Food Business Success® with Sari Kimbell

Ep #237 How to Use Trade Shows for Good!

• Sari Kimbell • Episode 237

Share episode

It's trade show season with the biggest one of the year, ExpoWest, wrapping up this week. Whether you are walking the floor of regional shows, distributor shows or buyer shows like Fancy Food or Expo, it can be overwhelming at best and deflating at worst. 

I've seen founders come back from shows feeling hopeless caught in compare and despair or a "how will I ever succeed with all the other brands out there" mindset.

Trade shows, or event big farmers markets, can be used for good to help uplift and inspire you and help you feel more determined that you can be successful than ever, if you follow what I prescribe in today's podcast. 

Market season is around the corner (for our winter friends) and it's time to get into the markets you want and make WAY more money every minute you are there. Get the Up Level Workshop for just $97 and increase your sales - guaranteed.

Get the bundle offer and save big already ($171), plus use code SELLPOD50 for an additional $50 off the full course.

Purchase either offer here.

Are you a Badass in Business? We're starting a 30 day Discipline Challenge in the free Private Facebook Group + prizes on February 17th! Sign up here.

MAKE A BIG LEAP IN 2025! Commit to the support and accountability you need to create a beautiful business!

Pick up your copy of "Key Ingredients" on Amazon here.

Check out my YouTube channel at www.foodbiz.tube for how to videos to start and grow a packaged food busin...

Sari  0:00  
Welcome to your Food Business Success. This podcast is for early stage entrepreneurs in the packaged food industry ready to finally turn that delicious idea into reality. I'm your host, Sari Kimbell. I have guided hundreds of food brand founders to success as an industry expert and business coach, and it's got to be fun. In this podcast, I share with you mindset tools to become a true entrepreneur and run your business like a boss, interviews with industry experts to help you understand the business you are actually in, and food founder journey so you can learn what worked and didn't work and not feel so alone in your own journey. Now let's jump in.

Sari  0:49  
Hello and welcome back to the podcast. It is my last podcast recording in Costa Rica, and it's been an incredible trip. Hopefully you've been following along and hearing about my journeys. I don't know if you know this, but I also have an Instagram called Sari Kimbell Coaching, which is more focused on my Reinvent Coaching, but I've been documenting my trip over there, so if you're interested, you can go check that out. And so funny, I just recorded a podcast like finished it, I don't know, an hour ago, and then I ran to the little grocery store to get what I needed for the rest of the week before I leave. And a Fuel member and client messaged me that she was at Expo West this week. So when you're hearing it, it'll be coming out of the week of Expo West, which if you have no idea what that is, that is one of the largest trade shows in the natural products industry. It's put on by New Hope network. So they have Expo West, which is every year, in early March in Anaheim. And then they also have a second show that they just started last year, called Newtopia Now, and it's actually based in Denver's where it's being held. They're trying that out. But in any case, those are two big shows. The other big shows are like Fancy Food. There's also like supply side, which is more about like suppliers and things you might need for your business. There's lots and lots of different trade shows in this space, and it inspired me, let's just say, to go back to the text that I got from a member, it inspired me to record this podcast instead. So I was like, you know what? Actually, this is a great topic, because some of you might be coming off of Expo Wext after attending and you're hearing this podcast, and I just thought this is actually a really good time to get this message out there for you, because here's what I have seen sometimes, because I love to take members to, usually we go to Fancy Food in Las Vegas, it's less expensive and it's a little more accessible. So there's a number of reasons why I choose that show. I've done that for the last few years, and we'll take a group of us and walk the show together, which is really great, because it's good to go in a pack. You don't feel so alone, but you can totally go and walk these shows for an entrance fee. And what I noticed on the first couple trips that we did is that people started to feel a lot of overwhelm, and they started to feel the sense of hopelessness and feeling like, oh my gosh, how am I ever going to make it? There's so many other people doing what I do. There's hot sauces and crackers and coffee and sauces and you name it. There's probably a product out there. And this feeling of like the compare and despair that comes up and just the overwhelm, the sheer overwhelm of walking these shows. I mean, you know, it's huge spaces, thousands of vendors, everything from people taking up, you know, whole corners and end boosts and like giant setups to like these little, you know, smaller booths that are part of like incubators and things like that. So what I want to do is record a quick podcast and share with you how I would really love for you to use trade shows and other events where you see other people doing what you want to do, how to use it for you and not against you. Not as a way to beat yourself up or convince yourself that it's never going to work, because who are you when there's so many other people who are doing the same thing, none of that, we're getting rid of all that junk. And here is how I want you to think about trade shows. And maybe you're not coming off of Expo West, but I want you to think about going in the future to a show, or it might even just be a farmer's market, and you see other vendors that are similar to what you're doing, and you're like, but I like, how will I ever make it if they're already doing it? Doesn't really matter, right? Anywhere where you could possibly feel overwhelmed and compare and despair, I got you. So the way that I love for you to view shows like this, anywhere where there's lots of other vendors that you could compare yourself to, is to use this as evidence that it's possible, it is possible for you. And I actually could tell I was like, how can I work this story into a podcast? And it just hit me, this is how. Okay. Instead of saying, well, I can't do it because somebody else is already doing it or there's too much competition in that space, you can look at it and say, this is evidence that people are buying products in this category, at this price, and people are willing to buy these kind of brands, focusing on the natural products industry. 

Sari  6:09  
So yesterday, I found myself in a bit of a pickle where I needed to leave this new place that I went to, a hotel in Costa Rica, to get to an appointment. The bridge was out. So a tree had fallen over and taken out a pole that had all this power. So power was out. Bridge was out. I figured out how to get out of this area, because I was like, the one bridge, so I had to go like all the way up and around, and finally came out to the highway again. So figured that out, right? And then I got to my appointment, came back. The bridge was still out, but now I tried to take the other way that I took earlier, and because now all these people are using this road because the bridge is out. Then a truck who probably shouldn't been on that road in the first place, had flipped over. So now this was no longer a possibility. And somebody stopped me and was like, turn around. There's a truck turned over. It's going to be a while. And I was like, well, how do I get back? Unfortunately, I did not have my computer or anything else, so I was like, how do I get back? And he's like, well, you can go up and over this road called cinco ventanas. And ironically, I had just been on that for my appointment. But he's like, it's a little gnarly, but you can totally make it. And I was like, okay, at least I knew where it was. So he gave me affirmation, shall we say, that it's possible, right? He told me about this other way to go and that I could do it. So that was helpful. And then when I got on that road, and I went past where my appointment was, so now I was going further than I had ever been. And of course, like Google Maps stops working and Waze like, you know, you start to get out of cell service. But in front of me, there was another vehicle, a Honda CRV, but it was like all wheel drive, right? But even a lower, like, I'm in an SUV, and this is like a lower to the ground SUV, and they were in front of me. Now I don't know if they knew where they were going or not, but I chose to believe that they did. And I chose to believe that as long as we stick together, and if they can do it, I can do it. And it was a little rough. I probably if not for the guy telling me I could make it, and having somebody in front of me paving the way, I probably would have turned around. So the metaphor I want you to imagine is me going up this jungle road, like crossing some streams, some crazy rocks, I probably shouldn't have been on. It was a little bit hairy at times, like I said, I would have probably turned around. There was a couple times where I was like, I don't know if I should be happy. This is not good, and but I made it right. And the the car went off, and I turned off onto my street, and I was just like, Thank you. Thank you, CRV in front of me, I don't know who you are, I don't know where you're going, but I'm so grateful that we went on that journey together. So I think you can use other people doing it together in that same way, like thank you. Thank you for paving the way ahead of me. Thank you for showing me it's possible. Thank you for inspiring me. And that's really what I need to take when you go and walk shows like this, or you go to markets and you see other brands, go get inspired, go get uplifted. Don't walk out of there thinking, poor me, how will I ever do it there's too many? Instead, oh my gosh, there's so many of us doing it because people want what we have to offer. People value this, and it doesn't mean that your path is going to be in traditional wholesale, we don't know exactly what your path will be, but I promise you, just like me, sticking to it on that road, that you can make it. You can get to the other side and use people around you as inspiration, proof that it is possible for you and notice when you start to feel overwhelmed or anxious, really get curious about what is that all about? Why you know, and you can do a brain dump. You can say, here's all the things I'm overwhelmed about or anxious about, and then even using the let them theory, that I talked about a couple podcasts episodes ago. The let them theory from Mel Robbins is like, let them. Let them have an amazing hot sauce brand or an amazing cracker brand, or amazing chocolates, amazing granola. Let them and then let me figure out what my course is. Is there room for all of us on the global shelf? Yes. Is there room for all of us on the whole food shelf? Probably not, and that's okay. We live in an incredible time where you can buy stuff on Tiktok shop or online or on Instagram or in like so many different ways that we can buy, and I am so grateful for that, so your path may look different, but use this as inspiration. Collect information, talk with people, be open. Don't use this to against yourself. Don't use shows against yourself to beat yourself up, to try to convince yourself you're never going to make it, it's not possible for you. What if a trade show, a market? What if these are ways of proving to you, of seeing that it is possible for you? 

Sari  12:26  
There's my off the cuff, unplanned, unscripted podcast about trade shows. What I love for you to do is collect a bunch of materials, get inspired, see what you love, see what you don't, and go just connect with people. The real magic in shows is inspiration and connection, and none of those things will happen to you if you go in with your arms crossed, feeling defeated, feeling like it's not possible for you. So while the show may be over when you're hearing this, please use this if you're processing afterwards to say, how can I get inspired? And what I love about this industry is that people are generally really generous. We all want each other to succeed. I think 90% of the time, people are rooting for you, even if you have the same product and the same similar branding, the same messaging. We all want to see the natural products industry succeed, because the real people we are in competition with is like the industrial food complex, and so we need you out there bringing your delicious food to the world. So keep doing what you're doing. Go get inspired, go make connections, go to shows. They're incredibly informative, and I think, a very nurturing place, if you allow yourself to receive that. All right, until next time, have an amazing week. 

Sari  13:57  
The smartest thing you can do as an entrepreneur is to invest in a who to help you with the how to speed up your journey and help you skip the line. When you are ready for more support and accountability to finally get this thing done, you can work with me in two ways. Get me all to yourself with one on one business coaching. Or join Food Business Success, which includes membership inside Fuel our community of food business founders, that includes monthly live group coaching calls and so much more. It's one of my favorite places to hang out, and I would love to see you there. Go to foodbizsuccess.com to start your journey towards your own food business success.