As Natural Products Expo East closed its doors in Philadelphia on Sept. 23, sponsor New Hope Network, part of Informa Markets, announced it will be replaced with a new event, Newtopia Now.
The new show, planned for Aug. 6-8, 2024, in Savannah, Ga., will have only tabletop exhibits, “designed to provide more opportunities for brands to meaningfully participate, regardless of where they are in their lifecycle,” the announcement said.
NPEE ends “after nearly four decades of serving the natural and organic CPG industry.” It was especially good at introducing new companies with novel products to the market. It tried to find a home further north on the Atlantic coast, staging the event in Washington DC, Boston, Baltimore and finally Philadelphia.
This year’s NPEE had an estimated 16,000 attendees, about where it’s stood for three years now, never catching on in the big way that its sister show, Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, Calif., has (last year’s attendance there was 65,000). NPEW will continue.
“Newtopia Now will offer curated matchmaking within a diverse community of buyers, brands and partners, increased avenues for new and emerging brands to participate, imaginative new product discovery opportunities, and the chance for industry leaders to co-create the future of the CPG industry alongside their fellow Newtopians,” the announcement said.
