New Hope Network misses gathering with the natural and organic products community, and we are sad to announce that we will need to wait until 2021 for us all to be together in person again due to the continued impact of the COVID-19 crisis on events and travel. While we were excited to welcome the community to Philadelphia Sept. 23-26 for Natural Products Expo East and have spent the last three months creating detailed health and safety plans for the event, we have made the difficult decision to cancel.

We are making this decision now—more than three months before the event—because we want to do what’s best for you. We’ve learned from surveys and conversations that many community members, including retail buyers, are not confident they will feel safe traveling to or attending a large event in September. A potential lack of buyer participation, along with the show changes we would need to make to ensure the health and safety of the Expo East community, would have prevented us from delivering the quality experience and return on investment our exhibitors, sponsors and the broader community deserves and that we strive to provide.

Our focus now is to take care of you and make the Expo East cancellation process as easy as possible. We will be refunding all paid Expo East 2020 badges and education registrations. Our New Hope sales account managers will work with each exhibitor and sponsor on a credit or refund plan. Our Expo East FAQ page provides more details.

2020 was expected to be a special year for Expo East, as we moved the event to Philadelphia and designed an experience that would elevate the story of organic and celebrate our industry’s product innovation and sustainability efforts. We are grateful for the incredible work and support our Philadelphia partners have poured into Expo East and deeply regret the impact this cancellation will have on our partners and the Philly community members who were planning on hosting our event in September.

Philadelphia is amazing, and we look forward to welcoming the expo community to our new East Coast home in September 2021.

Spark Change: A digital product discovery, education and connection platform for 2020 and beyond

In a year that has now brought the cancellation of both Expo West and Expo East, we know that many natural and organic product brands and buyers are missing the opportunity to connect directly on product innovation and the stories behind these new offerings; and we know that the community at large is eager to spend time together learning, conversing and convening with new friends and old. To fill this void, New Hope has created a digital events and content series called Spark Change.

Beginning in August, Spark Change will guide the natural and organic products community through a virtual journey of product discovery, education and connection. Brands and innovators will have the opportunity to get in front of retail buyers, consumer influencers, investors and others via digital storytelling and product sampling; retailers and others will be able to easily navigate new innovation based on theme, trend and product category—and meet the people behind these offerings; and the entire community will have access to interactive and actionable conference education and digital networking.

To our exhibiting community, we are excited to discuss with you how Spark Change will help your company connect directly with retail buyers, influencers, investors and others who can help you build and grow your business in this challenging and fast-changing CPG environment.

To our retailers, distributors, influencers, investors, exhibitors and anyone who attends our Natural Products Expos, we invite you to learn more about Spark Change during our community digital launch event this August.

While COVID-19 is changing the world, the natural and organic products industry is poised to make a positive difference for people and planet—and New Hope Network is here to help all of us spark the change we want to see in the world.

Source: New Hope Network