What Not to Eat in Your Trade Show Booth

Trade Show Blog

messykidBanner

Trade show experts tell us to never eat in the booth. It’s bad etiquette. From my experience, this arbitrary “food rule” is specific to North America. For example, at EuroShop, there was food everywhere, whether served to attendees or eaten by staffers. It’s time we dispense with this food hypocrisy. People are going to eat, so let’s agree on some guidelines. Some food is appropriate. Others not so much. Here are my suggestions of food never to eat/serve in your booth.

Anything Your Grandpa Would Take on a Fishing Trip

Potted meat, vienna sausages, sardines (in oil, tomato, or mustard sauce), saltines, and Milwaukee’s Best. Basically any canned meat sold at The Dollar Store and any beer that costs less than bottled water.

Any Regional Delicacy Eaten Mostly on a Dare

Rocky Mountain oysters, lutefisk, scrapple, geoduck, head cheese, turducken, chitlins, watergate salad, and chaudin. Plus, any meat you can’t typically buy at the supermarket (“Try these yummy rattlesnake nuggets!”).

Anything Served with Eyes

Fish, ducks, pigs, etc. If it’s hanging in the window of a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, you may want to keep walking.

grossfood

Anything Your Mother Had to Force You to Eat When You Were 10 Years Old

Brussels sprouts, kale, liver, venison, tongue, lima beans, spam, mystery casseroles,  …. this list could be several pages long. Two more: Anything Served at the School Cafeteria on Friday or Anything Cooked by Your Weird Hippie Aunt.

Anything That Smells, Lingers, or Coats Your Fabric Graphics

Tuna fish, deviled ham, canned corned beef hash, bacon (sorry), garlic, onions, stinky French cheese, kimchi.

Anything in a Large Glass Jar Typically Found at a Bar

Pickled pigs feet, pickled eggs, pickled sausages… Heck, let’s make this easy and say anything pickled, except pickles.

Miscellaneous

  • Poutine (french fries with brown gravy) — This food explains a lot about Canadians
  • Spaghetti — There’s no graceful way to eat it, and you’re guaranteed to have a tomato sauce accident
  • Sloppy Joes — Or any food with the word “sloppy” in the title
  • Any Food That Turns Your Fingertips Orange
  • Any Food Requiring Special Utensils to Consume
  • Any Food Where You are Tempted to Lick Your Fingers and Then Wipe What’s Left on Your Pants
  • Any Food That Makes You Gag When Eaten by the Guy Sitting Next to You on the Plane

Please add your suggestions. We all know that the more food that’s available on the show floor, the less we have to spend entertaining clients. I’m all for the day when a client says, “I’d love to go to that steakhouse, but I ate so much at the show I’m going to have to pass. Thanks anyway.”

No, thank you!!!

–Mel White
https://www.linkedin.com/in/melmwhite
mel@classicexhibits.com

**********************************************

Based in Portland, Oregon, Classic Exhibits Inc. designs and manufacturers portable, modular, and custom-hybrid exhibit solutions. Classic Exhibits products are represented by an extensive distributor network in North America and in select International markets. For more information, contact us at 866-652-2100 or www.classicexhibits.com.

[subscribe2]

Filter by Category

Filter by Year

Recent Posts

The 3 Essential Trade Show Marketing Questions

These are questions every designer should ask their client before designing the ideal trade show display. If the client walks in just thinking about the nuts and bolts of the project, they may miss an informed conversation on why they are exhibiting in the first place and that can fundamentally affect the design of a booth. The Why can greatly impact the How in Exhibit Design.

What You Should Know about Exhibit Marketing

Exhibit marketing is all about marketing your products or services to buyers at expositions, conferences, and trade shows. A successful exhibit marketing program will be rewarded with increased revenues, referrals, and industry networking. The goal is to understand how exhibit marketing differs from the other types of marketing.

Managing Your Trade Show Budget

Trade shows are expensive, and some costs are often puzzling to exhibition newbies, but there are multiple ways to manage those expenses with a little planning and some assistance from an experienced trade show professional. Don’t be afraid to tap into that expertise.

Why Are Trade Shows Important for Business Growth and Branding

With the rise of online meetings and ecommerce, business experts have predicted the death of trade shows and live events for 40 years. Yet, the benefits of trade shows and events have never been more important for businesses. There were over 13,000 separate events in North America in 2025 alone.

Best & Biggest Convention Centers in the US for Trade Shows

What are the biggest and best convention centers in the United States? And does overall size and location matter when it comes to a convention center? Unless you’re a trade show nerd (like me), you’ve probably never wondered if the Las Vegas Convention Center is bigger than McCormick Place in Chicago. Or if the Orange County Convention Center is in FL or CA?

10 Online Tools for Classic Exhibits Distributors

At a recent Shared Knowledge University, we reviewed ten online tools available to all Classic Exhibits Distributors. The attendees told us that these tools are invaluable to their sales, marketing, and customer service teams and are unique within the exhibit industry. 

Why Small Businesses Fail to Grow by Jay Goltz

Excerpt from the “Art of Running a Small Business.” Many, if not most, Classic Exhibits distributors fall into the small business classification as defined by the Small Business Administration. Small businesses have challenges that larger businesses do not.

Top 12 Trade Show Bad Habits

All animals, humans included, are creatures of habit. We learn how to survive, then follow those routines day after day. Trade shows are no different. Exhibitors and attendees find their safe space and get comfortable: same shows, same people, same message.

Your Trade Show Marketing in 2026

When it comes to trade shows, many exhibitors don’t have a detailed plan on how to market their company. They purchase a display, which they think is the key to a successful show. Your exhibit may be the star of the show but it’s only one element in a comprehensive strategy.

IMEX America Hosted Buyer Lounge (Condensed Version)

IMEX America 2025 brought together 17,633 participants, including more than 6,000 buyers from 75 countries, reinforcing the event’s position as a high-value marketplace for the global meetings industry. At the center of this ecosystem was the CORT Events’ Hosted Buyer Lounge, designed as a dedicated environment.

40 Weird Things You Do @ Trade Shows

Trade shows can be a strange world whether you are an exhibitor, attendee, or an industry insider. While many behaviors might seem normal to you as a member of the trade show community, others are downright bizarre to those who rarely set foot in a trade show hall.

Why Are Companies So Bad at Trade Show Marketing?

Some companiees will hint at it. Then there are the ones who are honest. They simply don’t understand trade show marketing. That’s not surprising. It’s rarely taught on the undergraduate or graduate level. At best, it’s mentioned in passing in a marketing textbook.

10 Things Zombies Can Teach Us About Tradeshow Marketing

Single-minded Focus. You may not appreciate their all-consuming desire to eat your flesh, but they are committed to the task. They let nothing get in their way, except an ax to the brain. Your next trade show will be wildly successful, if you make it a priority, not an afterthought.

10 Things To Ask When Renting Trade Show Furniture

Selecting trade show rental furniture is a critical step in your exhibit planning timeline and it should happen well before your move-in. Ideally, you’re confirming your exhibition rental furniture several weeks (if not months) in advance.