Why the Secret to Trade Show Success is Helping Your Neighbors
On the ground at Summer Fancy Food with Naturally Network
Trade shows are notoriously exhausting. Step onto any convention floor and you are usually met with thousands of booths, endless noise, and an underlying pressure for emerging brands to aggressively compete for a passing buyer’s fleeting attention. It is a high-stakes, every-brand-for-themselves environment.
But the Naturally Network Pavilion at the Summer Fancy Food Show felt entirely different.
As the largest partner pavilion on the floor, our space certainly had the physical footprint and the high-traffic location to serve as a central hub. But what truly made it the gravitational point of the show wasn't its size—it was the fact that our exhibitors treated each other like neighbors, not competitors. We chose collaboration over competition, proving that a unified community is a brilliant business strategy.
🍦 Neighborly Support, Literal Taste Test Collaborations
We encourage our exhibitors to become a true cohort. We take the time to meet one another and prepare together leading up to the show. Once we’re on the floor, that community mindset carries over. Instead of guarding industry secrets, our brands within the pavilion spent the three days actively supporting one another, sharing resources, helping neighbors, and creating a collaborative fun atmosphere.
That neighborly spirit quickly turned into literal product collaborations that delighted attendees walking the floor. Instead of isolated products, visitors watched community in action: TruCrumb biscuits were being dipped into savory Rooted Broth, and FROST Butter Cream was being smeared onto Heathcote cookies. By lifting each other up, our brands created an energetic, welcoming atmosphere that a solo booth simply can't replicate.
"The Naturally Network Pavilion is really the only place I want to be at The Fancy Food Show. The organizers are amazing and provide so much help before and during the show. They use their connections to bring buyers through. The vendors help each other out and are open with leads they have. Their location in the Javits Center is great too."
– Emeran Langmaid, Rare Breed Coffee
“Exhibiting at the Naturally Network Pavilion at the Summer Fancy Foods Show was an excellent experience, from start to finish. The Naturally Network's reputation in the CPG industry, and assortment of exciting up-and-coming brands, meant that our booth (and the Naturally section overall) was a high-traffic area all three days of the show. Simultaneously, the curated meetings with buyers and distributors helped us plan more effectively to maximize our time and networking at the event.”
– Liam Trotzuk, Goldholly
🤝 How a Welcoming Neighborhood Attracted Giant Buyers
This collaborative, high-energy environment didn't just make the floor more fun—it created a powerful gravitational pull that drew in the industry's biggest players. Buyers and distributors want to be where the energy is, and our pavilion was buzzing.
Because we built a cohesive, high-traffic destination together, we were able to seamlessly host our brand-new pilot program: curated, pre-matched 1-on-1 retailer and distributor meetings. Designed to move past traditional, chaotic booth-side pitches, these sessions gave founders and buyers dedicated, uninterrupted space for serious business.
We brought top-tier retail and distribution powerhouses directly into our hub, including:
The Fresh Market
Whole Foods Market (specifically engaging with their LEAP Program)
UNFI (exploring opportunities for their Endless Aisle UpNext program)
The strategy paid off tremendously for all involved. 100% of the participating buyers and distributors left the pavilion with a curated list of brands they plan to actively pursue and one of our exhibiting founders shared that these curated meetings alone made the entire cost of attending the show worthwhile.
"I really enjoyed the opportunity to have dedicated time to sit down with these brands to learn more about their product within an uninterrupted space.”
— Brittiany East, Director of Grocery/Dairy/Frozen at The Fresh Market
🎤 Shared Insights on the Big Ideas Stage
The theme of collective growth carried over to the Big Ideas Stage, where Naturally Network brought leading industry voices together to demystify buyer decision-making.
Featuring representatives from NIQ, KeHE, and Village Super Market, the panel explored how retailer expectations are changing and what true "retail readiness" looks like for an emerging brand today. The session attracted a full crowd, sending waves of actionable advice and tactical ideas right back to the pavilion floor for the remainder of the show.
Thanks to our panelists:
Shannon Rosiak, Director of Fresh Category Management, KeHE
Glenn Cunningham, Sr. Director of Center Store, Village Super Market
Krystal Dawson, Vice President, North America Strategic Analytics & Insights, NIQ (Moderator)
🗽 The Community Ventures Out
The momentum built by day seamlessly carried over into the evening as Naturally New York hosted two spectacular, sold-out events during the show. Their annual Margs & Momentum event hosted 200+ attendees at Tacombi's Empire State Building location following the first day of the Summer Fancy Food Show. Special thanks to Tacombi and Vista Hermosa for helping to coordinate this event - and to Graza, SG Credit Partners, BeyondBrands, Jade Street Consulting, Formic, Final Touch, and Green Spoon Sales for their support!
For the fourth consecutive year, Naturally New York also co-hosted the 10th Anniversary of the UnFancy Cocktail Party, which hosted 250+ attendees at The District Taphaus. Special thanks to Green Circle Capital and to all the presenting partners for bringing this event to life! These events provided the perfect casual backdrop for founders, investors, service providers, and ecosystem partners to unwind and celebrate the sheer vibrancy of our regional CPG scene.
🙏 A Heartfelt Thank You to Our Village
Building a supportive neighborhood requires incredible scaffolding and partners who believe in the power of community.
A massive thank you to Vdriven and Novi for their unwavering support of our pavilion and our brands throughout the show. Your commitment to championing emerging CPG businesses is what allows our community to take center stage.
Vdriven acts as an extension of your brand's team, combining deep industry relationships with data-driven sales strategies to get your food or beverage product onto the right shelves and into more shopping carts.
Novi partners with modern consumer brands to optimize their digital footprint for the AI shelf, transforming product data into high-authority signals that drive automated AI recommendations and capture value-driven shoppers.
We also want to extend a huge shoutout to our photographer, Prospect Street Studio, for beautifully capturing the hustle, the smiles, and the community in action all week long. Naturally members can get 10% off their first product shoot – just email info@prospectstreetstudio.com to get started. And if you met Carrington at the Fancy Food Show, don't forget to email info@prospectstreetstudio.com with "QUACK" to claim your prize!
See the full gallery of Summer Fancy Show photos here. Check out our Tradeshows page to see how you can get involved!
