3 Trade Show Snack Ideas That Attendees Will Love

Whether you’re a trade show first-timer, or a seasoned veteran, the right trade show snack ideas will revolutionize a mediocre booth into an unrivaled powerhouse. With a wide variety of manageable and economical snack options, determining which to include in your booth is a daunting task. Selection considerations include allergies, veganism, and religious practices, where the wrong choice alienates the crowd. So how do you advertise with a simple snack food? And how do you know which snacks are the right ones to keep foot traffic moving too, and through your booth? 

Your trade show snack ideas need to provide a source of advertising that is efficient, cheap, and will generate foot traffic through the booth. There are two things to keep in mind:

1. Placing a company logo on the packaging is key, as most snack foods are carried around, and when unfinished, will be taken home. 
2. When you think of a cheap yet desirable trade show appropriate snack food, think of snacks typically consumed at sporting events such as popcorn, peanuts, and hotdogs.

These snack foods are manageable enough to be consumed while mobile, keeping attendees moving through your booth instead of finding an isolated location to sit. 

How Do You Attract Customers to a Trade Show?

Regular trade show goers will tell you the atmosphere is unapologetically competitive for attendee attention. Bringing customers to a trade show booth is trouble-free when the right tactics are employed. Free snacks are the pinnacle of incentive since most people subconsciously act on their body’s needs. When you visit your local mall, have you noticed how cars typically congregate around the food court entrance? People visit malls to shop, but subconsciously park near the food court because their body follows instinct. So how can we translate biological tendency into booth ideas?

The factors our body considers when pulling us in a direction primarily incorporates smell. Smells are the first factor that gets us moving. Furthermore, proper presentation and placement of snacks will anchor them at your booth.

When an attendee enters the trade show, what are the factors that bring them and keep them at a booth?

• The wafting smell of popcorn is likely the single most identifiable smell known. Before attendees decide which direction to head in, they’re already heading towards you.
• Have fresh snacks. It may smell good, but if it’s old, potential customers will pass by. Popcorn machines are extremely economical, so keep it popping.
• Make snacks upon request. This allows the guest to open the avenue of conversation, letting you organically speak about your products and services.
• Keep snacks towards the back. Instead of grabbing and going, attendees will admire your booth before moving on.

It can’t be overemphasized how fundamental fresh snacks are for a trade show booth. This simple inclusion creates a more natural flow of conversation, keeping you from being the person who yacks at every passerby, obnoxiously peddling your wares. Letting attendees initiate conversation creates a more natural flow for sales pitches, and with a snack in the hands of a potential customer, serious business discussion feel like comfortable lounge area chats.

3 Trade Show Snack Ideas

When we think of snacks, we envision something that’s easy to carry around on the go,  tides us over between meals, and are a lot of fun. Take those fundamentals and carry them into this section. That’s the prototype our concept will build upon. In a trade show, you want snack foods that keep your audience mobile through your booth, and doesn’t fill them up, as this creates drowsiness.

Promotional Food Items

The three main food groups of a trade show.

1. Popcorn is a trade show staple. When you offer free popcorn in a bag stamped with your company’s logo, you’ve accomplished two major things: increased an attendee’s chance of stopping by, and put an advertisement in their hands. Have you ever rolled an unfinished bag of popcorn closed and took it home? With a logo on the bag, they’ll glance at your logo with every handful. Popcorn will likely be the best ROI you ever make.
2. Peanuts offer the same level of financial ease as popcorn, and can also be taken home. Keep these in a separate container, as peanut allergies are one of the most common.
3. Hotdogs are a favorite amongst Trade Show goers, and will generate intense foot traffic. They are typically either fully eaten, or discarded after partial consumption, so while they will attract a crowd to your booth, they will not provide advertisement in the take-home/packaging sense the first two options will.

Offer Samples

For culinary-focused booths, having fresh samples of your products is a must. Keep religious practices, veganism, and allergies in mind, and try to have separate samples that caters to all three templates. If your products are focused on a niche, convey it through your booth design. It It is also wise to keep a steady foot on the samples you peddle. Don’t set samples out front where every passerby can snatch a few and dash, otherwise you may run out before every potential customer has had an opportunity to have one. Additionally, wait until closing time to give seconds. Not everybody knows to not take more than their fair-share before everybody else has had one.

Make it Interactive

How can snacks convert to sales? Create a trifecta between snacks, entertainment, and trade show marketing! Instead of handing snacks out, give them away as prizes, or for completing a task such as subscribing to your mailing list. Use snacks as that catalyst that creates lasting connections between your company and a customer.

• Give a snack reward for subscribing to your social media page. This is the era of social media and touch screens, and free snacks will amplify company exposure.
• Prize wheels are eye catching, and a lot of fun! When you put snacks up as a prize, people love to play. 
• Creating a seminar, or video for people to participate with, and give a snack for participation. This makes it more of a reward than a choir.

When trade show attendees receive a snack, it will likely be the first interaction a potential customer has with your company. First impressions take between five and fifteen seconds to form, and last a lifetime. Make sure it’s a fun encounter, and don’t be overbearing. Excessively keeping attendees at your trade show booth will keep the same faces there, stifling others from filtering through. Any game or event marketing should be time efficient, and snack rewards should be rewarded hassle-free.

Shipping to a Trade Show with R+L Global Logistics

Now you understand how to make your trade show snacks a success! Unfortunately, unforeseen events can still cause mayhem. With the R+L Global Logistics team on your side, neutralize the chances of disaster occurring with our dedicated professionals transporting your booth articles. No matter the configuration or dimensions, we’ll handle all the hard manual labor, leaving you fresh and able to focus on continued success. With our professional trade show freight service, and superior customer support, we will work hand-in-hand with you to understand your business needs and overcome any challenges presented to deliver the best possible service. 

Thank you for improving your trade show floor experience with our trade show snack ideas article. We wish you only the best with your endeavors. For more information in the self-investment you make when you choose our trade show experts, please feel free to reach out to our team with any questions or concerns. Get your quote today!