No Booth? No Problem: Backpacking at Expo West

Monica Watrous Mar. 4, 2024 at 9:04 AM

Exhibiting at Expo West can be prohibitively expensive for an emerging brand with a limited budget. Booth pricing ranges from $4,555 to an eye-popping $237,000, and that doesn’t include features like flooring and furniture or freight.

Being the scrappy types that they are, some startup founders have identified a workaround, a way to interact with industry decision makers on the cheap, “walking the show” while surreptitiously distributing samples like contraband to very important passersby on the floor. Some have nicknamed this hack “backpacking.” Others have less charitable names for it.

“I love backpacking brands,” said Adam Spriggs, founding member of The Angel Group. “It demonstrates the right mentality and a healthy disregard for perceived barriers and what others might think of you.” You know, essential traits to building a company.

Still, he pointed out “maybe the worst part about Expo is working your way through the busy aisles, and people who are wearing backpacks are often unaware of others’ space and the major obstruction they’re creating.”

Not only is it annoying, but it’s also not really permitted, according to the folks from Informa Markets’ New Hope Network, which produces the Natural Products Expos.

“New Hope doesn’t allow ‘backpacking’ at Expo West,” Carlotta Mast, senior vice president and market leader, said in a statement provided to Nosh. “We are not trying to be onerous with this rule but rather protect the investments our exhibitors make to participate in our shows.”

Mast makes a good point. For paying customers, er, exhibitors, the presence of backpacking brands can potentially dilute their investment and buyer access. Security personnel at Expo West are even trained to monitor for backpacking at the show, she said.

“They ask anyone engaging in this activity to stop,” Mast said. “If the activity continues, we may revoke that attendee’s badge under our code of conduct.”

But that’s hard to do with so many people in attendance. Remember 2022’s mask enforcement team? In both cases, there’s a reason for the rule, but it’s hard to catch everyone.

We’d never tell you to break the rules, of course, but if you’re going to do it, consider a less jerky manner than pulling jars out of a refrigerated pack in the middle of the aisle. Cameron McCarthy, the co-founder and CEO at WeStock, offered tips for boothless brands at Expo West:

Start outreach early. “You don’t need a booth to book meetings, and there are plenty of easy meeting options around the convention center… Make sure you get a phone number that you can text and confirm with the person the day of.”
Get social. “It’s much easier to approach a buyer, investor or potential partner at an event where the playing field is level versus the show floor where there is a clear power dynamic. Spread your social butterfly wings!”
Partner with an exhibiting brand. “Find a brand that you align with and ask if you can pay to do some cross sampling at their booth or a joint happy hour. Paying for an hour or two at a booth gives you a chance to sample and concentrate your meetings, while helping out another brand with their costs.”

Read more: Nosh’s Unofficial Guide to Expo West

Thanks for reading! Our five-part guide hopefully helps you survive Expo West, with strategies for making the most of the event, tips for maintaining your health, and enough chuckles to keep you sane. Click the links below to read more.