SIAL Experience 2024 – National Pavilion Booth vs. Standalone Booth

Last month, I had the opportunity once again to participate in SIAL Paris 2024, one of the world’s most prestigious food innovation exhibitions, held from October 19th to 23rd. This year’s event was particularly special as it celebrated its 60th anniversary, bringing together over 7,500 exhibitors and 300,000 visitors from across the globe.

SIAL Paris continues to be a key platform for industry leaders to showcase their products, explore market trends, and connect with potential partners, making it an essential event for any company looking to grow and innovate in the global food and beverage sector.

For companies like Sumol Compal, participation in SIAL is an essential part of our international growth strategy. The exhibition offers unparalleled exposure to global markets, allowing us to meet distributors, importers, and key decision-makers from the Food & Drink Industry.

When you are newcomers to a food fair like SIAL Paris , one of the first decisions you must make is where to showcase your products.

Exhibitors need to choose whether to exhibit in a National Pavilion Booth, representing their home country alongside other domestic brands, or in a Standalone Booth, where you create a unique space for your company independent of country-based groupings.

Both options offer distinct advantages, and the decision ultimately depends on a company’s objectives and strategy.

Choosing between exhibiting in a national pavilion booth or a standalone booth at international fairs like SIAL Paris is an important decision that influences your brand’s visibility, positioning, and networking opportunities.

National Pavilion Booth

Pros:

• National Pride and Identity: Exhibiting within a national pavilion provides a strong sense of identity, allowing brands to highlight their country of origin. For visitors interested in discovering products from specific regions, national booths are often the first stop.
• Collective Promotion: Companies within a national pavilion benefit from a collective promotion strategy supported by government bodies or trade associations. This can include enhanced visibility, lower costs through shared resources, and support in marketing and logistical coordination.
• Networking with Domestic Companies: National booths also create opportunities for collaboration and networking with other domestic brands. This can lead to partnerships and create a stronger presence for your home country on the international stage.

Cons:

• Limited Category Focus: While national identity is emphasized, brands in national pavilions may miss out on category-specific buyers. For example, a visitor looking exclusively for beverages may not visit a national pavilion if they are focused on the beverage section.
• Competitive Insights: In a national booth, you might not be side-by-side with global competitors, limiting opportunities for direct product benchmarking and learning from international peers.
• Less Focus on Product Innovation: Exhibiting in a national booth can dilute the emphasis on product-specific innovation. Buyers may view your brand within the context of your country’s overall industry rather than your unique product attributes or cutting-edge innovations.

Standalone Booth

Pros:

• Brand Independence and Customization: A standalone booth allows you to design a completely customized space that reflects your brand’s personality and values. It gives companies full creative control over how they present their products, brand identity, and messaging, creating a unique experience for visitors. This allows you to position your company distinctly in the minds of buyers and visitors, independent of national identity.
• Presence in Category-Specific Sections: Even if your country is not represented in a national pavilion, a standalone booth allows you to be present in the category section of your product. This is especially advantageous when your focus is on targeting buyers and industry professionals looking specifically at product categories like beverages or snacks.
• Direct Competition Benchmarking: Being placed next to international competitors allows for real-time comparison. You can observe what other brands are doing in terms of packaging, innovation, and marketing, providing valuable insights into how you can improve or differentiate your offering.

Cons:

• Intense Competition: When you have a standalone booth, you are often placed within your product category, directly alongside your competitors. If other global players dominate the space, it may be more difficult to stand out, especially if they have larger marketing budgets or are well-established internationally.
• Less National Identity: While focusing on the product value proposition, there may be less opportunity to leverage your national identity. This can be a disadvantage if you are trying to emphasize the authenticity or cultural uniqueness of your products.
• Higher Costs: Without the shared resources of a national pavilion, the cost of showcasing in a standalone booth can be higher. Companies need to invest more in booth design, marketing materials, and logistical support to stand out among competitors.

Example: Navigating the Juice Category

In the juice category, brands can choose to showcase in different sections of the fair, depending on their market positioning and strategic goals. This variety of placement options highlights the flexibility companies have when deciding where to exhibit their products, and it directly impacts the type of exposure they receive.

Take the juice category as an example.

When brands want to emphasize their origin and connect with buyers seeking traditional, high-quality goods from specific regions, they often choose to exhibit in the National Pavilion Booth.

A good example is Compal, which showcases its products in the Portugal National Pavilion, alongside the full Sumol Compal portfolio of non-alcoholic beverages. For companies like ours, being part of the national pavilion reinforces the strong connection between our products and their Portuguese roots, appealing to buyers interested in regional authenticity and heritage.

Alternatively, a brand could choose to exhibit with a Standalone booth in the Beverage Category, alongside global competitors like Phanner and Rauch from Austria. Here, the emphasis is placed more on the category and direct competition with international players in the juice and beverage sector.

This option offers a focused audience of buyers specifically interested in beverages, making it a more targeted approach to networking and business development. Exhibiting here places the brand side by side with competitors, giving valuable insights into industry trends and positioning the product in a competitive, global context.

Additionally, juice brands can also be found in the Dairy Products Category, such as Fortuna from Poland and Gloria from Peru, due to the similar packaging technologies used for both juice and dairy products (like Tetra Pak).

For these companies, the juice category is not the main focus, but when promoting their dairy products, they take the opportunity to showcase their entire portfolio, including juices. This strategy allows them to maximize their visibility across multiple product lines, leveraging their presence in the dairy section to promote a broader range of offerings.

You can also find juice brands in the SIAL Start-up booths, where innovative companies showcase their cutting-edge products or packaging. These booths are dedicated to emerging brands that are introducing new concepts to the market, whether it's through unique formulations, sustainable packaging solutions, or groundbreaking production methods.

Ultimately, the decision to showcase in a national pavilion or a standalone booth depends entirely on your company’s strategy. If your goal is to emphasize national identity and cultural heritage, the national pavilion offers a great platform to align your products with your country’s branding. It also helps foster connections with buyers looking for authentic products from a specific region.

However, if your objective is to highlight brand innovation, target specific buyers, and create a fully customized experience, a standalone booth provides a more specialized platform to engage your audience and stand out within your sector.

At the end of the day, it’s about which option best aligns with your goals.

What strategy will help you make the greatest impact at your next trade fair?