Over 35,000 people will visit the Good Food and Wine Show this year on July 16 to 18 in Sydney. Nationally, the Good Food and Wine Show visits five capital cities, so you can take your exhibition stand across the country if you want to. The Good Food and Wine Show is the best place to exhibit if you sell any products relating to food, wine, beer, spirits, or cooking.
Here are some tips to make your exhibit at the Good Food and Wine Show stand out.
1. Samples or Tasty Treats
Most exhibitors offer people samples or tasting trials at this show. Obviously, if people taste your food and like it, you will make more sales. When you design your exhibition stand, consider what you need to provide edible samples of your product. You may need an electric frying pan and electricity for example to serve something hot. You need to order in small tasting cups or plastic spoons to serve your tasty treats to your prospective customers. You may want to consider what portion size you will serve. Usually a mouthful or two is enough to give your customers a taste of your product. Ensure you provide any food or drink in a hygienic manner to your customers. If you provide a tasting sample, don’t forget a plastic bin for people to put the rubbish in.
2. Product Bags
Another idea is to offer a “show bag” that customers will purchase with a number of your products together. If you offer show bags, provide a sturdy bag that people can easily carry all day, with strong handles. You may consider going shares with another company offering a product that complements your product. For example, if you sell delicious cheeses, you may want to add some crackers to your show bag or product bag. If you can get another exhibitor to sell the same show bag at their stand too, giving you a fair share of the sale price to cover the cost of your product, you could double your sales.
3. Demonstrations
Consider arranging your stand to enable a staff member to give demonstrations of how to make your product. If you are cooking something, don’t hide this at the back of the stand, but have the staff member up front giving an active demonstration of how your product works. You may want to schedule in several demonstrations over the three days of the exhibition. You can also plan to give theatre style demonstrations of your cooking or a wine tasting show. This is a terrific way to show customers all the benefits of your products. If you plan to give a show or demonstration in one of theatres outside of your own stand, you will need to book this with the event organizers.
4. Order Forms and Online Ordering
Not everyone will be able to purchase your product at the show. If you can provide online ordering and order forms for your customers, you may make sales for many months after the actual event. Make sure you allow space to take orders on the day and space for your order forms or brochures to give to customers who want to order online after the event. This increases your sales, especially as many people can’t carry too many things at this event, so allowing your customers to place an order for later delivery works well.
5. Sales on the Day
When you sell products at the Good Food and Wine Show, you need to design your stand to allow for space to store your products. This is particularly hard if you need cold storage, so you may have to hire fridges or freezers for the event. If you sell alcohol, it is easier as people can pick up the alcohol orders at the liquor shop at the end of the day. Check with the organizers about food storage areas that you may use during the event. Don’t forget to provide ways for people to purchase your product, paying via credit card, eftpos, or cash.
The Good Food and Wine Show is a practical event that always attracts a large crowd. Make it easy for your prospective customers to remember your product by offering free tastings, product demonstrations, and product bags or show specials. Make it easy for people to buy your product on the spot and also to order the product after the show.
