Tobacco Business

[ 10 ] TOBACCO BUSINESS [ JULY / AUGUST | 21 ] A A lot happened in between Tobacco Plus Expo (TPE) 2020 and 2021. Weeks after TPE20, the world changed as it grappled with a global pandemic that shut down countries across the world and forever altered life as we know it. Businesses were forced to close, companies and their workers sheltered at home for well over a year, and words like “quarantine,” “COVID-19” and “masks” dominated everyday life. That’s what made TPE21 a must-attend event for many. It wasn’t just a trade show; it was a sign that life and business was slowly getting back to normal. Networking and New Releases Typically, a trade show is where selling and buying products takes place. A lot of that happened at TPE21, but there was a lot more happening at this year’s show as well. Events and large gatherings have been scarce since the start of the pandemic. TPE20 was the last big event and trade show that many attended before the world shut down due to COVID-19. TPE21 was originally scheduled to take place in January 2021, but due to a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases, and many states, including Nevada, issuing restrictive measures designed to contain the spread of the virus, the show was postponed to May. The team at Tobacco Media Group (TMG) was faced with many challenges when putting on this year’s show: A last-minute health and safety plan had to be submitted and approved before the show was given the greenlight, the show had to move halls within the Las Vegas Convention Center to allow for added social distancing, and shuttles had to be ordered to help attendees travel between the host hotel and the convention center. While cancelling the show may have been the easier route, TMG was determined to bring the tobacco and alternative industries back together and kickstart business in the post-pandemic world. TPE21 offered businesses and professionals the chance to come together safely and reconnect. While there were plenty of new releases and deals rolled out, the cornerstone and selling point of attending was very simple: Come to Vegas, reconnect with your peers, and let’s all get back to work and life after a year like no other. “It’s difficult to explain my impression of this year’s show because it was so much more than just a show,” says Michael Herklots, principal of Ferio Tego. “The 2021 TPE represented the start of a new beginning. After 15 months of being apart, this was really the first time we could be together as an industry, and it was terrific. It was great to engage with customers as well as industry peers and for the first time in a long time feel a sense of normalcy.” Temi Bush, a partner at Emperors Cut Cigars, made plans to attend TPE21 after hearing about the positive feedback from the industry following TPE20. After hearing that TPE21 was going to happen, Bush decided to make TPE21 the first large event she was going to attend after getting fully vaccinated and hearing that TPE had a safety plan in place. Together Again After more than a year apart, the tobacco and alternative industries are brought back together by Tobacco Plus Expo, the first industry trade show since the COVID-19 pandemic. Photos courtesy of Tobacco Plus Expo