Cannabis packaging is no different than any other industry in the world right now being impacted by COVID-19. It is eye-opening to see that such a devastating pandemic can affect businesses in such diverse ways. Many industries like cannabis, deemed essential, are benefitting from the spikes in demand while trying to find creative ways to supply, package, and distribute.
Cannabis dispensaries have had to learn to adapt to the “on-the-go, carry-out, drive-thru“ format and find creative ways to make their product available to customers in need. The packaging preferences have experienced fluctuations due to customers and patients feeling the need to stockpile supply to cover for the uncertainty of quarantine and lockdown. Consumers are looking for a wider variety of sizes and different formulations while regulators have relaxed delivery boundaries and expanded territories to allow further reach to customers not able to visit dispensaries. This has forced growers to adapt their packaging for e-commerce, delivery, and various other formats.
Security and compliance have never been more critical than now with customers and patients relying on manufacturers to provide a safe, regulated product they can trust.
made and those packaging manufacturers with strong regulatory backing (FDA compliance) who have already been certified are faring well in a supply chain only supporting essential operations. Without the ability to view, compare, and shop the product in the dispensary — shoppers are forced to rely on the credibility of their brand of choice. Child-resistant availability along with label accuracy and transparency is of paramount importance when the product is delivered or picked up curbside.
Not all is doom and gloom; the increased demand is certainly positive but poses challenges for the growers to understand how to forecast and plan for the ebbs and flows they are suddenly experiencing. Consumers are definitely seeing the value of knowing exactly where their product and packaging are sourced, and the industry is seeing a trend toward more on-shore production which is great for the U.S. economy. Sustainable options are still in great demand and this pandemic has certainly shed light on the value of controlled recycling which creates a more stable source for Post-Consumer Resin for plastics and drives manufacturers to look to local suppliers to partner on returnable, reusable options.
Unfortunately, no one is protected from the effects of this pandemic, but the fact that we are all in this together certainly helps motivate the industry to look for the positives, capitalize on the demand, and identify the lessons we can carry forward to make us all better suppliers to this rapidly emerging industry.
Be A Part Of The Conversation
Sustainability Considerations for Cannabis Packaging is one of many topics we’ll be exploring at the National Cannabis Industry Association’s Cannabis Business Summit, happening September 29 – October 1, 2020, at San Francisco’s Moscone Center. Celebrating its 10th anniversary in the birthplace of the medical cannabis movement, the industry’s largest and most influential trade association offers cannabis business owners and operators the opportunity to network with industry leaders, discover products and services to help grow their business, and explore insights.
During these difficult times our company fully understands the need to assist all other businesses to succeed and this also requires for us to drastically drop our pricing to stay competitive during these very challenging times.
A worker trims cannabis plants inside a Fotmer SA greenhouse in Nueva Helvecia, Uruguay, on Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019. In 2013 Uruguay became the first nation to legalize recreational marijuana, and now companies are looking outside their local market to turn the nation into a global medical marijuana leader. Photographer: Eilon Paz/Bloomberg
Being a cannabis business owner is unique in many ways, but there’s one thing that MMJ businesses have in common with businesses across all industries: the goal to grow and expand a solid customer base. The profits and success of your cannabusiness depend upon your customer base above all else – odds are, you’re well aware of this fact. Understanding the importance of gaining new customers for your cannabusiness may be simple enough, but knowing exactly how to make it happen can seem more challenging.
As the cannabis industry grows at an incredible speed, with advocacy and legalization efforts gaining steam across the United States, the potential for cannabusiness growth is nearly limitless. Developing a solid strategy for gaining – and keeping – new customers for your MMJ business can help you establish your place in the cannabis marketplace and work towards long-term success.
Here are six must-know tips to reach new customers and grow your cannabusiness:
Use Social Media to the Fullest Potential
If you haven’t created active accounts for your business on a handful of the most popular social media channels, your first step is to tackle that immediately. Today’s consumers expect to be able to use social media as a way to “get to know” a brand and being absent from platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter is a missed opportunity.
Most major social media channels offer resources and tools for businesses, so take advantage of those as much as possible. Learn how to use hashtags effectively, evaluate post activity to determine the ideal time and content to share, and respond positively to user comments and messages.
It’s important to keep in mind that creating several social media accounts and sharing a few posts here and there isn’t enough. Your social media strategy should address key ideas like frequent, high-quality posts, user engagement, and more. In the eyes of consumers, your social media accounts are a direct representation of your brand, so handle the task accordingly.
Establish Your Brand as a Source of Useful, Interesting Information
The cannabis industry is still very much in its infancy, making it important for MMJ businesses to work hard on educating customers and building a solid sense of trust. As your brand develops a solid reputation, you’ll find that word of mouth and brand identity can work together to bring in a steady flow of new customers.
Helping potential customers see you as an industry expert and reputable business requires a multi-faceted strategy, but one straightforward tactic is focusing on content. Whether you’re sharing content via a website blog, social media posts, or a combination of the two, it should be valuable, accurate, and relevant to the interests of your target market.
Online users who discover your brand to be a solid source of cannabis information and resources will be able to develop a stronger connection and sense of trust in your business, helping you forge long-lasting relationships and a loyal customer base.
Take a Thoughtful Approach to SEO
Search engine optimization, or SEO, may seem like a complicated, highly technical science – and it’s even trickier for cannabusiness owners. At present, most major online ad platforms don’t allow MMJ advertising, including boosted posts and pay-per-click ads. As a result, cannabis business owners have to think outside the box to reach a maximum number of potential customers.
Organic SEO is the key to unlocking improved search engine rankings, driving relevant traffic right through the virtual doors of your website. Finding an effective combination of SEO-focused keywords can help you beat out competing businesses and move up the search rankings, making it more likely that Internet users will visit your page.
Create a Website that Gives Users What They Want
While having a user-friendly, functional website might seem like a no-brainer, you might be surprised to realize that many businesses miss this step. Online users are highly likely to leave your website if it loads slowly, displays errors, or has a confusing design, ending the potential customer relationship before it even begins.
If possible, work with a professional team to create an intuitive, attractive website that meets the needs of online users and delivers a high-quality experience. With the help of an expert, your site can appeal to the widest audience possible, making use of mobile functionality, cannabis-specific tools, and more.
Get Your Business in a Professional Listing Directory
It wasn’t too long ago that potential and existing customers flipped through the pages of a physical phonebook to find businesses that offered the products and services they were searching for. Now, those cumbersome books have become a relic of the past, but that doesn’t mean organized business directories are no longer. Now, listing directories can be found online, many of which are created with a niche customer base in mind.
Herban Planet is one such directory, offering users an easy-to-browse selection of cannabusinesses. For your MMJ business, a listing in an industry directory like Herban Planet is a simple but effective way to get your name in front of people who have a high potential of turning into loyal customers. Of course, don’t forget about the king of online directory platforms – Google My Business. Although GMB doesn’t necessarily look and function in the same way a freestanding directory does, it serves customers in much the same way. Make sure your Google My Business page is accurate and complete, making it easy for potential customers in your area to find you with a relevant Internet search.
Your listing can provide potential customers with a wealth of information including your business location, contact information, social media handles, website, photos, and more, increasing your odds of connecting with potential customers are an excellent fit for your brand.
Don’t Rule Out Print Advertising
We may be living in a digital age, but that doesn’t mean print advertising is off the table. There’s still considerable value in developing and implementing a solid print strategy, especially because choosing the right publications for your ads can put your brand in front of an array of potential customers for your cannabis business.
While some mainstream publications may reject MMJ content, there are excellent options for cannabis business owners interested in advertising in print. A range of publications like the Phoenix New Times, Miami New Times, and Denver Westword is open to cannabis business advertising, catering to audiences that may just contain your newest customers.
There are also several niche magazines catering to the cannabis community, making it easy to connect with an array of readers that already have a solid interest in the products and services you have to offer. If you decide to run advertising in an industry-specific publication, keep in mind that your competitors will likely be doing the same – so make sure your ad design can grab attention and stand out from the crowd.
Let Marijuana Marketing Xperts Help You Reach Your Cannabusiness Goals
Ready to give your marketing strategy a much-needed boost? Marijuana Marketing Xperts can help. Our marketing team has the industry know-how, tools, and resources to implement a smart, effective cannabis marketing plan to fit your needs, navigating the MMJ industry using our specific expertise. We know what it takes to help businesses stand out and succeed in the cannabis industry and have a clear understanding of the unique challenges and considerations that come with being a cannabusiness owner.
Contact Marijuana Marketing Xperts today to learn more about creating a tailored marketing solution to fit your cannabusiness needs.
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Cannabis packaging is no different than any other industry in the world right now being impacted by COVID-19. It is eye-opening to see that such a devastating pandemic can affect businesses in such diverse ways. Many industries like cannabis, deemed essential, are benefitting from the spikes in demand while trying to find creative ways to supply, package, and distribute.
Cannabis dispensaries have had to learn to adapt to the “on-the-go, carry-out, drive-thru“ format and find creative ways to make their product available to customers in need. The packaging preferences have experienced fluctuations due to customers and patients feeling the need to stockpile supply to cover for the uncertainty of quarantine and lockdown. Consumers are looking for a wider variety of sizes and different formulations while regulators have relaxed delivery boundaries and expanded territories to allow further reach to customers not able to visit dispensaries. This has forced growers to adapt their packaging for e-commerce, delivery, and various other formats.
Security and compliance have never been more critical than now with customers and patients relying on manufacturers to provide a safe, regulated product they can trust. made and those packaging manufacturers with strong regulatory backing (FDA compliance) who have already been certified are faring well in a supply chain only supporting essential operations. Without the ability to view, compare, and shop the product in the dispensary — shoppers are forced to rely on the credibility of their brand of choice. Child-resistant availability along with label accuracy and transparency is of paramount importance when the product is delivered or picked up curbside.
Not all is doom and gloom; the increased demand is certainly positive but poses challenges for the growers to understand how to forecast and plan for the ebbs and flows they are suddenly experiencing. Consumers are definitely seeing the value of knowing exactly where their product and packaging are sourced, and the industry is seeing a trend toward more on-shore production which is great for the U.S. economy. Sustainable options are still in great demand and this pandemic has certainly shed light on the value of controlled recycling which creates a more stable source for Post-Consumer Resin for plastics and drives manufacturers to look to local suppliers to partner on returnable, reusable options.
Unfortunately, no one is protected from the effects of this pandemic, but the fact that we are all in this together certainly helps motivate the industry to look for the positives, capitalize on the demand, and identify the lessons we can carry forward to make us all better suppliers to this rapidly emerging industry.
The recent COVID-19 pandemic has certainly changed the way many do business, especially where marketing is concerned. Many businesses no longer have the luxury of relying on local advertising, word of mouth, and foot traffic the way they once did. But that doesn’t mean their marketing plans have to go out the window.
Best Displays & Graphics has been helping businesses get inventive with their marketing and continue attracting new customers, even in such uncertain times. We’ve begun developing a range of social distancing signs and products to help businesses keep generating a buzz around their goods and services.
Here are a few of our most popular marketing products to help keep up your bottom line!
• Outdoor Signage: Although you might have seen a drop in foot traffic, if you’re a business that’s still offering walk-in or curbside pickup services, then having outdoor signage highlighting your brand is a must. There are a wide variety of outdoor signage solutions, such as flags, A-frame stands, outdoor banner stands, and traffic direction signs for curbside pickups, all of which can be easily customized with your corporate logo.
• Decals: Want to communicate with your customers in the safest manner possible? One great way is by investing in window decals to communicate important information, like changes in your operating hours or the way you do business. You can also provide them with information like phone numbers and your website should they have further questions. This helps answer their questions and also encourages them to make a connection.
• Banner Stand Backdrop: Nowadays, it’s not business as usual and many companies who have relied in the past on conferences and trade shows are attending virtual conferences to connect with industry stakeholders and attract new business. If this is your company, then investing in backdrops, banner signs, and other trade show accessories for your next virtual conference can help create a great setting. These can be easily customized and installed at home, meaning you never have to leave the house and you can still share your company’s vision with the world.
Exhibits are like a billboard on a busy freeway. Attendees are flying down the aisle at 70 miles per hour. There’s a lot of visual clutter competing for their attention. Your exhibit must QUICKLY grab visual attention and force them to look at it.
Here are 5 ways to improve the attention grabbing impact of your exhibit:
1. Color: Use large swatches of vivid and unique colors in imagery, exhibit graphics and properties, and carpet. Don’t be shy!
2. Lighting: People are attracted to lights. Possible areas of focus are the product counter or back lit photo images.
3. Imagery: A relevant picture is worth a 1,000 words. Six or seven little pictures or one big eye-catching image that best embodies the message. For in-line exhibits, grab attention with a single focus. Photos of people with your product will grab attendees’ attention.
4. Motion: A great way to draw the eye. Consider things that move, flash, and blink.
5. Shapes: Unique shapes stand out from all the boxes. Consider adding unique shapes and materials to the exhibit structure that are eye catching, such as arches or angles.
We believe backlit displays in general are currently sitting in the early adopter to early majority “sweet spot”. What we mean by this is that there is enough expected demand that these displays are now being produced and sold at a practical cost but there is not yet enough total sales volume to make these displays redundant at your event, especially in the 10×10 and 10×20 booth spaces. In addition, since many companies don’t have their backlit displays in circulation yet, current backlit booths have added visibility and value right now.
Below are two sections containing “Gripes” and “Likes”. These sections are short lists comprised of feedback from us as a seller and from actual customers on what we like and what we don’t like about some of our backlit back wall displays. In this article, we will be referring to our Wavelight back walls and our Ignitor back walls. There are plenty of other options available but we don’t have first hand experience with those other models so we can’t provide honest feedback.
Gripes:
1. Increased Risk of Technical Malfunction Compared to Standard Displays:
You want your booth to work perfectly at every show so it’s easy to assemble and attractive to your potential clients. As a seller, we want your booth to function perfectly as well so that you have a good experience and we limit our replacement costs. The truth is, as you increase the technical components from a standard frame and fabric graphic display to one with hundreds of LED lights, you naturally have more potential for something to malfunction. This gripe doesn’t just apply to backlit displays, it goes for any display that has increased technical components. Fortunately, over the past 12 months we have only seen technical concerns on roughly 3% of all our Ignitor and Wavelight back wall displays. When you order a more technical booth, understand that how it is packed, stored, and shipped will have a large impact on the longevity of the components. We always recommend double-checking your booth before shipping to an event and this becomes even more important as you increase the complexity of the display. Finally, if something does malfunction, let your display booth provider know immediately as most of the time it can be repaired quickly and affordably.
2. Warm Transformers:
When using a display like a Wavelight back wall all day at your show, your power transformers will get warm. We wish the transformers wouldn’t do this to avoid alarming customers but they do and it is normal. This Gripe has been mentioned by several clients mainly because they weren’t expecting it. So when ordering a backlit back wall, just be aware this does happen. You can even ask your trade show provider before ordering a display if they have had any experience with this.
3. Electricity To The Booth:
We currently don’t offer a backlit display that runs on batteries. They may be available but we have not seen them on a large scale, yet. With that being said, you will need to order electricity to the booth. One drop will cost you about $160 on average according to this 2017 Silicon Lightworks article. While it is a little more expensive, we agree with many or customers that the cost is worth it considering the added attention your backlit booth will garner.
4. Colors Can Look Different When Backlit:
Colors on a standard fabric graphic and aluminum frame display can’t really be altered that much after they are printed. External lighting and material will alter the color’s appearance to some degree but for the most part, the color that printed is the color your guests will see in your booth. On the other hand, colors on a backlit display can look different depending on if the display is lit or not. For example, if you have a purplish-red color in your art, that color can appear dark red without lights and more pink when the LED lights are turned on. This is something that you need to be aware of when designing your booth and should discuss the best way to design for a backlit booth with your designer.
5. Humming Noise From Power Supply
With some backlit displays you will hear a low humming sound coming from the transformers or power supplies. This is normal as the internal fan is working to keep the transformers as cool as possible just like the internal fan does in your laptop. Most people notice this during setup when they were really focused on the booth but say they don’t really notice the sound during their event or trade show.
Likes:
1. Easy to Set Up:
The new style of backlit displays like the Wavelight display system uses essentially the same setup process as the Waveline displays, our standard aluminum pole and pillow-case style fabric graphic option. The main differences are the frame poles are a little larger, you have to hang the LED light arrays, and the graphics are a little tighter going on because the bottom zipper doesn’t go up the side like the Waveline graphics do. Still, many of the Wavelight display kits take under an hour to assemble with one to two people. The ease of setup for the Wavelight displays is one of the most common feedback topics we hear from our customers. The Ignitor displays use aluminum extrusions to create an outer frame. The lights are installed around the interior of the frame and the graphic uses an SEG edge to connect to the extrusion. Even though this process is a little more involved, most models do assemble in under one hour.
2. Easy to ship:
We often hear from clients that the newer backlit display styles such as the Wavelight are more portable than they had expected. The new LED lights come in curtains that roll up and the frame poles breakdown into 24” sections or less. In most scenarios, you can fit a 10ft display in one 3.5ft case. All together, the frames, lights, and the graphics typically weigh less than 100 lbs. The more traditional style of backlit back walls such as the Ignitor ship in a larger flat case. While some of these walls weigh in the 100 lb range as well, their dimensional weight adds up in transit. This is one reason we have seen a shift towards the new streamlined backlit displays.
3. Show Impact:
Backlit displays do a great job at grabbing attention. The feedback we have gotten from most of our backlit customers is that they notice a bump in the attention their booth receives. This makes having a good design and prepared staff even more important. We believe that having a backlit booth will help get your brand noticed and give your team the opportunity to capitalize on that added attention. As we mentioned above, we feel that right now people get a little extra value with their backlit back walls because portable backlit displays are still not overly common in most 10×10 and 10×20 booth spaces.
4. Priced Comparably To Non-Backlit Displays:
Backlit displays used to be significantly more expensive than a standard non-backlit display, especially in a 10×10 or 10×20 space. Now, some of the Wavelight 10×10 backlit display options that are within $300.00 of their non-backlit counterpart and under $2000.00 total. Many of our customers who regularly attend events have been excited to see this price progression and can now afford to start using backlit options as their standard booth.
5. Popularity Growth:
We have seen a 5X sales increase for new backlit displays over the past 12 months. Generally speaking, our customers have been very excited and satisfied with how their backlit booths have turned out. In fact, over the same time period we have seen a similar increase with our clients purchasing new graphics for their current backlit displays. This growth is good for everyone because it means more backlit display options will be designed and produced at a large scale and will remain affordable. Over the next 24 months, we expect the presence of backlit displays to drastically increase in 10×10 and 10×20 booth spaces.
Overall, our clients have had overwhelmingly good experiences with their backlit back wall displays. While there are some drawbacks, we feel the positives outweigh the negatives. When deciding on a display style, the most important thing to focus on is how it fits with your show staff and your company’s goals. If you are interested in backlit displays specifically, we recommend looking around to see which style of backlit displays fits your branding the best.
Digitalization has been a boon for event marketers, providing new ways to automate processes, get work done from anywhere in the world, and gather more data to power better customer experiences. But there is also a negative: while attendees may want to focus on your content, there are so many digital distractions that it can be close to impossible for them to succeed. As a result, the desire for more human-to-human experiences at events is on the rise, according to Agency EA’s new 2020 Experiential Marketing Trends Report.
Anecdotal estimates put the average per-person conference attendee device count at 2.5. It’s common to find participants carrying a smartphone (or sometimes two), a tablet and a laptop as well. As the EA report points out, every time an attendee checks their phone, you’ve lost their attention. And as it takes an average of nearly 26 minutes for people to regain their focus after being distracted, that adds up to a lot of lost time.
This is causing both a backlash against Instagram and other social media channels and a desire to provide people with a place to unplug and disconnect. EA found that “brands are building strictly analog spaces that help keep attendees present and give the brand more control over each attendee’s experience.” This also ties to the top trend shown in the report: creating events within events — akin to the rise of niche events that we recently covered.
This attendee experience increasingly includes networking opportunities. 73 percent of brand-side marketers reported that their companies value creating human-to-human experiences at events. This includes finding ways to provide more authenticity in sessions (forget the canned keynote speeches) and more meaningful social networking.
In fact, EA included networking in its “anti-trend” section, which describes key elements of successful events that will never go out of fashion. Sustainability is also included in this section, with 85 percent of event marketers reporting that it has become a must for their events (although brands also report struggling to find the funds to support sustainability initiatives).
Key statistics:
• 1 in 4 brand marketers rated personalized experiences as the top tactic leveraged for audience engagement at events/experiential activation’s.
• 87% of brand-side marketers invest in experiential to effectively connect with their target audience, a 30% increase from 2018.
• 83% invest in experiential to generate traffic/lead generation.
• Nearly 20% of brand-side respondents said they spent more than a quarter of their marketing budget on experiential.
• 73% of brand-side marketers say that their brand values providing human-to-human experiences at events.
• 72% of brand-side marketers are looking to incorporate events within events (e.g. VIP sessions, exclusive evening events) in 2020.
COVID-19 Emergency Medical Tents Now Offered Through Indy Displays http://www.indydisplays.com/blog/
Indy Displays has added COVID-19 Emergency Medical Tents to their product line in an effort to supply institutions, companies, and government agencies with necessary screening and treatment pods as this situation continues to evolve, for those affected by the COVID-19 global pandemic crisis. To assist immediate needs and resource restrictions, Indy Displays is making ourselves available after hours and weekends.
As this situation evolves, Indy Displays will be available for assistance 7-days a week. For immediate assistance, please call our main line a (317) 565-2255 or our after hours line (317) 362-4145. We will also be keeping our indydisplays.com Live Chat widget open on weekends, or feel free to submit the details of your urgent request through our Contact Us page.
COVID-19 Emergency Medical Tents
“We have been diligently searching for high-quality, temporary emergency response structures after seeing field images of tarp covered mobile hospitals in hard-hit areas. With the strain on our medical system, we hope that these state-of-the-art pop-up treatment centers can expand the bandwidth of medical institutions and help save lives.”
– Nathan Slavik, Indy Displays founder and president
Indy Displays is including a free hand sanitizer stand with each Emergency Medical Tent purchase. If additional items are needed for your infectious control station, or larger heavy traffic emergency medical treatment stations, contact us for immediate assistance. We will work quickly to find solutions by utilizing our custom design and fabrication capabilities. It’s our goal to expedite all projects related to fighting this pandemic.
Nationwide Need for Emergency Medical Tents
The COVID-19 EM Tents are an ideal solution for rapid deployment in medical or emergency situations, like the Coronavirus pandemic. The containment cubes include air filter systems and can be temperature-controlled for patient isolation, screening, disaster relief, triage centers, first aid stations, or emergency command posts.
To ease intake overload, mobile hospitals are being deployed across the globe. Existing medical centers need higher capacity to treat COVID-19 patients, including other sick or injured patients that the current medical system cannot support. Our products meet CPAI-84, NFPA-701 and CAN/ULC-S109 Fire Resistant Requirements and offer the quality necessary for heavy usage.
Fully enclosed rapid response medical care pop-up tents
Benefits of Our COVID-19 Emergency Medical Tents
The COVID-19 Emergency Medical Tent features our 10’x10’ high-grade shelter, deluxe canvas roller transport bag, weight bags, and air filters. The COVID-19 EM Tent is an ultimate solution for rapid deployment. They can provide necessary assistance in cities and towns struggling with medical capacity during the Coronavirus pandemic. The EM Tent operates as a supplemental medical care facility that offers privacy and isolation in a temperature-controlled environment, while reducing the risk of contamination to healthcare professionals and patients not yet afflicted with Coronavirus.
The mid-zip sidewall can serve as a door or two half sidewalls. Three additional sidewalls will completely enclose the tent provide privacy, security, and protection from the elements. Easily assembled, the frame structure allows for five height options. The compact canvas roller bag included allows for simple transportation in any size vehicle. To create larger wards, the shelters can be configured together.
COVID-19 Statistics
As of our publication date, there are approximately 8,700 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S., with more than 130 deaths. Expert medical professionals estimate the virus could infect between 160 million and 214 million of the American population. As a result, this could cause up to 1.7 million deaths over the course of the pandemic. (NY Times).
Going to a Food Trade Show? 5 Tips for Exhibiting Your Product So It Stands Out Above the Rest https://www.proexhibits.com/blog/food-exhibit/
When you exhibit at food trade shows, the sensory experience is just as important as the visuals you present. Can your trade show booth make your products look amazing and incorporate taste and smell? Follow these tips to build a display that draws booth visitors in and keeps them there for sampling!
1. Design Your Booth to Match Your Product
What do you want visitors to know about your food and your brand? Is it organic or health-conscious? Decadent or luxurious? Whatever the “theme” of your food, make sure your booth design connects with that theme. For instance:
Pair organic vegan food with neutral colors, wood, and natural fibers.
Display candies or cupcakes in a bright, colorful, eye-catching booth.
Team luxury food items with a simple but elegant white-and-gold color scheme.
2. Go Experiential or Go Home
Experiential exhibits represent one of the biggest and most important trends in trade shows right now. They encourage interaction from visitors as a way of making a booth memorable. Attendees become part of the conversation instead of presented to. The more engaged your exhibit visitors are, the more likely they are to try your products and listen to your brand message. For a food exhibit, this is a match made in heaven: The act of tasting food and drink is inherently active and engaging.
The importance of providing a tactile experience prompted Yakima Chief Hops to request sensory stations in its booth designs. Yakima Chief Hops, a grower-owned network of hop farms in the Pacific northwest, aims to establish itself as a leading global hop supplier. To that end, they commissioned ProExhibits to design three different trade show booths for use in the U.S., Asia, and Europe. With different maximum sizes in each country, it was important to design flexible food exhibits that could incorporate sensory stations in multiple configurations.
When designing displays for Yakima Chief Hops, ProExhibits added two different stations to each booth footprint. Visitors could touch and taste the company’s products. At hop stations visitors could see, touch, and smell the hops. Each booth also had pouring stations supervised by booth staff, where visitors could try beer brewed from the hops.
To ensure Yakima Chief Hops could showcase their products in any space, each booth design was flexible enough that both sensory stations could be included at any size. In Liverpool, England, for instance, a 2×4 m booth space was able to include a hop station as well as two tap handles for pouring beer.
3. Build a Sensory Feast
When it comes to food, people eat with our eyes before they ever take a bite! Good presentation is crucial at a food trade show. If your booth isn’t clean and attractive, and your food isn’t displayed with care, it’s tough to tempt people to try your products.
The most effective way to display products is typically on shelving or other flat display surfaces that give different products chances to shine. Let people see not just the packaging, but the food itself, to engage as many senses as possible.
You can enhance this experience by showcasing what your food is made of. As well as displaying the whole product, display the natural ingredients that go into making it. This provides another interactive sensory experience; people can further see, smell, and feel the quality of your product while connecting to it on a deeper level.
4. Make Food Simple and Safe
Accessibility
Providing people with a way to interact with your products is vital. When it comes to food exhibits, this interaction should be easy, intuitive, and enjoyable. That means food and drink samples are easy to see and access, and there’s enough product that people don’t have to wait in line to try it. It should also be easy for people to talk to a booth rep about the food, if they want to.
One way to use booth design to manage this is to create different zones within the exhibit. For instance, if food is stationed along the periphery of your booth space, it’s easy for people walking along the aisles to access. The interior of the trade show booth can then act as a space for visitors to have deeper interactions with you or your booth staff.
Handling, Hygiene, and Safety
Equally important in a food exhibit is that any interaction with food is safe and hygienic for your staff and your visitors. People shouldn’t have to risk anything when they sample your products—and they shouldn’t have to worry about whether they are either.
That generally falls into three categories:
Safety
Hygiene
Allergy awareness
You must ensure food can be sampled hygienically and that this fact is immediately obvious to visitors. In most cases, food trade shows stipulate in their regulations how food must be displayed and handled. These regulations can change from show to show, so check the requirements for each event you attend.
Here are a few easy ways to make sure people have an enjoyable experience, free from worry:
Set up tasting stations where booth staff can serve visitors and provide individual attention.
Provide tasting spoons, tongs, and other disposable items where necessary.
Pre-package or portion items individually, so people only need to touch foods they intend to try.
Clearly label items that are for touching only to ensure visitors aren’t tasting items others have touched.
Clearly label foods that contain common allergens and should be avoided by people with intolerance, like peanuts, gluten, etc.
Clearly label items that might be hot to the touch.
5. Focus on Freshness
One of the most difficult things about displaying food and beverages is that food exhibit design must account for the need to keep products fresh and temperature-controlled. Where fresh food is being served, it’s vital for both food safety and quality that it’s served at the right temperature. Depending on the product, this may mean incorporating heating or cooling within display design or making space for items such as ovens, warmers, and refrigeration units.
In the case of Yakima Chief Hops, the ability to store beer in a temperature-controlled environment was a vital part of booth design. ProExhibits took on the challenge of designing a space that was 100% efficient in maximizing what was available. Since the build included three different footprint sizes, different layouts were devised. All of these had to provide enough storage space to cope with demand. As the brand took off, the built-in flexibility of each booth footprint allowed ProExhibits to work on adding more room for beer storage.
Don’t Leave Your Success to Chance
Planning to exhibit at a food trade show? Just as at any industry event, planning and preparation is key. But the logistics involved in showcasing food and drink mean that good preparation is more important than ever! Make your food exhibit a success by paying careful attention to all the senses. Let your visitors see, touch, smell, and taste your products to have them raving about your brand long after the trade show ends.
Pedestal display cases are used to set apart a special item, perfect for highlighting a piece that requires more attention.
An inexpensive item can look valuable or a formerly undesirable item can suddenly take on a new life – just from the simple action of placing it in a pedestal display case. Manufactured with aluminum extrusion of the highest quality, our pedestal display cases can be customized in their size and supports.
Pedestal display cases can really boost and help your business and make it easier to sell and manage products. To find your perfect case or cases, give us a call!
Exhibits are like a billboard on a busy freeway. Attendees are flying down the aisle at 70 miles per hour. There’s a lot of visual clutter competing for their attention. Your exhibit must QUICKLY grab visual attention and force them to look at it.
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