You'll be able to see the complete complement of technology and equipment, just simply things that you can't have shown to you on a video call or brought to your office by a rep. It's really a live, in-person experience and it'll all take place in March.