How does a first-time, 100 sq.-ft. (10x10) exhibitor stand out from the crowd at a trade show with 67,000-plus attendees and more than 3,000 booths with tens of thousands of new products on display? 

What does it take for a startup with a brand-new product in a fast-growing category to persuade key buyers to stop by their booth and taste test a sample so that it ends up in retail locations across the region or the country?

To find out, we interviewed Daniel Scharff, CEO of Machu Picchu Energy, the Santa Monica, Calif.-based maker of craft organic energy drinks, about his first-time exhibiting experience and to get his tips and advice for other new exhibitors and startups looking to market and launch new products. The company unveiledits product at Natural Products Expo (NPE) West at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif., in 2022. 

Since then, Machu Picchu Energy launched at Fresh Thyme Market,  a neighborhood-focused grocer with more than 70 stores in 10 states throughout the Midwest. The company also has a deal to distribute its drinks at Meijer, a Michigan-based retailer that operates 501 locations throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin. This summer, Machu Picchu Energy will debut at Fred Meyer, a grocer in the Northwest that is owned by Kroger, which serves more than 9 million customers daily across 2,800 retail food stores.

Machu Picchu Energy exhibited again at NPE West 2023, held March 7-11 in Anaheim, and actress Jennifer Garner, who was at the show promoting products from Once Upon a Farm, a clean baby food and kids’ snacks company that she co-founded, even stopped by the booth and took a photo with Scharff. Here are excerpts from our conversation.

Backstory: 

Can you share the backstory behind Machu Picchu Energy and the timeline of the launch?

We make craft organic energy drinks. These are the best tasting, highest-quality liquids out there. The dream of the company’s founder, Bernardo Paiva, is ‘The energy to feel good. The mission to do good.’ He's a surfer and believes in the power of the outdoors to help restore mental balance.We started shipping product for the first time in May 2022. We launched the brand at Natural Products Expo West in March 2022 and got the product into distribution  two months after that. This year, we launched some new products at Expo West. 

Why did you decide to exhibit at Expo West, and have you exhibited at any other shows?

In our industry for natural products, Natural Products Expo West is the Super Bowl. Expo West is where it all happens, and the whole world comes together. It's the who's who and who makes decisions. Everybody is in one place, and it's been the place to be for as long as I've been in the better-for-you food space. Expo East is a great show as well. We make our big bet on a booth with a full team, full product and marketing investments around Expo West. I attend Expo East [in Philadelphia] because there are great chains I want to try to get a chance to meet who maybe don't always make the trek to Expo West. You can never get too much exposure to them. We haven't exhibited at any other trade shows. We've exhibited at two distributor shows in 2022, and we'll probably do a couple more this year.

Can you tell us about your budget for the booth and other costs of attending the show?

It's going to cost $15,000 to $20,000. It could be more, but it's probably not going to be much less than that. You've got the cost of the booth (floor space), but that's just one component. After that, factor in the cost of assembling the booth for the first time. For us, because we're a younger brand, we're not going with a 20- or 40-foot  booth. We have a relatively simple, straightforward 10-foot by 10-foot booth. The focus is on the product. It was a more significant investment the first time around. Plus, factor in the cost of the product and getting it there, and then, obviously the team — who's gonna go. They need to stay somewhere, and hotels can get a little pricey. I booked the hotel nine months in advance. I reserve a whole block of rooms and cancel what I don't need later. 

Related: Machu Picchu Energy: First-time exhibitor on Expo West experience | New Hope Network 

Will you share some of your best practices for promoting your product and luring buyers to your booth?

We put ourselves in a good location on the floor and did a lot of homework ahead of time to get people to come to us. We were active in building relationships. On LinkedIn, we have a broker who helps us, but there is no substitute — whether it's 30 seconds or two minutes — for getting in person with a buyer, looking them in the eye, telling them our story quickly, and sampling the product in the booth so they can understand the story and the liquid. 

At Expo West in 2022, we were launching the brand at that point. We had a bunch of early conversations. We didn’t get a bunch of yeses on the spot during the show. We weren't even shipping the product yet. We did get some leads that turned into distribution. For example, Fresh Thyme Market is a wonderful retailer in the Midwest, who I met for the first time at Expo West.

On the NPE West virtual platform, I reached out to buyers, and they ended up coming by. I met another buyer at Expo East when I was just walking around, even before we launched. The buyers came by at our booth at Expo West and told another buyer, who I was able to meet at the KeHE (distributor) show. We got the final yes back at Expo East. It can take a while. I've been to shows where I've gotten a yes on the spot, but it could take two or three shows in person. Reaching out to buyers however you can — if it's through your broker, LinkedIn or the expo virtual platform. Find a way. Seeing buyers and having them know who you are and making an association with you and the product [is important]. They can see the passion I have for it. It is a game changer.”

Related: 10 tips for getting the most from Natural Products Expo West

What was your biggest challenge at NPE West last year?

We had a near disaster. The logistics company that had most of the company’s brand-new product mislabeled the boxes and shipped the product to the wrong location — not the show —  and we couldn’t find our boxes less than a week before the show. We had some extra product, and we immediately fast tracked it to make sure that we could at least have a successful show with some product. Fortunately, another logistics company called Deliver received our boxes, contacted us and shipped the product overnight just in time for the show.” 

What preparation advice would you give to other exhibitors?

Be sure to read and understand the rules, he advised. Last year, he had to find and buy a hand washing station in Anaheim while on-site. It's a rule, and we didn't really grasp that.It's actually like when you go to Burning Man. The same rules apply: Test all of your equipment before you go. Set up your camp at home first. Same for us. We'll set up the booth here completely before we actually go out to the show. If I'm missing something, I want to find that out ahead of time — not while I'm in Anaheim in the craziness of the show. Overprepare and check everything.

What changes did you make for exhibit in 2023?

Our booth is designed to convey our brand pillars, and it does that effectively. The focus is on the product, and I like to have as much product out there as possible. We're at the show for people to see and sample the product. [There is] not a lot we need to change in 2023 to do that except for a few marketing assets. The main thing is the new product that we launched, so our attention has been focused on our brand-new innovation, which are zero sugar yerba mates.” 

How did you decide how much product to bring? 

It was harder the first time, but now I know how to adjust. At the beginning, it was like one of these back-of-the-envelope consulting questions … if there are 67,000 people coming and 2 percent of the people come by the booth on the first day. That's a little harder to do. Now I know how much product we went through last year, and you can control it. I can pour seven tasting cups out of a can, or I can give out full cans. At a trade show, people are pretty interested in full cans of cold beverage. We like to go and pass them around to booths as well. They appreciate it if we come by with an icy cold refreshing craft organic energy drink.

How do you staff your booth and how do you reach and engage with key buyers at the show?

It was three of us last year. This year we had a few more: the company’s founder, some of the company’s board and our head of innovation, who's responsible for the liquid. He provided a great explanation on the organic flavor technology that's in it and how we use the organic sweeteners. We had six staff this year, which for a booth of our size is great. It’s nice to have some extra help to give out samples, while others can have focused conversations at the same time. Plus, my eyes are darting back and forth looking at everyone's badge, trying to make sure I don't miss an important buyer.

Fortunately at the New Hope Expo shows, buyer badges are color coded, and so you're just looking for the right color badge or for specific buyers that you identify ahead of time. I have a researched list of the retailers who are important to get a conversation with and try to get to come by the booth. At this point — a year into the business — I have a pretty good sense of the overall retail landscape and the partners I think we'll do best with. I'll be looking for people who come from those companies. But even if it's not the exact buyer I'm looking for, hopefully I have a good chat with someone else from the retailer. Often you get a different buyer. If they like the product, they'll try to help you out.” 

Investing trade shows: “It's not our biggest marketing investment, but it would be for our B-to-B marketing. For consumers, that's a whole other story where we need to drive awareness for the brand. This trade show investment could seem quite small if you look at the overall spend of other things.

How has all of your hard work paid off so far?

We've grown very fast compared to a lot of new brands. We have an unbelievably good product, and we're doing trade shows and a lot of other things to make sure people know about it. So we've gotten some great retail partners the first year. We have a lot coming up in the next couple months as well. We just launched with Fresh Thyme Market, which is a really great retailer. We'll be launching with Meijer in the Midwest — another one of the absolute best retailers in the country. We'll be doing a very cool summer end cap with Fred Meyer, which is an incredible retailer in the Pacific Northwest. Plus, there are a couple of things that I am not ready to announce yet.

Watch or listen to our full interview with Scharff here.