Trade shows often get labeled as expensive field trips—booths, swag, travel, and tired feet. But for consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands, they can be far more than that. When done strategically, trade shows are not just worth the investment—they can be a pivotal growth lever.
But the key word here is strategically.
Let’s break it down.
Why Trade Shows Can Be Worth It
1. Face Time With Retailers and Buyers
Getting a 30-minute meeting with a category manager can take months. At a trade show, you can connect with multiple decision-makers in a single afternoon. This face time is gold, especially when you’re trying to break into new banners, pitch innovation, or build stronger retailer relationships.
2. Launch Pad for New Products
Launching a new SKU? Trade shows are the perfect place to build buzz. Buyers are there to discover what’s new. Media, influencers, and other attendees often help amplify your presence if your product delivers on taste, packaging, or novelty.
3. Competitive Intelligence
Forget Google searches and trend reports—walk the floor and see what your competitors are sampling, how they’re positioning themselves, what ingredients they’re highlighting, and how they’re pricing. It’s live, immersive market research.
4. Built-In Content Opportunities
A trade show booth isn’t just for foot traffic. It’s a great setting for capturing content—product demos, founder interviews, real-time reactions. If you plan ahead, you can walk away with weeks of high-quality marketing material.
5. A Signal to the Industry
Presence matters. Whether you’re a breakout brand or an established player, showing up—especially with a strong booth or activation—signals momentum. Distributors, brokers, and retail partners take note.
When Trade Shows Might Not Be the Right Move
You don’t have a clear goal.
If your team is attending “just to see what’s going on,” that’s a red flag. Are you there to get new distribution? Launch a line extension? Meet brokers? You’ll get out what you put in—and having clear KPIs is essential.
You aren’t ready to scale.
If your supply chain isn’t dialed in or you can’t support increased velocity, a show might create more demand than you can handle. That’s a good problem—until it isn’t.
You expect instant results.
Trade shows aren’t transactional. Most wins happen in the weeks or months after the event. If your follow-up game is weak, your ROI will be too.
What About Retail Media?
For those of us in retail media, trade shows are a goldmine. It’s a rare chance to meet brand managers, category leads, and marketing teams in one place. You can:
- Preview upcoming launches for campaign planning
- Recap recent wins and plant seeds for next quarter
- Introduce new media offerings and drive early pipeline
It’s also a great setting to have strategic conversations without the constraints of a 30-minute Zoom call or a retailer-led QBR agenda.
The Bottom Line
Yes, CPGs should invest in trade shows—but only if they go in with a purpose.
Think of them not as one-off events, but as part of a broader brand-building and retail strategy. When planned properly, trade shows deliver connections, content, insights, and long-term opportunities that far outweigh the cost of a branded tablecloth.