Natural-foods brands lament missed opportunities at postponed Expo West
ANAHEIM, California — Postponement of this week’s Natural Products Expo West has local food brands relieved to avoid exposure to coronavirus but also disappointed about wasted travel costs and missed networking opportunities.
“We were extremely excited to showcase our new nut butter protein bars and are saddened to miss such an instrumental moment for the industry and for us as a brand,” Bobo’s Oat Bars CEO TJ McIntyre said Wednesday in a statement to BizWest. “It is a hard reality that we are not able to showcase our newest innovations and connect with many industry leaders, influential retailers, key partners and more.”
Bobo’s is based in Boulder but maintains manufacturing operations in Loveland.
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The expo, organized by Boulder-based New Hope Network, was postponed Monday, less than 24 hours before it was set to kick off. Organizers initially expected crowds of as many as 85,000 people, but revised that estimate down by 40 percent to 60 percent after many exhibitors decided not to come, citing the state of emergency declared by health officials in Orange County, California, over the potential spread of the deadly COVID-19 virus.
“We are aware that this was not an easy decision for anyone to make considering the dedication and dollars that companies in attendance and New Hope, alike, spend to make Expo West the highlight of the year to showcase their products,” McIntyre said. “As a small and growing brand, we invest a considerable percentage of time, effort, and budget into what has historically been the most important event of the year for our brand.”
Loveland-based Bubba’s Fine Foods is out lodging costs and booth-registration fees, but the firm is “very relieved that they canceled it,” CEO Jeff Schmidgall said. “… Seeing all the retailers who were cancelling, it was becoming very hard to justify sending our team to the show.”
The cost of securing a booth and sending a team to California can be a major investment and writing that cost off as a loss can be painful, especially for newer brands.
“If this was us seven years ago, it would have drastically impacted Quinn,” Quinn Snacks CEO Kristy Lewis said. “Right now, it’s a huge sunk cost, but not as detrimental as it would have been when we were starting out. I really feel the pain of the first-time exhibitors.”
While New Hope has not released specific information about plans to issue refunds, the event organizers announced this week that “it is our intention to work with all our exhibitors and attendees on future credits and support, with particular focus on the many entrepreneurs and small businesses that are the heartbeat of this community, for whom we are going to stand up a rebate fund of $5 million targeted at their specific needs.”
Regardless of whether attendees are ever made whole by New Hope, some in the industry question the value of the trade show.
“Even without CV19 and all the numerous cancellations from a vast number of retailers, the investments our community makes into this show are often hard to justify. Consolidation among retail chains has significantly changed dynamics in the natural foods space. The show organizers act as a monopoly that squeezes entrepreneurs at every step,” Kind LLC CEO Daniel Lubetzky wrote earlier this week in a widely shared LinkedIn post. “… We need to demand that New Hope treat its stakeholders like long-term partners. As of now, small companies and startups are going to suffer a lot because of the way New Hope is handling the situation.The roots are deeper than just the last few days.”
Companies are finding creative alternatives to attending the event. Potato-snack brand Swiss Rosti produced a pitch video for the company’s products, posted it on LinkedIn and tagged a series of retailers. Consumer-goods-focused financial technology firm CircleUp LLC is hosting a “Virtual Expo West” to connect buyers and producers. Amazon created a new email account where manufacturers can submit product descriptions and pitches to be considered for inclusion on the shelves at the retail giant’s physical store locations.
