For the past 40 years, Natural Products Expo West has gathered the natural and organic products industry each March in Anaheim to capture and propel the incredible innovation, connections and inspiration that exist within our community. We all felt the impact of not being able to gather in person in 2020, and Informa Markets’ New Hope Network was hopeful that postponing Expo West 2021 to the end of May would result in us being able to confidently convene this important community event this Spring. Unfortunately, we have now reached the incredibly difficult decision to cancel the in-person Expo West event this Spring, instead of focusing our efforts on an enhanced Expo East event in September which will serve as the platform for our community to connect in-person in 2021.
The decision to refocus our efforts on the Fall event was reached through careful consideration of current government restrictions, anticipated timelines around re-opening in California, and industry feedback. We recognize the tremendous efforts and investments that go into participating in our events, and we know prolonging this decision would have prevented our community from making informed choices on time, budget and resource allocations later in 2021, and beyond.
While we are unable to meet in-person this May, all of us at New Hope are committed to continuing serving and uniting this industry, connecting buyers and brands, and providing new environments for product discovery, networking and education. As we look ahead to brighter days in 2021, we are excited to announce an enhanced Natural Products Expo East to serve both Expo East and West customers this Fall in Philadelphia (Sept 22-25), as well as the official launch of Natural Products Expo West Virtual Week (May 24-27). We will also be convening the industry for our year-round Spark Change virtual events and are exploring other ways we can meet our community’s changing needs through small, targeted in-person events and more.
An Expanded Expo East in Philadelphia
We are enthusiastically preparing for the next time our entire industry will gather in-person at Expo East in September. Philadelphia has much to offer the natural and organic products community, notably a beautiful convention center that can accommodate our expanded presence as we bring “West to East” and migrate many of the events, brands and features we’ve historically hosted in Anaheim. Along with connecting buyers and sellers in more curated ways, Expo East will bring to life our standards-driven approach to CPG sourcing and strengthen our industry’s efforts to grow organic and regenerative agriculture, engage in climate action, and foster justice, equity, diversity and inclusion. In addition, Expo East will again be co-located with Biofach America and we look forward to continuing our longstanding partnership with the Biofach team to further support the worldwide organic movement.
Plus, Philly will give our community an easy-to-navigate city environment that caters to foodies of all types, history buffs and people who want to take advantage of Pennsylvania’s rich organic agriculture scene.
Expo West Virtual Week
Originally designed to complement the Anaheim experience with digital programming access, Expo West Virtual Week will now expand to feature virtual booths, a comprehensive sampling program, networking opportunities, curated retailer/buyer programs, and conference programming focused on product innovations and trends. If you are a buyer of natural and organic products, Expo West Virtual Week is being designed to better meet your needs, whether you’re an independent natural retailer, a large chain prioritizing natural or a buyer wanting to break into this increasingly important CPG segment.
Next steps for Expo West exhibitors
For our partners who were scheduled to exhibit or sponsor at Expo West 2021, we hope you will join us at the Expo East+ event this Fall and our New Hope sales account managers will work with each of you to determine the next steps. In the coming days, exhibitors will also receive a meeting invite to schedule time with our account managers to review Expo West 2022 exhibit space options, address questions or concerns, and receive more information on Expo West Virtual Week and our Expo East 2021 expansion plans.
