We’ve heard from more and more names in the industry that Expo East is a waste of time and money. Promotion based deals don’t need to be done at the show, we’re told, and more importantly, the general feeling among many is that the cost for everything at the two Natural Products Expo are rising fast than the federal deficit.
One unnamed long time attendee bemoans the fact that putting on a seminar costs over $10,000. Used to be if the old New Hope Media crowd felt that the seminar was of value and educational you could do it for free, or at least next to nothing. These days, were told, Penton Publishing’s New Hope Media is starting to resemble Tony Soprano’s boys shaking down the local businesses for kickbacks. Not that anything illegal is going on. Of course that isn’t the case, but these days everything at the show costs money and big money at that.
Speaking of resembling something big and bad, NBN wonders whether Expo East will start to look like the Food Marketing Institute’s FMI Show. In other words big and boring, with a few big name exhibitors, lots of little folks who probably shouldn’t have wasted their time. We hope not, but the trend suggests something similar.