Design Lessons from the Winter Food Shows
This January was a big food month for me thanks to my attendance at the Winter Fancy Food Show and the Sustainable Foods Summit in San Francisco. While many attend these shows to find the newest trends in food, we go to these trade shows to see how design can benefit the industry. Here’s what we found.
The Fancy Foods Show:
If you haven't been, this show is a essentially a massive foodie playground with products ranging from artisan cheeses, to instant miso soups in squeeze tubes, to the latest in beverage crazes – Aloe Vera drinks. For those looking for organic products though, this show can be a bit difficult to navigate. The organic companies are scattered with very little to identify them as such. In fact, many of the companies I wanted to visit from my pre-show research were tough to locate due to their lack of appropriate signage. The importance of good booth design cannot be overemphasized as it can be the factor that makes your brand easy to find, easy to remember, and represent your level of professionalism. At the very least, your signage should properly communicate who you are and what you have to offer – at eye level or above. Otherwise you risk getting lost in the crowd and missing your target audience.
Overall this show was excellent and held up to its name by showcasing some amazing gourmet products. If you're looking for a more organic/natural focused event however, try the Natural Products Expo put on the by New Hope Media. It is much more expensive to attend and exhibit, but if organic is your market it may be worth the extra effort/expense. On the other hand, the more organic companies that exhibit the FFS, the more we can show the world what real gourmet food is like.
The Sustainable Foods Summit:
Put on by the good people at the Organic Monitor, the Sustainable Foods Summit brings together the major players in the sustainable food category to discuss many of the issues facing the industry. I attended the second day of the Summit, which focused mostly on marketing and sustainable packaging – to hear how they are attacking the sustainable packaging problem. With the buying power of companies like Kaia Foods, Pasta Prima, and Guayaki, I figured they were at a supreme advantage in the eco materials market and might have some answers. But the overwhelming message I took away from the day was that the sustainable packaging industry is strong and growing, but that there are no right answers or perfect solutions out there yet.
One great example of this was Guayaki's case study of the evolution of their packaging. They have been risk takers from the beginning, going out on a limb to try out new materials and packaging solutions. In some cases these experiments ended in disaster, and other times they were a big hit, saving money and reducing their impact. You never know until you try, and without risk takers like these, the market for better materials/products would dry up and disappear.
I find that a lot of people, myself included, strive for the perfect solution right now and get upset that it seems impossible to achieve. What this Summit taught me is that we have to be patient, take chances and work with what we have now, and then ultimately to be transparent about our choices. The more consumers know about how you came to a specific solution and what you want to improve, the more they will forgive you for not being perfect – which after all, is impossible to achieve.
Many thanks to all the speakers for the great insight. I'm looking forward to next year.