Tradeshows, in-person events jumpstart emerging brands

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Tradeshows, in-person events jumpstart emerging brands

11 Aug 2025

Mari Rydings

Mari Rydings is a versatile content creator, editor and marketer with experience developing dynamic, results-driven materials for B2B and B2C audiences. As the editorial director for Avant Food Media, she leads the day-to-day editorial operations for the company’s print and digital magazines, newsletters and social media platforms. Outside of work, she loves reading, hiking, putting together jigsaw puzzles and spending time with her husband and their twin daughters.

KANSAS CITY, MO — Industry associations such as PMMI, the association for packaging and processing technologies, have kept pace with the proliferation of small manufacturers, with many expanding to offer content for emerging brands on their digital platforms, at in-person networking events and tradeshows. Business intelligence reports on category trends and manufacturing, a searchable directory of more than 900 packaging and processing suppliers, and the Package This video series are just a few online resources PMMI offers to young brands.

“Packaging plays a critical role in the success of emerging brands,” said Laura Thompson, VP of tradeshows for PMMI. “It protects product integrity and shelf life, and it’s a powerful marketing tool that drives consumer attention and repeat purchases. With the packaging and processing industry growing, these resources help bring brands closer to the solutions they need to start their businesses or scale up.”

Get in front

In-person events such as tradeshows, regional meetups and pitch competitions remain the gold standard for emerging brands because they present opportunities to meet face-to-face with buyers and investors.

“In-person events are where the unpredictable magic happens,” said Daniel Scharff, founder and CEO of Startup CPG. “It’s our top priority to build relationships with buyers who want to meet early-stage brands, because that’s what brings value. Brands want to be in front of buyers, so we create as many in-person opportunities as possible.”

Tradeshows in particular have evolved to meet the needs of young brands, with many event planners adding dedicated brand exhibitor sections and targeted educational programming.

“We bring our community together at all the major retail-oriented shows, and we draw buyers to our parties and give brands the opportunity to offer samples, especially the ones that are too small to have a booth,” Scharff said.

At the upcoming Pack Expo Las Vegas, first-time buyers of packaging and processing automation can take a Discovery Tour, a curated, expert-led experience that offers insights and context, with tour stops that include companies that specialize in working with brands exploring automation.

“We’ll also have more than 100 free educational sessions that emerging brands can take advantage of to learn about the latest trends and best practices in manufacturing, with topics around sustainability, innovation, processing and reusable packaging,” Thompson said.

On a more local scale, CT Food Launchpad hosted the third annual Big Connecticut Food Event earlier this year. The one-day gathering, produced in partnership with the Yale School of Management, brought CPG- and wholesale-focused food and beverage brands, buyers, investors and other key stakeholders together to network, share ideas, and showcase products and services. It featured educational sessions on trending topics such as navigating the funding landscape and developing successful partnerships between brands and buyers, as well as a pitch competition and one-on-one expert coaching sessions.

“We held 50 expert coaching sessions this year,” said Reed Immer, director of sales and marketing for Chabaso Bakery. “We helped brands connect with experts spanning law, graphic design, strategy, operations and pricing. They had several sessions within the span of an hour that otherwise would have taken them six months or more to set up if they were doing it separate from the event.”

The resources available to emerging brands are wide-ranging, but they all have a common thread connecting them: community. Early-stage entrepreneurs represent a unique network of founders and experts who are willing to exchange knowledge and experiences and support one another. Plugging into that community and taking advantage of all the networks it has to offer can propel a brand from emerging to established.

This story has been adapted from the 2025 New Products Annual of Commercial Baking. Read the full story in the digital edition here.