Thursday, July 3, 2008

The 2008 Summer Fancy Food Show- Diary Style

One word to describe our experience at the Summer Fancy Food Show: SUBLIME. Before the show, we had hoped that we would be well received by attendees, but nothing quite like this.

Since I didn't have time to blog during the show like I planned, I thought it would be neat to do a snapshot of our show experience.

Friday June 27

10:00 a.m. Arrive at Javits Center in our van and start to unload our stuff by hand. I have never actually been inside the Javits Center and it is massive. The first floor where our booth is located is cavernous, much like an airplane hanger.

1:00 p.m. Successfully unloaded the contents of our van and have made our way to Brooklyn where we are staying at one of my best friend's apartment while we are in town. So much more affordable and comfortable than a teeny tiny hotel room in Manhattan.

3:00 p.m. I head back to the Javits Center to start setting up our booth while my mom, Theresa and my dad, who has accompanied us as a moral supporter and extra pair of hands, figure out how our signage will hang from our booth. Ah, logistics. I make a quick stop at Pinkberry for some delicious yogurt and raspberries.

5:00 p.m. After a couple more hours of setting up, I head to the West Village to meet up with some friends for dinner. Saturday is a big day- have got several meetings with distributors and retailers as part of NASFT's 1 to 1 Business Builders Program.

Saturday June 28

8:00 a.m. Back at The Javits. Ready for our meetings with potential distributors and retailers. This is a great opportunity to pitch our Cupola Cookies & Cupola Clouds to some of the specialty food industry's best.

11:00 a.m. Go back to our booth to help my parents finish setting up. Impressed with the ingenious, Macgyver-like method they have come up with to hang our signs.

4:45 p.m. Done for the day! Tomorrow is the official first day of the show, which will be attended by distributors, retailers, brokers, individuals in food service and members of the press.

Sunday July 29

10:00 a.m. The show has begun- hurrah!

1:00 p.m. I think they like us! I mean, they like our Cupola Cookies and Clouds. At the show, each person has a badge. If an attendee is interested in a particular company or product, they can ask to have their badge scanned by exhibitors. Our badge scanner has been working quite a bit today, which is a good sign.

I could go on, but to spare you from eye strain, Monday and Tuesday's events followed suit very similarly to Sunday's events.

The Today Show coverage we received encouraged even more attendees to visit our booth, since they were really curious about our Cupola Clouds!

No comments: