2017 RECAP: Annual Show Helps Members Get Ready for The Holiday Season
The holiday season is an important one for retailers in the food and beverage business. It is the reason MIRA hosted their 19th Annual Holiday Food & Beverage Show.
“Every year we look for ways to improve the show,” said Auday Arabo, President and CEO. “It’s great when we get feedback from both the vendors and the attendees because it enables us to implement new ideas.”
This year the show was moved from Shenandoah Country Club in West Bloomfield to Suburban Collection Show Place in Novi. There were more vendor booths this year than last – 104 with additional 30 to 40 from MIRA’s own Benchmark Beverage Company.
Many vendors added some creativity to their booths. Proximo Spirits brought in an oversized chair with the Jose Cuervo brand on it. Many people sat in the chair to take photos. “They decided to bring the chair at the last minute and it turned out to be a big hit,” said Lisa Denha, MIRA Event Coordinator.
Heaven Hill added a popup bar; it was a trailer that they converted into a bar. It resembled the old 70s sitcom Partridge Family van. Also, Heaven Hill’s Deep Eddy Vodka created a booth with a Fall Harvest Décor.
“We really want to make the show fun and interesting,” said Denha. “We encourage vendors to think of new ways to engage attendees.”
DivDat brought in an actual kiosk to demonstrate how customers can pay utility bills at their local stores. The kiosks are designed to be traffic builders – giving customers reasons to come in to the store. U.S. Ice, once again, had a Wheel of Fortune-type game at its booth and as many vendors do every year, D&B Grocers Wholesale had samples of their products to taste.
More than 750 people walked around and shopped for their stores.
“It is a buying show,” said Arabo. “Vendors are setup with not just products on display but they are ready to sell.”
For next year, MIRA is looking for alternative venues. “We are looking to revamp a bit and maybe bring some entertainment, prizes, raffles, or ask vendors to do give a-ways from their booths; liquor is a regulated product so give-a-ways are not always a choice at vendor booths,” said Denha, “but we love to see vendors engage attendees and do some kind of promotion or prize or a special price of non-alcoholic products for show goers only.”
After each event, MIRA reaches out to people and asks for feedback. “We did hear that we had a very organized event and everything went smoothly,” she said. “We always encourage feedback and ideas.”
One comment that MIRA did get back from many people was the time of the event. They prefer it to be later in the day as many of them work late. The show time will probably move from 2 to 8 p.m. to 3 to 9 p.m. next year.
