Lessons Learned at Nantwich

Take a small stool or chair!  By the end of the two full days, my feet were like blown up rubber gloves: I am not used to being on my feet for that long.  The Cornish Cheese Company had a long, thick piece of rubber matting that cushioned the feet, although I kept tripping up over it.

I think we need to tackle the Public Day differently as maybe we are not  best placed for selling artisan cheese in such an arena.  What do the public expect?  Do we have cheap cheese…not really, so I think we have to take a different approach.  Having said this, I do not wish to appear to be churlish – we had a great time and it was an invaluable experience, meeting customers, would be customers and making cheesey friends – a brilliant and unmissable opportunity.

Here is my check  list for anyone thinking about exhibiting at a show:

Check List for Attending a Show As an Exhibitor

Display and Dressing

1. Trestle table if one is not supplied – wallpaper tables do well

2. Trestle table covering – we bought our black velvet from ebay

3. Descriptions of your goods – we bought A9 perspex display cards

4. Brochures/leaflets/flyers/ – we printed ourselves and put in Tri-fold leaflet perspex display holders

5. Banner – we designed ours at Vistaprint, along with business cards

6. Something to affix your banner to the trestle table – if using screws, don’t forget a screwdriver!

7. Something to sit samples on – we used sanitised slate

Samples

1. Disposable spoons

2. Knives to cut

3. Blue roll to wipe knives and clean displays

4. Sanitiser to keep hands clean

5. Blue gloves if handling money

6. Cocktail sticks for samples – we bought ours from Bunzl

7. Used cocktail stick holders – marked up olive tubs

8. A small bin and bin liner

Clothing

1. Logo-aprons, name badges, smart-ish clothing but comfy

2. The comfiest shoes you own

Refreshments

1. Take masses of water and a thermosflask

2. We bought our lunch the night before – sandwiches, crisps, chocolate

Other

1. A price gun, spare price labels

2. Camera and battery charger

3. Notebook and pens – you will lose them

Your products

1. In small packs, already priced

Sales

1. Bags for purchases over a certain amount

2. Money belt or cash tin

What we didn’t take but Should Have

1. Two small stools or chairs

2. A sack truck that we could fit our crates on to get things out quickly at the end of the day

#Checklistforattendingashow #RibblesdaleCheese