Fred Kent was at first reluctant to advertise at the 2006 Mid-Atlantic Food, Beverage & Lodging Expo.
The CEO of Westminster, Md.-based Chilldisc, Kent was preparing to launch his product and had no experience as a show exhibitor. He asked himself, 'Will people come? Will people buy?'
His answer to both? 'Yes.'
Chilldisc "broke loose" at the expo, Kent said.
"I think our booth was the most-visited booth at the show," he said. "I had six people there, and we were busy almost the entire time."
Kent left the show with more than 75 leads for the "unique cold spot" designed to keep bar-top beverages cool. The stainless-steel discs — 4 inches in diameter and a frosty 25 degrees — defrost automatically and never freeze up. Each one has a fiber-optic light ring with eight available colors and may be engraved with a company's name or logo.
While the company's exposure at the show led to a variety of customers, Kent said one in particular has resulted in a promising partnership: Hilton Garden Inn.
"(Chilldisc) will be a part of their standard bar top now," he said. "Wherever they build these, they will put the discs in."
That's quite the expansion for a company that began with a few of its products in the local area and now spans four states.
Licia Spinelli, vice president of marketing and special events for the Restaurant Association of Maryland, said she commonly hears similar success stories from expo exhibitors.
Spinelli said when contemplating the expo, some people feel they're not ready or that their business isn't big enough, but she said that shouldn't be the case.
"We feel the expo is a great opportunity to get that growth," Spinelli said. "You don't have to be the largest distributor or manufacturer to have a good experience at the show."
The exhibitors who see the most success, she added, are those who recognize the importance of both connecting with new clients and reconnecting with current customers.
"They've invited all of their current clients to come see them at the show and it's a great customer service added-benefit to their relationship," Spinelli said.
Chilldisc received the New Product Premiere from the 2006 Mid-Atlantic Expo, a designation that "has its merits," Kent said.
"People are looking for new, innovative ways to separate themselves from the crowd," he said. "Every bar and every restaurant is trying to have something that no one else has so they can grab more clientele."
Since last year's expo, Chilldisc has doubled its staff and its facility. The company also has plans for another duplication: booth space at the 2007 expo. The additional space is needed to accommodate the launch of a new product, Chillwell, which also is built into a bar top, but is designed to hold a beverage.
One reason exhibitors like Kent return to the Mid-Atlantic Expo year after year, Spinelli said, is the quality of attendees — the owners, managers and others who can decide they want to adopt a new product line.
"We work very diligently to make sure that we are getting qualified attendees, people who have decision-making ability," she said.
And that research seems to pay off. Spinelli cited a "very strong" percentage of exhibitors who return each year and said booth space for the next year is sold at the current event.
Kent doesn't plan on a repeat experience when he brings his products to this year's Mid-Atlantic Expo, Sept. 19 and 20 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Md.
