New Hope to Reexamine Show Policies After Sexual Harassment Allegations at Expo West

Allegations of sexual harassment at recently-concluded Natural Products Expo West are rocking social media and causing the show’s administrators to take stock of the behavior of guests on the floor and at ancillary events.

In a LinkedIn post that has been shared hundreds of times, a company founder stated that she “was asked to have sex 5 times at the #expowest #expowest2022 event, and one man tried to force himself on me this morning.”

The founder, Miriam Elghani, also posted that her friends – also company founders – had been “advanced in a sexual manner as well while on the floor – men saying their success was only because they are beautiful with big luscious lips.”

As other LinkedIn members began to read the post, which went up during the event on Saturday, conversation on the Expo floor and online began to turn to the topic.

Another woman, Kati Phillips, attending in a marketing role, also described being repeatedly propositioned and eventually subjected to unwanted sexual contact as part of her experience during an after-show event in a bar.

Both women describe themselves as victims of past sexual assault or trauma who were not willing to accept danger or trauma on the part of men in the natural products industry.

Reached for comment, executives from the New Hope Network, which presents Expo West, said in a statement that they were “saddened and deeply disappointed to learn of the sexual harassment that several women reported experiencing” at this year’s event.

“Harassment or assault of any nature has never been, and never will be, tolerated at New Hope Network events. We have always expected people to treat each other with kindness, dignity, and respect and that is reflected in our event code of conduct, which gives us the option to remove or ban any event participant for behavior that is disruptive or harmful to the community. This includes sexual harassment.”

In response, New Hope event communications and policies will be updated to explicitly prohibit sexual harassment at all future events, while prevention and safety measures will also be reviewed.

The annual industry conference and trade show, held each spring in Anaheim, Calif., is one of the most important gatherings of vendors, retailers, and other interested parties within the natural CPG business; nearly 60,000 people attended this year’s edition, the first to be held in-person since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The incidents described by the women come at a time when movements like #metoo are shining a light on common acts of sexual abuse, coercion and discrimination against women across a variety of industries. In the CPG world, last year several executives at craft brewers left their jobs or were fired due in the wake of a series of social media discussions led by a former employee of Notch Brewing in Massachusetts. At the time, Instagram posts led to a snowball effect that caused hundreds of female employees of breweries, bars, and other beer-related businesses to relate stories of harassment, discrimination, or outright sexual assault while working in the beer industry.

Similarly, CVS Health Corp., a division of drugstore chain CVS, fired several employees this week after an internal investigation around the handling of sexual harassment complaints, according to a CNBC story.

Expo West has grown considerably in the past two decades as investors, multinational food and beverage companies and large retailers have become increasingly focused on the natural products business. Some social media observers pointed out that there is a significant amount of drinking that takes place at the event and at parties and gatherings surrounding it; others noted that in the past there has been a reputation for hookup culture.

Regarding parties, dinners and other third-party events tied to Expo West, New Hope said in its statement that “we will do what we can to influence the hosts of these events to communicate and enforce a code of conduct that is based on zero tolerance for sexual harassment and other disruptive, bullying behavior.”

New Hope Network’s full statement is below.

All of us here at New Hope Network were saddened and deeply disappointed to learn of the sexual harassment that several women reported experiencing while in Anaheim for Natural Products Expo West 2022. Harassment or assault of any nature has never been, and never will be, tolerated at New Hope Network events. We have always expected people to treat each other with kindness, dignity, and respect and that is reflected in our event code of conduct, which gives us the option to remove or ban any event participant for behavior that is disruptive or harmful to the community. This includes sexual harassment. We have removed people from the show in the past for exhibiting disruptive or bullying behavior.

Our future event communications and policies will now specifically state that sexual harassment of any kind will not be tolerated and will result in removal and a future ban from New Hope Network events. In addition, we are exploring with our Informa health & safety team other steps we can take to help prevent harassment and ensure the safest, most inclusive event environments possible.

We are inspired by the strength and courage of the women who shared their experiences and are grateful for the influence their bravery will have on our work as a community to create the change required to end harassment. Cultural change does not occur overnight, but it will happen when we all play a role, take action and care for one another.

In addition, while we cannot control what happens at the parties, dinners and other ancillary events that occur around our shows, we will do what we can to influence the hosts of these events to communicate and enforce a code of conduct that is based on zero tolerance for sexual harassment and other disruptive, bullying behavior.