How Expo Wests Postponement Drives Emergence Of Virtual Showrooms In The CPG World – Forbes

ANAHEIM, CA - MARCH 06: A general view as seen at the Natural Products Expo West on March 6, 2015 ... [+] in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Michael Bezjian/WireImage)

The recent cancellation of the Expo West, widely known as Super Bowl of natural CPG, due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak has made numerous companies turn to social media, video conferencing, and other digital platforms to continue to engage with interested retailers, buyers and consumers.

The reason is simple: emerging brands cannot afford to lose the significant cash they have paid for their booths, travels, and other logistics, yet many of them rely heavily on trade shows such as the Expo West to gain early market exposure.

As a scrappy startup in year two of our rebrand and launch efforts, every penny counts, and every meeting and conference we participate in is invaluable, Kristi Knowles, CEO of organic and plant-based food company Mother Raw that offers products, including dressings and condiments, told me via email.

Joe Ens, who is the co-CEO of keto cookies maker HighKey and has previously been an executive at General Mills for more than 20 years, explains why the cancellation of the event is less painful to large corporations.

For a big food company, Expo is a nice-to-have, an opportunity to network and see what new ideas exist in the marketplace, he said. A canceled Expo is simply one less trip to California and some time back on your calendar.

Expo Wests organizer New Hope announced the postponement of the event after several prominent food industry leaders, including Kind Snacksfounder Daniel Lubetzky, publicly questioned its leadership in the natural and organic space on LinkedIn.

Lubetzky wrote in a post: They seem to be forcing companies to choose between having to lose what o many of them is the largest investment of the year or to face what could turn out to be a potential threat to their health and wellbeing.

In a public statement, New Hope says it intends to announce a new date for the Expo West by mid-April, and it is going to stand up a rebate fund of $5 million targeted at small businesses and entrepreneurs specific needs.

Knowles, who believes the rebate fund is a welcome relief for Mother Raw, said: In business, doing the right thing for your customer is the right thing to do, and that golden rule absolutely applies here too.

Increasing online showcases

Social media channels, especially business-focused LinkedIn, were quickly filled with demo videos of new products, such as Koias protein chocolate peanut butter shake, which could have been unveiled at the Expo West.

Other companies have set up virtual showcases on their websites to boost consumer and retail interests.

The Expo postponement is the first material impact that coronavirus has had on our business, Ens told me. I do worry that there will be further impact on the ability to execute programs in-store as well [as] additional logistic considerations.

HighKey encourages retailers and buyers to request samples and chat face-to-face with its team through Zoom Chat on its recently built online portal.

Asked whether trade show organizers should have a virtual showroom as an alternative plan for their participating brands in the event of a virus outbreak, the CEO of plant-based superfoods company KOS, Allan Stevens, said: Absolutely Its probably wise to come up with new discovery platforms both for the benefits of brands and retailers.

SANTA ROSA, CA - NOVEMBER 12: Wine writers and bloggers engage in a fast-paced "live speed ... [+] blogging" session during the annual Wine Bloggers Conference on November 12, 2017, in Santa Rosa, California. Hundreds of wine writers and bloggers gathered in Santa Rosa a week after catastrophic fires killed 40 people, destroyed thousands of homes, and left more than 10,000 people homeless. (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)

Nydia Shipman, co-founder of The Worthy Company which is a first-time exhibitor at the Expo West, also notes how the team wants to interact with retailers without the restriction of gathering in one location.

Shipman said: It would be great to see the industry take a more holistic approach to trade shows, so we could benefit from virtual operations without sacrificing those in-person connections that occur at the traditional trade show environment.

However, Rachel Kay, the president of RKPR that represents several high-growth CPG brands such as Tofurky and Country Archer, believes there are more ways than online showroom for companies to market their new products.

The power of community has also extended to mini shows and brand collaborations [are] happening outside of the trade show floor, offering a place where retailers can see multiple offerings without the apprehension of a large gathering, she said.

Growing e-commerce sales

The rise of online showcases speaks to the growth of e-commerce, a channel food and beverage entrepreneurs have been prioritizing from the beginning of their businesses. Many of them are even seeing an uptick in their online sales despite that coronavirus continues to spread.

Whether caused by people stocking up on healthy foods as worry about the coronavirus increases, or simply from the nature of our growing digital momentum we continue to see a significant increase in orders from many of our digital sales partners, Brad Charron, CEO of plant-based food company ALOHA, said.

Even more specifically, we have seen a significant influx of consumer questions about things like shelf life or whether or not ALOHA bars and drinks could sustain a family in the event of an emergency, he added.

People are clearly concerned and anxious about the current environment in regards to COVID-19.

The Worthy Company, which claims it has been hyper-focused on the direct-to-consumer (DTC) strategy from day one, also plans to increase online sales.

We have yet to see a negative impact on our top line, but are prepared to react in the event of a slowdown by funneling ad dollars into DTC/e-commerce efforts to offset potential decline in retail, Shipman said. We project [our] e-commerce [revenues] to grow 10x over the next few years.

Trade shows arent going away

The emergence of online product demos is not expected to take over actual trade shows anytime soon, industry experts believe, since evaluating food and beverage requires a sensory experience.

An attendee smells wine during the Vinexpo at Javits Center on March 2, 2020 in New York City. - The ... [+] wine business dodged a bullet last month when the Trump administration held off on draconian European wine tariffs, but at a New York trade fair, the industry was not exactly celebrating. The spreading coronavirus joined the fog of US commerce policy, the murkiness of the British market post-Brexit and a glut of California wine among the leading buzz-kills at the Vinexpo. (Photo by Angela Weiss / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

I doubt were seeing the death of the trade show, Kay said. While packaging is critical to telling a story, retailers still need to validate things like taste and smell to know if its going to sell.

Depending on the response from retailers, we may see a reduced spend on expensive show booths and more emphasis on affordable, virtual options, she added.

Basically, the retailers will make the call on whether or not this type of platform can actually replace the show experience for them. Its not going to be impactful if brands are just speaking to themselves.

Resonating with Kays opinions, ALOHAs chief commercial officer Amy Boyer notes the sale is never a one-part process for CPG brands.

The real work comes from the follow-ups after the first meeting, She explained. An online showroom would have enable actionable follow-up to occur for it to be a valuable use of time and resources.

Whether online show rooming can do that in the sensory-driven food and beverage business is yet to be seen, Boyer said.

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How Expo Wests Postponement Drives Emergence Of Virtual Showrooms In The CPG World - Forbes