In November last year we held our first rental competition, allowing one of our Instagram followers to win the hire of one of the below floorplans, to use at the event of their choosing. We chose one shelving based floorplan and one apparel based floorplan, with the hope that there would be a layout suited to most brands in our following. We asked our followers to tag their three favourite small businesses to spread the awareness of market stall co.
And the winner is... Mapley!!
Our prize winner was a silicone, eco-friendly bento box and lunch box brand, Mapley. They produce colourful, leakproof containers that are made from 100% non-toxic premium food-grade silicone.
They provide an option to personalise your bento box purchase with a name and chosen graphic. A perfect gift option and a great way to ensure your kids lunch box doesn't 'accidentally' go home with someone else!
Their chosen event for the hire was One Fine Baby in Melbourne, an event we are very familiarised with. Due to the size and layout of the stand, that included a podium, a slight adjustment was made to the floorplan, replacing one of the 1m wide stacked shelving units with two extra white plinths.
Mapley shared their set up images with us before the madness began! It was One Fine Baby's busiest expo yet and we're so happy we could help Mapley be a part of that.
Visit their online store at www.mapley.com.au
Following their gig at One Fine Baby, Mapley were kind enough to take part in a little Q&A. We wanted a first hand perspective on everything that goes into being a stallholder for events, such as One Fine Baby, The Big Design Market, Makers & Shakers, the Tradeshows and any other stallholder event. This is perfect advice and guidance for first time stallholders or you might have been doing markets and expos for years and landed here to further your presence and efficiency.
Being an e-commerce brand, how does doing face-to-face sales at an expo compare with your day to day?
"It’s certainly different, there are so many things to think about outside of the online world. Things you may not have thought of when always being in the e-commerce space. For us, presentation is key in order to stand out to your customers and entice them to come to your stand. Not just visually in terms of colours but your messaging, what banners, backdrop and specific words would you use to highlight your products.
But also having a physical presence and being able to talk to your customers is so important in building your brand. Being able to answer questions and promote your product in the moment is invaluable."
To what extent did you plan your merchandising?
"We didn’t plan too much with our merchandising as we’ve showcased at markets and expos before so we knew what would work and how to display our products. But of course with a new floor plan at the One Fine Baby Expo and utilising shelves we’ve never used before took a bit of trial and error in figuring out how best to place our products, so it would be seen in the best light. That was done more on the day of bump in rather than with prior planning."
What surprised you about the planning process?
"Just the amount of work and thought that is put into planning and actually executing a stand at the expo. After our first rodeo last year we definitely have a newfound respect for others that are at the expo. Just the sheer amount of work involved is A LOT and the number of suppliers you engage to get it all happening is crazy. But in saying that we loved every minute! Great experience and we’ll be doing it again! So it wasn’t bad at all!"
Were there any obstacles you faced whilst planning and/or on the day?
"The hardest part of planning was deciding the type of stands/furniture that would be right to showcase your products. There are so many options and if you don’t have a visual merchandising background it can be a daunting task to take on. But market stall co have been so great – they have readily curated floorplans, that take a lot of the guesswork out. If your stall may not be the exact size of the floorplans, you can always use it as a base to start with and work from there and they’re really lovely and helpful, so you can just pick up the phone and give them a call and ask questions. So it really made it a lot easier in the planning process."
Tell us about your signage and styling elements! How did you personalise your space to Mapley?
"We always use our brand colours and fonts to emphasise our stand. We had Pickawall print our backdrop and produce our acrylic signs that were made to place around our stand.
We really liked the raw timber finish of the shelves so we didn’t need to touch that too much, since our products are colourful it would stand out on those shelves. But we did decide to go with the white plinths to give our stand a bit of colour difference. White always goes well with pink and our pink round acrylic signs always look so good with it. We didn’t want to overbake it with too many styling elements and colours, we kept it simple but beautiful, so not to overwhelm buyers and ensure our products would be the hero at the store."
What were the most important elements for you in the set up?
"Elements that were important was having enough shelving space to be able to place our stock on there, rather than just having our display items on show. Or else someone would need to continually run to the back to grab the stock in order to sell it. Storage space is certainly something to consider as important, if you have a lot of bulky stock that can not be housed in your stand or within the shelving – you need to be able to have it accessible somewhere else.
Some hidden storage was another area we really needed, where do you put your water bottles, your paper bags, your emergency box/kit for things that you don’t foresee happening etc. All of that is important to have nearby when needed."
How did working with other small businesses i.e. market stall co effect your experience?
"Honestly it relieved so much stress on the day for us. We had previously attended a different expo the year prior and decided to take our own stands/furniture. Not only trying to take down the furniture and pack it into our vehicle was difficult (I am not good at Tetris!) but add all the boxes that house your stock and anything else needed for the expo, it was a tight fit!! Then having to unload everything from the car and assemble the furniture in the morning took hours! It was stressful!
Having Market Stall Co this time around was an absolute breeze, we came to the realisation – WHY DIDN’T WE DO THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE!! Our stand was ready when we arrived, the furniture was all assembled and ready to use on the Friday when we had to bump in. All we had to worry about, as a small business, was having our stock packed and any other signs we wanted to display for the expo. It has saved us a lot of stress and time. Doesn’t sound like much but even having that ready for the expo can take hours and hours."
8) Having completed your first One Fine Baby, what advice would you give to first time stallholders?
"Don’t try to do it all, outsource things where you can, so it isn’t as stressful but also utilising other small businesses who are the professionals in their field can really make your stand pop! Ask the questions – if you’re unsure ask the businesses you’ve outsourced to your burning questions if you don’t know. They’re the experts and can provide you with some advice. You don’t know what you don’t know, so definitely ask! It doesn’t hurt and with everything, it’s a learning curve.
Market stall co have been fantastic – I was unsure about our stand and our layout and they were so helpful since it was our first time with them. We could not have done it without them, so thank you so much for such a generous prize."
Plywood event and expo walling offers a sleek and versatile solution for showcasing products, making it perfect for creating eye-catching retail display shelves. Its durability and customizable design ensure your displays stand out at any event or expo.
A massive thank you to Elaine at Mapley for taking the time and consideration to answer our stallholder related questions. We know that being a first time stallholder can be daunting, and there is always more than meets the eye with what it takes to create a worthwhile exercise, so hearing first hand from someone who has been through the experience is invaluable. We can't wait to work together with Mapley in the future, and more brands alike. Make sure to follow us on our socials @marketstallco for more opportunities to win prizes, just like Mapley's!
