Trying to continue safely supporting the natural products community, media and events company New Hope announced on Thursday the cancellation of the in-person aspect of its annual Natural Products Expo West conference, moving the event to a virtual format.
The conference, which typically draws over 90,000 attendees from around the globe, was slated to be held in Anaheim, California on May 24-27. The cancellation marks the third consecutive conference New Hope has had to cancel due the Covid-19 pandemic. New Hope had previously announced that Expo West would be pushed back from its original March date to May. New Hope is also hoping that a larger Expo East event in September will be better timed against the ongoing pandemic.
Carlotta Mast, SVP and market leader overseeing New Hope, said that the decision to cancel the in-person event was made after speaking with local representatives of the city of Anaheim, as well as natural products industry stakeholders while taking into account government restrictions, anticipated timelines around the re-opening of California for mass gatherings, and industry feedback.
“It just was very clear to us that the Expo West event was not going to be possible,” Mast said. “It was important to make that decision now because we understand the impact of prolonging a decision on our exhibitors and retail buyers… we were not willing to take that risk and have the community continue to have to wait and wonder.”
The early timing of the cancellation comes after New Hope received criticism from members of the industry for cancelling the 2020 Expo West event less than a day before it was scheduled to begin. While Mast said last year’s timing “might not have felt like” it was made in a timely manner, she attributed the then “limited” understanding of COVID-19, as well as “disparate input” as reason for the delay. Other criticism centered around a lack of communication regarding refunds.
Those exhibitors who have already purchased booth space or sponsorships for Expo West are able to roll their funds over to Expo West 2022. According to an FAQ on the Expo West website, exhibitors should receive an email from their account managers within the next few days.
Instead, utilizing the Spark Change website and platform launched last year, New Hope will host a Natural Products Expo West Virtual Week in May that Mast said will include a virtual trade show, direct sampling to industry members, and one-on-one buyer meetings. September’s enhanced Expo East should also include additional programming normally part of Expo West, Mast said. If Expo East also needs to be adapted or postponed, Mast said she expects to again give the natural products community as much advance notice as possible.
“It became very clear that the timing of an Expo East in September was much more comfortable for everyone,” Mast said. “There’s a lot of optimism about the real progress that we’ll make on the vaccine front and containing this pandemic so that people feel comfortable in a tradeshow environment.”
Informa, New Hope’s parent company, has already begun hosting events around the globe, developing best practices for safely holding events during the pandemic. For example, this week the company held MAGIC Pop Up Orlando, an apparel, accessories and footwear event. At the conference, attendees had daily temperature screenings, were required to wear masks, and show a negative covid test or have a negative test onsite.
Mast now leads New Hope after being promoted to the role earlier this month. Previously the SVP of content & insights for Informa Market’s Health & Nutrition group, which includes New Hope and the SupplySide/Natural Products Insider businesses, she assumed the role after Scott Owen, VP of New Hope, announced his retirement as of March. Mast said despite the difficult circumstances surrounding the pandemic, she’s looking forward to continuing to support the natural products community.
“I’m excited to continue evolving the New Hope business to best meet the needs of the dynamic and growing natural and organic products industry,” Mast said. “I want us to continue playing an active role in helping our customers and community thrive so that we can all have a more positive impact on people and the planet.”