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Its Showtime!

Its Showtime!

It is the time of year where the revolving door of new item displays and crafting chaos collide in the food industry known as Show Season.  With the holidays and catering season around the corner and new products being produced to make the end of the year splash, setting up for a food expo in a vendor showcase can be daunting especially when trying to stand out.  Here are some tips we have used and places we go to spark that next new look for your vendor showcase and for clients to bring home into their own establishment.

INSPIRATION

Pinterest

The easiest and most used site for any form of inspiration we use has to be Pinterest.  I love Google- don’t get me wrong but the easily managed DIY tutorials and actually tested (see Pinterest fails for a good laugh) set ups make it my immediate go to.  Do give yourself some crafting time to attempt some of these beautiful setups. I can search a variety of phrases depending on what I want but also try the out of the box phrases. A great search for crafty beautiful displays is Renegade Craft Fair. on Pinterest.

Instagram

Instagram is my next go to.  I love finding a few accounts and clicking who they suggest me to.  Falling down that rabbit hole gives some pretty great ingenious ideas that are usually in your own backyard or across the world.  Sometimes seeing how simple one display is gives you that “Aha!” moment to take it a step further.  Also searching through hashtags that are relevant or closely related is a great trick. Just remember to post, tag, and share! You never know who you are going to inspire next. Here are some accounts we follow on Instagram:

Bon Appetit, The Die Line Packaging, Whole Foods, Chef David Chang, Creative Edge Parties

Go Outside!

Literally. Take a walk and ask your clients along with other clients you respect and admire how they would do something. You would think this is pretty simple and obvious but you would be surprised how few people actually just ask. Doing so, I found out a local snow cone shop was using a pulp burrito bowl to better hold their massive piled high shaved ice and ice cream mixture and made their sales increase over small foam bowls.  Along with your physical location, go outside of your own industry.  You never know how another industry is so closely related to what you are doing and see a solution you would’ve overlooked.  Examples of out of industry accounts we follow are Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Market, Farm Fresh Flowers, Lumi Packaging, local Memphian artists Kristen and Lindsey Archer of ARCHd, local chef/baker Nuha Abuduhair of 17 Berkshire.

WHERE TO SHOP/WHAT TO GET

With all of this inspiration and a look in mind, you think where and how on earth do I put all of this together?  Making sure you have 1-2 solid pieces for your main display is key whether you are working with a small 6’ table or have an entire 12’x12’ tent with ample walking space.  With almost 10 years of vendor showcase and convention setups skills, I have come across a few key factors.  Two of the biggest are easy setup and height.  They don’t sound like they go together but trust me, when you find that sweet spot of the two meeting, your display will not only stand out but actually sell your product for you.  A few of my items revolve depending on theme but I try to go for items that I can hang so its eye level and draws people in.  Its hard to sell printed napkins when they are flat in a pile on a table blocked by 5 other bodies.  Taking that extra step to create an engaging eye drawing display not only looks fantastic but also tells your customer you care by taking that extra step.  I’ve worked along side another vendor that sold beans.  Their display for every single show would be opening a tackle box in the center of a plain 6’ table with no signage or point of sale then take a step to the side with arms crossed and that was it.  Some products do sell themselves but the work is in the details and shows how much you care about that product and your customer’s experience.

Now for the where to go and what to get for height and ease, IKEA is my first stop.  They have a variety of inexpensive light weight options that are easy to set up and quickly take down plus add on for larger displays. The owners at ARCHd have one of the most impressive set ups every single event I seen them in attendance and its different yet cohesive every single time. They have some of their own custom items but discuss their IKEA hacks here.

For more height that is a great divider but doesn’t distract from your product are clear acrylic risers. You can find them at most home goods stores or Amazon. They help separate your items and are easy to transport plus who doesn’t love that prime shipping?! With height and ease, try to also keep it simple and clean. If you have several colorful items, you want them to pop so having white or single color dark backgrounds helps focus on your items and it makes it easier to add small pops of color as you go. Having a black table cover has been the best over the years. It generally hides wrinkles and if you spill anything on it, you can disguise it keeping your area clean.

For more pomp and frill with ease is Target’s dollar section.  Small clever add ons to enhance your product will make that extra pop you were looking for. One of my favorite finds has been the inexpensive string lights that have either pineapples or unicorns. They are are battery powered and very thin wiring making it easy to string across and manipulate around product. Plus I can take miniature clips and hang napkins or small business cards for double duty selling. Outside of paper products, a great way to display food especially when you are competing with 5 other vendors with the same item is about plate presentation. Most everyone will have the standard heat lamp and a white plate or cutting board with their food underneath it. Rustic cutting boards are a huge hit right now but sitting under heat for a long period of time can be hard on the wood. Choosing glazed porcelain faux wood has been a great inexpensive change up. Its nonporous making it easy to clean, it can take heat, and you only need 1-2 tiles to interlock making your “plate”. You can find them at Lowe’s or Home Depot and only cost you about $10.

Now that you have some great ground basics, get to work! Remember, height and ease will make your life a breeze. Keep simple colors but don’t be afraid to add little extra pieces to make your work pop. Lastly, have fun!!! With all of the great people you meet, you never know what great idea and relationship will come next. Keep an eye out for us the next time you’re at a show and come say hi. We would love to chat!

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