A few weeks ago, we packed our bags, loaded up our vehicles, and made the trip out west to Las Vegas, Nevada. For a small family business like ours, attending the massive Sweets & Snacks Expo at the Las Vegas Convention Center was an incredible, motivating milestone. We started this company with a simple vision out in a local cornfield, so standing in a room of that scale truly reminded us of how far our cobs have traveled—and just how much hard work and support it took to get here.
Building Our Setup From the Ground Up
When you see photos of the big expo floor, it looks entirely polished, but the real magic happens behind the scenes during setup day. We spent hours rolling up our sleeves, unboxing our inventory, and physically assembling our custom sales floor displays and countertop displays right there in our booth space. Building the whole setup ourselves from scratch is hard work, but there is something so rewarding about putting that final touch on a presentation that represents our farm and our family’s daily dedication.
Seeing the final setup standing tall on the convention floor, ready to welcome visitors, was a proud moment for our small team.
Showcasing Innovation
For the very first time, we participated in the Most Innovative New Product Awards! It was an incredible opportunity to showcase our popping cobs directly in front of over 40 large retail
buyers. Monday evening kicked off with a fun reception celebrating the awards, giving us a fantastic head start to a busy week.
Global Networking and Connecting Face-to-Face
While seeing all the creative snacks from around the world was fascinating, the absolute highlight of the entire trip was the opportunity to network. We spent three action-packed days doing what we love most: talking face-to-face with people from all over the world. We were especially excited to connect with folks from more western states, meeting people who traveled all the way from Alaska and Hawaii!
We had the privilege of connecting with independent boutique owners, local gift shop buyers, large grocery buyers, distributors, and brokers. One of our favorite parts of attending an event like this is just listening to people's stories and learning about their businesses. We met so many kind, passionate individuals who shared their own retail journeys with us and showed genuine excitement about bringing our unique products to their local customers.
Instead of running live samples at our booth this year, we focused on letting people experience the cobs at home. We handed out over 500 products for buyers and distributors to take with them so they could experience the magic of watching a whole cob pop right in their own microwave.
Exploring and Team Highlights
Of course, a trip to Las Vegas isn't complete without a little exploration. When the expo floor closed for the day, we made sure to head out and check out the sights of the iconic Vegas Strip with our team.
On Wednesday evening, we stayed after the main event hours to attend the official Happy Hour. It was a perfect setting for more casual networking, capped off by an incredible, high-energy dueling piano performance that kept everyone entertained.
Looking Forward
We left Las Vegas with full notebooks, an absolute wealth of new connections, and incredibly tired feet. Between working the booth and exploring the convention halls, we did a massive amount of walking—Jordan clocked us in at over 10 miles a day!
Entrepreneurship is a long journey, and opportunities to network on a stage like this remind us exactly why we do what we do. From our local fields to a convention hall in Nevada, popcorn has a unique way of bringing well-meaning people together.
We are so grateful to the event coordinators, the wonderful people who took the time to stop by our booth, and everyone back home who supports our small business and makes milestones like this possible. We can’t wait to see where our displays pop up next this summer!
