This week is the annual Fancy Food Show at the Javits Center. One of the perks, if you can call it that, of owning a business is you get to attend trade shows. Trade shows are where you find out about the latest trends in products in some consumer category. You will also find new products or new businesses from time to time. Most trade shows are closed to the public. You either need to be a retailer, manufacturer, wholesaler, importer/exporter or in some other business related to the theme of the show.
Since our company is a candy, chocolate and dessert retailer, we can attend almost any food related trade show as there is always bound to be at least one company at any show that manufactures or wholesales something we could possibly carry in our store. The main perks of trade shows for us are being able to sample new products, place orders usually with some sort of show special price, share insights with other businesses and attend seminars.
What you don’t realize is how much work is involved in going to these trade shows. The amount of walking can easily add up to a couple of miles depending on the convention hall space being utilized and how well or poorly you plan your day. The Javits Center is easily the largest trade show we attend. Prior to the pandemic, nearly 2/3rds of the building is utilized for the show. This is a building that stretches from 34th to 39th Street, 11th to 12th Avenue and has 3 floors. Then, since it’s a food show, there is the sampling. Nearly every food or drink booth has something to sample. It’s wall to wall candy, chocolate, cookies, pastries, meats, cheeses, crackers, coffee, soda, tea, liquor, etc. Some familiar but many exotic. At the Javits Center, nearly every country is represented by at least one company, so not only do you not know exactly what is in what you might be eating, but you probably won’t be able to read the packaging as it doesn’t contain any English words. There are usually people at each booth, but sometimes they speak very limited English.
Sampling is important since you never know what new product might be worth carrying in your store or you can find a better version of something you are already selling and switch suppliers. We have found a Swedish gummy candy company that makes some of the best sour gummies ever. Their authentic Swedish Fish are so much better than the American version though weren’t very popular with our clientele. Very disappointing. We found a Danish company that makes a meringue version of a Mallomar that sold very well for a while in our store. Bonus on that product: one was only 35 calories and had virtually no fat. You quickly learn you have to pace yourself in the sampling game. You really learn how much bigger your eyes are than your stomach. My first show, I became nauseous within about 90 minutes. Not only do you have to be careful not to over eat, but you should stick to one food group at a time and drink plenty of water.
Let us know in the comments if you have ever attended a trade show and what you thought.
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