How Exhibitors Can Stand Out at the Winter FancyFaire

Written by The VEGPRENEUR Team

As Winter FancyFaire approaches, it’s crucial for exhibitors, especially those showcasing inside the VEGPRENEUR Pavilion, to set themselves up for visibility, discovery, and buyer engagement.

Winter FancyFaire is one of the most influential specialty food events of the year, drawing a powerful mix of retail buyers, distributors, foodservice operators, press, and trend-spotters. This year, VEGPRENEUR is proud to host a dedicated pavilion featuring a curated lineup of innovative plant-based and mission-driven brands, giving these founders a shared platform and increased visibility at the show.

But to make the most of Winter FancyFaire, exhibitors, including those inside the VEGPRENEUR Pavilion, need to optimize both their physical booth presence and their digital presence within the official show app. The Specialty Food Association’s exhibitor guide outlines 10 essential steps to ensure you show up in searches, attract buyer interest, and create meaningful connections.

Below is a VEGPRENEUR-focused breakdown of these steps, tailored to Winter FancyFaire and to brands showcasing inside the VEGPRENEUR Pavilion.

1. Log in to the Exhibitor Resource Center (ERC)
The ERC is the command center for managing your physical booth at Winter FancyFaire. This includes logistics, staffing, sampling approvals, and critical operational details. Logging in early ensures everything moves smoothly before the show begins.

2. Complete Your ERC Profile Fully
Winter FancyFaire buyers plan their visits and searches using exhibitor profiles, so the more complete yours is, the easier it is for the right buyers to find you. This step is especially important for the VEGPRENEUR Pavilion, as many buyers browse by theme or category to discover clusters of innovative brands.

3. Register Your Team
Every staff member needs a badge to access and work on the show floor. Registering early prevents delays and ensures your team is fully prepared for opening day.

4. Submit All Required Forms
Sampling requirements, sponsorships, and lead scanners are all completed in the ERC. Lead capture is critical at Winter FancyFaire, where foot traffic is high, and buyer interactions must be tracked for follow-up.

Your Winter FancyFaire Virtual Booth: The Exhibitor Marketing Center (EMC)

The EMC is your public-facing profile inside the Winter FancyFaire mobile app, the same app buyers use to browse exhibitors, discover products, and book meetings.

For VEGPRENEUR Pavilion brands, the EMC helps amplify the collective visibility of the pavilion by ensuring each company shows up strongly in category searches and product exploration tools.

5. Log Into the Exhibitor Marketing Center (EMC)
This is where you manage your virtual booth. Many buyers begin exploring the show weeks in advance, so completing your EMC setup early is a major advantage.

6. Customize Your EMC Page
Update your header image, background image, and logo. Strong visuals help your brand stand out in a crowded exhibitor list. With several brands housed inside the VEGPRENEUR Pavilion, polished branding also reinforces the strength of the pavilion as a whole.

7. Add Your Social Media Accounts
Attendees often check Instagram, TikTok, and other platforms to see packaging, storytelling, and audience engagement. Linking your accounts provides immediate context to potential buyers.

8. Add Detailed Contact Information
Make it easy for buyers to reach the right person, whether that’s a founder, sales lead, or partnership contact. Fast, accurate communication is key during and after the show.

9. Showcase Your Products in the App (Up to 20 Images)
The EMC allows you to upload up to 20 product images, which significantly increases your visibility in buyer searches.

For brands in the VEGPRENEUR Pavilion, this is an opportunity to highlight packaging, flavor varieties, new product launches, and merchandising potential.

10. Add Supporting Documents, Pitch Decks, and Videos
Upload white papers, videos, product documents, certification details, URLs, and more. At Winter FancyFaire — where time is limited, and buyer schedules fill up quickly, these materials help buyers understand your brand even before they reach your booth in the pavilion.

Why These Steps Matter for Winter FancyFaire and for the VEGPRENEUR Pavilion

Winter FancyFaire is known for facilitating high-volume buyer connections, and much of that starts in the show app. Completing these 10 steps ensures that:
• your booth gets more targeted traffic
• buyers can easily discover your brand through filters
• your pavilion presence is amplified digitally
• retailers and distributors can pre-plan meetings
• your follow-up pipeline is stronger and more organized

For VEGPRENEUR Pavilion brands, these optimizations also create a shared halo effect when each brand shows up well in the app; the entire pavilion becomes more attractive as a discovery zone for buyers focused on innovation, plant-based products, and mission-driven CPG.