New Hope, Informa & SFA Update Attendees

In the week since the Natural Products Expo West trade show was postponed, the food industry has seen several other shows cancelled or delayed due to the fast moving virus COVID-19. Yesterday, Expo West producer New Hope and Fancy Foods Show producer The Specialty Food Association (SFA) updated their respective attendees with show updates. Meanwhile, Supply Side East was postponed until the Summer.

In an email and online update, New Hope told Expo West would-be-attendees that it was still actively working to find solutions, adding it has been in touch with the 60 plus hotels that were part of the conference room block, as well as other Expo vendors. In addition, New Hope said, it is setting up an independent advisory council to assist with understanding how to best, and “most fairly,” utilize the $5 million fund created to support brands affected by Expo West’s postponement. The council, New Hope said, will consist of brand CEOs, retailers and other industry leaders.

Meanwhile, New Hope’s parent company, Informa, has postponed another of its upcoming trade shows, Supply Side East, moving the event from April 21-22 to June 23-24. The conference, which features suppliers and ingredient providers, will continue to be held at the Meadowlands Expo Center in Secaucus, New Jersey. In an update posted to the conference website, Informa noted that the postponement to June “will provide exhibitors more time before incurring shipping and other costs, and all participants will face less pressure to make travel commitments now, when the situation is still so fluid.”

Finally, the Specialty Food Association, which is currently planning for the Summer Fancy Food Show June 28-30 in New York City, posted an update to its website about its own efforts to protect the health and safety of attendees. As of now, the Specialty Food Association said it has no plans to postpone the Fancy Food Show or the judging for its awards (the SOFI awards). The group has, however, decided to postpone its April 14 conference, The Business Summit, citing “the state of emergency announced in California.”

For the Summer Fancy Food Show, the organizers said they will, for now, move forward as planned. The news comes two days after New York Governor Cuomo declared a State of Emergency as the number of coronavirus cases in New York reached over 80 individuals.

The SFA noted that while last weekend’s International Restaurant and Food Service Show of New York and Coffee Fest New York both took place as planned at the Javits Center, two other events (Vision Expo East and The World Floral Expo) and one trade show (The Beauty Experience New York) have been postponed. The SFA noted these conferences were delayed, in part, because “these events had substantial overseas exhibitor participation from countries affected by the virus.” However, the 2019 Summer Fancy Food Show also welcomed over attendees from over 50 countries, according to a prior release.

Precautionary measures by the Javits Center include the addition of over 70 hand sanitizing stations and increased cleaning schedules, the SFA wrote.

In its update, the SFA noted that “At this time, there are no advisories against public events in New York.” However New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio recently tweeted “We need everyone to do their part in reducing overcrowding,” suggesting that residents try to avoid crowded subway stations and trains.