Derailed by the coronavirus, a corner of the food industry questions the future of its biggest event

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The so-called Superbowl of the natural products industry has been canceled and the Coronavirus is to blame. Expo West was expected to attract nearly 90,000 industry loyalists, including some of its most influential figures, who were preparing to meet in Anaheim for five days of vegan cheese tasting and to mingle closely with buyers of Grocery store, investors, distributors and entrepreneurs, including mom and aspiring pop and billionaire Kind Bar Daniel Lubetzky.

Everything was interrupted on Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern time when New Hope Network, a program producer for four decades, announced that it was officially postponing the event due to fear of spreading the Coronavirus. With registered participants from 100 countries, many had probably already landed in California.

The disappearance of the events, which took place in real time on social media, offers a snapshot of the chaos that the global epidemic is causing in the business world, including Google and Microsoft canceling the events to come, and a coordinated effort from central banks in the United States and around the world, which failed to calm the stock markets, which fell more than 1% in the United States for a twelfth day.

The stunning reversal came after New Hope sent two separate letters to registered attendees over the weekend confirming that the show would continue, the latest at 1 a.m. on Monday, when the company said attendance of the show was probably down 40% to 60.%. Despite the drop in attendance, we believe there will still be a robust level of activity throughout the Expo West campus, we read in the open letter from New Hope executives, and we hear from exhibiting companies who still plan to attend that they are eager to connect with their peers and do business in Anaheim.

Over the weekend, registered attendees extracted LinkedIn threads that updated lists of companies that have reportedly dropped out, while others commented on their own travel plans. Who would still be there? Have you heard that Whole Foods and Vital Farms have given up? A wire Prominent investor Wayne Wu, partner at VMG Consumer Partners, received more than 900 comments and 200,000 views Monday night.

We have been a sounding board, Wu told Forbes on Monday, noting that, as cancellations soared from grocers, strategic buyers and industry investors were forced to determine whether attending the show made sense until late in the weekend. It became clear that there was no centralized forum to discuss this topic, which is a very difficult and difficult decision.

Brands also started reporting in real time that New Hope did not plan to reimburse secure stands months ago, leaving many hungry startup founders of the show to decide if they were risking their health of their teams as the benefits began to evaporate. Many small entrepreneurs had already paid thousands of dollars, huge percentages of annual budgets for some, to bet on a chance to have the right meeting at the Expo which could lead to a distribution shot or to an investment in another production.

With the recent nine-figure acquisitions of family businesses like Perfect Snacks, as well as emerging new billionaires like King Kombucha GT Dave and Kind Bars Lubetzky, who can blame them?

Even more troubling was the undercurrent of a much larger fallout that emerged, as the industry openly questioned New Hopes' influence within the industry. natural products. British data and event conglomerate Informa, which trades on the London Stock Exchange with more than $ 3.6 billion in annual sales, has acquired New Hope and a few other event companies as part of a $ 1.56 billion deal in 2016, Expo West being one of its biggest annual events in the United States. With New Hope's stock down 23.5% this year, many have wondered if New Hope was putting profits above customer safety.

Kind Bars Lubetzky was the most important to voice his concerns, publish an article on Monday titled We Need to Talk: Why KIND Will Not Be At Expo West, And Why The Natural Foods Community May Need To Reexamine Our Relationship With The Organizers.

I remember when I started, how essential it was that we at least find a way to cover our costs and get enough income from this show. It was a matter of survival, wrote Lubetzky, who is now worth about $ 1.1 billion. It was expensive at the time, and participation costs have increased dramatically over the years.

As the 843-word article continues, Lubetzky compared the costs of Expo West to the biennial Fancy Food Association trade show specialty of food associations. Since being led by a membership-based business group, it charges a fraction of the price. Even without CV19 and all the many cancellations from a large number of retailers, our community's investments in this show are often difficult to justify, wrote Lubetzky. The consolidation of retail chains has dramatically changed the dynamics of the natural food space. The organizers of the show act as a monopoly that squeezes the entrepreneurs at every stage. New Hope is there to serve, and therefore its policies and conditions are so much more expensive, including upselling techniques.

He added that the SFA gives priority based on seniority so even if you are a small business, if you have been exhibiting for a while, you can choose your stand early; but the Expos system requires you to install bigger and bigger stands, otherwise you lose priority to choose the location of your stand.

In bold, he said: Dealing with any monopolist is intimidating.

Lubetzky did not return Forbes interview requests before or after New Hope announced that it would postpone Expo West after all. In its message late Monday evening, New Hope promised to postpone the date to mid-April, in addition to creating a fund of $ 5 million to support entrepreneurs in the early stages of the financial difficulties caused by the postponement. But the points raised by Lubetzky are felt by the small entrepreneurs in the industry.

It is time to even review the scale of these events. It's hard to handle, "says Arthur Gallego, a food and beverage industry consultant whose customers have sunk costs ranging from $ 15,000 to $ 200,000." You are unable to cover successfully even in two days. People are excited to start a new version of this.

Co-founder of rePlant Capital, Robyn OBrien wants the industry to create smaller, more affordable shows. Entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of our industry, says OBrien. Almost like speed dating, buyers and retailers can organize events rather than letting the founders spend a small fortune out of their budget on a huge trade show with all of the environmental impacts that come with it.

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The so-called Superbowl of the natural products industry has been canceled and the Coronavirus is to blame. Expo West was expected to attract nearly 90,000 industry loyalists, including some of its most influential figures, who were preparing to meet in Anaheim for five days of vegan cheese tasting and to mingle closely with buyers of Grocery store, investors, distributors and entrepreneurs, including mom and aspiring pop and billionaire Kind Bar Daniel Lubetzky.

Everything was interrupted on Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern time when New Hope Network, a program producer for four decades, announced that it was officially postponing the event due to fear of spreading the Coronavirus. With registered participants from 100 countries, many had probably already landed in California.

The disappearance of the events, which took place in real time on social media, offers a snapshot of the chaos that the global epidemic is causing in the business world, including Google and Microsoft canceling the events to come, and a coordinated effort from central banks in the United States and around the world, which failed to calm the stock markets, which fell more than 1% in the United States for a twelfth day.

The stunning reversal came after New Hope sent two separate letters to registered attendees over the weekend confirming that the show would continue, the latest at 1 a.m. on Monday, when the company said attendance of the show was probably down 40% to 60.%. Despite the drop in attendance, we believe there will still be a robust level of activity throughout the Expo West campus, we read in the open letter from New Hope executives, and we hear from exhibiting companies who still plan to attend that they are eager to connect with their peers and do business in Anaheim.

Over the weekend, registered attendees extracted LinkedIn threads that updated lists of companies that have reportedly dropped out, while others commented on their own travel plans. Who would still be there? Have you heard that Whole Foods and Vital Farms have given up? A wire Prominent investor Wayne Wu, partner at VMG Consumer Partners, received more than 900 comments and 200,000 views Monday night.

We have been a sounding board, Wu told Forbes on Monday, noting that, as cancellations soared from grocers, strategic buyers and industry investors were forced to determine whether attending the show made sense until late in the weekend. It became clear that there was no centralized forum to discuss this topic, which is a very difficult and difficult decision.

Brands also started reporting in real time that New Hope did not plan to reimburse secure stands months ago, leaving many hungry startup founders of the show to decide if they were risking their health of their teams as the benefits began to evaporate. Many small entrepreneurs had already paid thousands of dollars, huge percentages of annual budgets for some, to bet on a chance to have the right meeting at the Expo which could lead to a distribution shot or to an investment in another production.

With the recent nine-figure acquisitions of family businesses like Perfect Snacks, as well as emerging new billionaires like King Kombucha GT Dave and Kind Bars Lubetzky, who can blame them?

Even more troubling was the undercurrent of a much larger fallout that emerged, as the industry openly questioned New Hopes' influence within the industry. natural products. British data and event conglomerate Informa, which trades on the London Stock Exchange with more than $ 3.6 billion in annual sales, has acquired New Hope and a few other event companies as part of a $ 1.56 billion deal in 2016, Expo West being one of its biggest annual events in the United States. With New Hope's stock down 23.5% this year, many have wondered if New Hope was putting profits above customer safety.

Kind Bars Lubetzky was the most important to voice his concerns, publish an article on Monday titled We Need to Talk: Why KIND Will Not Be At Expo West, And Why The Natural Foods Community May Need To Reexamine Our Relationship With The Organizers.

I remember when I started, how essential it was that we at least find a way to cover our costs and get enough income from this show. It was a matter of survival, wrote Lubetzky, who is now worth about $ 1.1 billion. It was expensive at the time, and participation costs have increased dramatically over the years.

As the 843-word article continues, Lubetzky compared the costs of Expo West to the biennial Fancy Food Association trade show specialty of food associations. Since being led by a membership-based business group, it charges a fraction of the price. Even without CV19 and all the many cancellations from a large number of retailers, our community's investments in this show are often difficult to justify, wrote Lubetzky. The consolidation of retail chains has dramatically changed the dynamics of the natural food space. The organizers of the show act as a monopoly that squeezes the entrepreneurs at every stage. New Hope is there to serve, and therefore its policies and conditions are so much more expensive, including upselling techniques.

He added that the SFA gives priority based on seniority so even if you are a small business, if you have been exhibiting for a while, you can choose your stand early; but the Expos system requires you to install bigger and bigger stands, otherwise you lose priority to choose the location of your stand.

In bold, he said: Dealing with any monopolist is intimidating.

Lubetzky did not return Forbes interview requests before or after New Hope announced that it would postpone Expo West after all. In its message late Monday evening, New Hope promised to postpone the date to mid-April, in addition to creating a $ 5 million fund to support entrepreneurs in the early stages of the financial difficulties caused by the postponement. But the points raised by Lubetzky are felt by the small entrepreneurs in the industry.

It is time to even review the scale of these events. It's hard to handle, "says Arthur Gallego, a food and beverage industry consultant whose customers have sunk costs ranging from $ 15,000 to $ 200,000." You are unable to cover successfully even in two days. People are excited to start a new version of this.

Co-founder of rePlant Capital, Robyn OBrien wants the industry to create smaller, more affordable shows. Entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of our industry, says OBrien. Almost like speed dating, buyers and retailers can organize events rather than letting the founders spend a small fortune out of their budget on a huge trade show with all of the environmental impacts that come with it.