New Hope Network late today (March 2) postponed this week's Natural Products Expo 2020 trade show because of fears of coronavirus/COVID-19. The show planners vow to set a new date by mid-April.
"Some of our partners strongly advocated continuing with the show as planned. Some of our partners wanted the show, but not now, and some just wanted a straight-forward cancellation," New Hope Network wrote on the show website. Tech sessions were to begin tomorrow (March 3) with the trade show running Thursday through Saturday.
"It is now clear, despite continued advice from local government and health authorities that the City of Anaheim remains open, that the majority of our community want the show, but they do not want it now.
"It is our intention to deliver a Natural Products Expo West event before the summer to serve the community, either in Anaheim or a suitable alternative location. We are already working on how we deliver a much-enhanced Expo East in September in Philadelphia, serving and supporting the community with the best show we have ever had on the East Coast."
Fred Linder, Group President of New Hope Network, wrote: “We will be working closely with all our customers and partners across the industry to identify a new date for the show later in the year, and providing the service and support to deliver the connections and experience everyone expects from Expo West and the New Hope Network.”
Earlier in the day, we posted a news story that more than 200 exhibitors had dropped out of the show and that New Hope expected half of the usual 86,000 attendees. But the show would go on, however with enhanced sanitation features and a request for no attendees from areas that have been heavily affected by the coronavirus.
