Wine is a people business and a decidedly international one at that. It’s very difficult to get things done without developing relationships, often spanning countries, cultures and time zones. Though Skype makes the world a smaller place, there’s nothing like a real, face-to-face connection for building and growing relationships. Wine trade shows are an opportunity to meet lots of wine people in one place at one time, and as such are key events in the wine business calendar.
Over the past few years I’ve attended or worked at trade shows and events in Germany, France, Canada, China and Hong Kong. Each experience has been unique, though there are structural components common to all. The aim of this article is to help you prepare for your next trade show, wherever in the world that might be.
How do wine trade shows work?
Most wine trade shows take place in conference centres in cities. In simple terms, there are exhibitors and visitors.
Photo credit: Joanna Margan, Vinexpo Hong Kong 2018
Exhibitors are generally wineries, négociants and other businesses selling wine and, often, spirits. You might also find service providers such as wine marketing agencies, wine education organisations and packaging specialists. Exhibitors rent space on the trade show floor to display their product or service and to conduct meetings with visitors.
Visitors are those that attend the shows without actively exhibiting their wares. Most trade shows are open to wine professionals of all descriptions, including wine buyers, sommeliers, wine journalists, wine students and more. Wineries and wine producers may also choose to attend as a visitor rather than an exhibitor.
I’ve been both a visitor and an exhibitor. Whether one is preferable to the other is debatable, but they’re certainly different. Here, I’m writing from the exhibitor’s point of view.
8 tips for surviving a wine trade show
Trade shows are a large investment of your time, money and resources. There are a lot of events around the world at different times of the year. Deciding whether to exhibit in the first place is a big question, and that’s long before deciding which show or shows might be right for your winery.
Both are beyond the scope of this article. Suffice to say: do your homework before jumping in. I’m assuming that you’re reading this because you’ve got a trade show coming up and you’re wondering how to make the most of it.
1. Space jam
Trade show floor plans can differ widely, as can booth design. Knowing exactly how much space you’ll have, and how it’s laid out, is key to planning correctly. If you’ve got three square metres and are planning on displaying twelve different wines, you might want to think again. Likewise, if you’ve got 200 square metres and five wines, you’re going to want to figure out how best to use that space.
In an ideal world, you’ll have enough space that you and your team can comfortably stand and present your wines to passers-by without tripping over one another. You’ll also want to have some dedicated meeting space so that you can sit down (or stand around) with your business partners or prospects and have a discussion without interruption.
2. Ample samples
This is often your best chance to get your wine in front of a prospective buyer. It’s vital that you have enough of the right wines there when you need them. The number of individual wines you show, and the number of bottles of each that you send, will vary from producer to producer and event to event. There’s no magic formula, unfortunately.
Work with your logistics person or freight forwarder to ensure that your samples get to where they’re supposed to be, when they’re supposed to be there. Allow plenty of time for things like customs clearance, and it never hurts to have a backup plan either – though always keep event rules and local laws in mind.
Work with your customers and prospective customers, ahead of time, to establish if there are any wines that they would specifically like to try with you. Ensure that you have those samples ready to go. Likewise, if you need ice buckets or decanters (or port tongs or anything else), make sure you’ve got them.
3. If you build it, they will come (or maybe they won’t)
The work starts long before the show opens. It’s simply not enough to show up on the first day and expect buyers to form an orderly queue. Yes, the best events will have an abundance of quality buyers, but remember that you’re competing for their attention alongside hundreds of other producers and thousands of other products.
Foot traffic during the show is certainly a valid means of developing business, but if that’s all you’ve got planned then you’re wasting your time and money. Book meetings ahead of time with your existing partners, but remember that trade shows are a new business opportunity too.
Take advantage of all the tools available to you. Most trade shows will have a website and/or app that will provide visitors with a list of exhibitors that they can examine ahead of time. Many of these directories will just provide basic information as standard, such as your company name, country of origin, stand number and, hopefully, some contact information. Exhibitors are often given the option of adding supplementary information, and it’s usually a simple matter of logging in and filling out some fields.
Don’t assume that prospective buyers will just see your name and come to you. Take the time to fill that stuff out with relevant, concise information about your winery, products and representatives in attendance. There are plenty of cantinas in Veneto and bodegas in Rioja, so give your prospect the detail they need to realise that you’re worth a visit and a meeting.
4. LinkedIn isn’t just for motivational quotes
LinkedIn is a vastly underused platform in the wine business. Use that to your advantage by putting yourself out there and asking your network for meetings. Avoid spamming industry groups (they tend to get very little quality traffic anyway) and instead make use of posts and articles. The organic reach you can get from these might surprise you, and paid advertising is an option too.
For the purposes of setting up some meetings, there’s no need to get fancy. A well-written post that follows a few simple guidelines is likely to do the trick. To write a good post, you don’t need to an especially talented writer, but you should avoid generic, boilerplate copy.
“Chateau Generique will be at Vinexpo Bordeaux, Hall 2 Stand 4. We are waiting for you.”
Anyone in the wine business that uses LinkedIn will have seen a million of these. I don’t know what sort of hit rate they get, though I can’t imagine it’s high. If you’re already an icon producer (think Torbreck, Vega Sicilia and Ornellaia), you don’t need to do this. If you’re not, you need to do more than this. Far better would be for you to get specific (and maybe even slightly personal).
Chateau Specifique will be at Vinexpo Bordeaux. We’re actively looking for importers in Hong Kong, Switzerland and Ireland, and interested in meeting importers elsewhere that are looking for organic Bordeaux red, white and crémant. Get in touch here or by emailing charlie@chateauspecifique.com to book an appointment with us. We speak English, French, German and Mandarin.
The above is an imperfect illustration, but hopefully you get the idea. Don’t assume that people will come to you, and do be sure to spell out the key details to give you the best chance of ultimately attracting the right people.
4.1. On graphics and illustrations
Another small point here is on how you craft that communication. My friend and very talented Bordeaux-based illustrator/designer Charlie Padgett may disagree, but in my opinion graphic design is not the crucial component.
On LinkedIn, you would be far better off writing a short, specific piece of text with relevant hashtags (things like #wine and #winebusiness as well as referring to the event itself, e.g. #vinexpo) and tagging the event page where applicable (type @ when writing the post to search for it). Doing this is likely to make you more findable than a beautiful graphic that contains all that juicy text within the image. Of course, if you’ve got the budget, do both. Note: I don’t know Charlie’s rates, but I know his work is incredible!
5. Know your offer (and communicate it clearly in writing)
Have all your pricing info to hand either in a physical or virtual document. Be sure to specify the incoterms you are proposing along with any other info relevant to your offer. You should have all of this info already, it’s just a matter of putting it in some sort of format you can share with your prospect.
You could have a glossy brochure or a simple price list, depending on your budget and the image you’re trying to convey to the world. I expect that more and more people will shun printed documents at these events and instead take photos or ask for PDFs, so having a tablet with a digital version is advisable.
Whatever way you do it, it’s vital that you can communicate your offer clearly. Offering your wine at €3 per bottle EXW (“ex-works”) is a very different proposition than offering €3 CIF (“cost, insurance, freight”). The difference could make a deal untenable for you or the prospect, so not having this stuff laid down early in black and white is asking for trouble later.
6. Language barriers
Wine is a truly international business, and trade shows attract people from all over the world. Consider your language capability and plan accordingly. If you’re going to a trade show in a country whose language you don’t speak, you should think about getting an interpreter or risk not being able to communicate with potential buyers.
From experience, I can suggest that you don’t go to a show in mainland China without either speaking Mandarin yourself or enlisting the services of a Chinese speaker. ProWein and Vinexpo are decidely more international and English-friendly, although you’re likely to hear more English at Vinexpo Hong Kong than at its Bordeaux equivalent. If in doubt, establish ahead of time whether the person you’re meeting speaks your language, or whether you’ll need to make a special arrangement.
Wherever in the world your show happens to be, it’ll pay to take the steps to overcome language barriers. Ensure that relevant materials (such as your price list and, in some cases, your business card) are translated into the relevant language.
7. Dress and behave professionally
Trade shows are business-to-business (B2B) events and as an exhibitor, you are professionally representing your company. As a result, it’s advisable that you dress and behave “professionally”. Granted, this means different things in different contexts. As a gross generalisation, there are different (read: stricter) implications for those representing classified growth Bordeaux and other classically “fine” wine than for their counterparts selling new world wines. There are also practical considerations such as the weather (south China in May is very hot and very humid, for example!) and cultural norms or expectations.
I don’t recommend dressing up in silly costumes (think a giant corkscrew or an inflatable bunch of grapes) just to attract attention. I’ve seen them at trade shows, and they’re usually met, at best, with indifference. Gimmicks like that, if appropriate at all, are usually better suited for consumer tastings and events. Most buyers don’t want to sit down and negotiate pricing with a person dressed up as a wine bottle.
8. Follow up!
Trade shows are networking events, so shake hands and exchange business cards – and then follow up! As an exhibitor trying to sell your wine, it’s simply not enough to meet and then wait for your prospect to get in touch. They’ll have met just as many people as you have, and often many more. They’ll have a stack of business cards to go through and price lists, brochures and offers to consider. You need to get out in front of all of that.
Follow up with everyone that you met. Add them on LinkedIn, and/or write them a short email thanking them for their time and follow up on any discussion points or questions there might have been. Trade shows are an intense few days but life goes on afterwards, and it’s very easy to lose track of time and momentum. Seize every opportunity to make a new contact.
Dos and don’ts at wine trade shows
If the above was all a little TLDR, keep the following nuggets of wine wisdom in mind.
- Do spit. There’s more wine at these things than you could ever drink, so don’t even try. These are long days and you’re in a professional setting.
- Don’t get drunk. Not spitting all that wine is a natural way to end up on your ear before too long. It’s not a great look, and people remember that sort of thing. Avoid the temptation also during work dinners and other events; have a good time but don’t go overboard. It’ll reflect poorly on you and/or your employer.
- Do show up (always). If you do go partying, make sure you show up to wherever you’re supposed to be at whatever time you’re supposed to be there the next day. Don’t let your colleagues and business partners down.
- Don’t plan on taking a long lunch break. Time has a way of getting away from you at these things, and I haven’t ever managed to grab more than a hot dog. Queues take forever at food stands. Where possible, pack a sandwich or fruit, and never turn down the kindness of strangers offering breadsticks. Stay hydrated, too.
- Do get some rest. These events can go on for days. It’s a marathon rather than a sprint situation, so avoid burnout by staying well-rested.
- Don’t steal wine (or anything else). Your fellow exhibitors are producers too, and this stuff is their livelihood.
- Do have fun. Seriously. Working in wine is a whole lot more fun than most other businesses. Embrace the fact that you are in one place with so many like-minded, passionate and enthusiastic people. Catch up with old friends and make new ones. It’s a small world after all, and it’s nothing without other people!