Drive Retail Sales at Trade Shows: How This Booth Design Captured More Buyers

If you’re looking for ideas to make your next trade show booth a real sales driver, Café Valley’s story is a blueprint for success. They were up against a big challenge: debuting not just one but three new products and revealing a whole new brand look. See how smart merchandising and a flexible exhibit design can turn a trade show space into an engine for growth in the video linked below.

How Do You Launch Three Things at Once?

Café Valley Bakery had a packed agenda for their trade show debut. Their top priority was to successfully introduce three major initiatives:

• Barbie™ Cakes needed to stand out with a display that felt fun, lively, and instantly attention-grabbing.
• Girl Scout™ Bundt Cakes called for an inviting setup that would leave everyone craving a sample.
• A New Logo and Packaging needed to be visible everywhere so buyers could connect with the updated brand.

Pulling this off meant the booth had to be fresh, energetic, and able to handle a lot: major new product displays, plenty of room for sampling, and comfortable spots to sit and talk.

Making Merchandising Practical

The real test was figuring out how to show dozens of private-label products in a way that made sense for retail buyers. Stacking everything on shelves just wouldn’t cut it. Retailers walking the show needed to imagine these baked goods on their own shelves, in their cafes, and at their market counters. Café Valley set out to build a booth where buyers could actually picture how each treat would fit into their own locations.

Planning for Today and Tomorrow

Café Valley was thinking ahead too. Future trade shows would mean bigger booth spaces with totally new layouts, but they didn’t want to scrap and rebuild everything year after year. Plus, they attend smaller regional shows where a huge booth just isn’t practical. They needed a booth system that could expand or contract as needed, always looking polished and professional, no matter the size.

What Made the Booth a Standout?

Café Valley’s answers to these challenges started with a clear focus: make the booth modern, flexible, and welcoming. Three details made a big difference.

Visuals That Stopped People in Their Tracks

The new brand was impossible to miss. Bold graphics and updated packaging greeted visitors as soon as they got close. To spotlight Barbie™ cakes, they designed the display with bright pink, backlit graphics that were hard to ignore. The space was fun and current, which matched the playful energy of the products and got people talking right away.

Bringing the Bakery to the Show Floor

Rather than just handing out samples and brochures, Café Valley turned the booth into a real bakery experience. A working espresso machine filled the air with that great coffee smell, and comfortable seating made it easy for attendees to sit, taste samples, and actually talk. This setup created a place for genuine conversations. Buyers weren’t just passing by, they spent time, relaxed, and built relationships over coffee and cake.

Merchandising That Makes Sense

Café Valley showed off their private-label products by creating lots of different display settings.

• Table displays showed how the baked goods looked in a cafe or restaurant.
• Counter setups were set up to look like grab-and-go spots in a bakery or coffee shop.
• Retail shelves gave buyers a sense of how products would stand out in their own stores.

These smart vignettes helped buyers instantly picture how everything could fit into their businesses.

Flexibility That Paid Off

To stay ready for trade show changes and new opportunities, Café Valley used a modular booth system. This custom setup lets them easily rearrange and re-size the booth for different show floors... no need to start from scratch each time. For big shows, all the parts come together for a high-impact presence. For smaller, regional events, they pull just the pieces they need to create focused, professional displays. This flexibility keeps their look consistent and their investment working hard year after year.

Lessons for Anyone Who Wants to Sell More at Trade Shows

Café Valley’s approach is proof that a smart, creative booth can go a long way to boosting sales and starting new business relationships. Their strategy blended head-turning visuals, a real customer experience, and practical flexibility for the future. The result? A memorable launch for new products, a bold new brand debut, and a booth setup they can use again and again as their needs change.

Want to see how all these ideas came together? 👇Check out the full video case study below to get a closer look at Café Valley’s bold graphics, interactive displays, and the modular booth design that made their tradeshow presence such a hit.

About the Author
Valerie Carstens
Head of Brand & Digital Marketing, Skyline Exhibits

With over 30 years of experience, Carstens is an award-winning brand strategist specializing in brand architecture, identity, digital marketing, and live events. She has a proven track record of creating transformative branding programs that energize audiences and drive sales. A seasoned leader and strategist, Carstens has guided creative teams, advised executives, and earned recognition for her work on regional, national, and international levels. 

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