Just wondering on how many businesses here give small samples out at attended bridal shows and does this really help.?

I have been pondering buying space at an upcoming expo and trying to decide what would be the best route to go. Thanks for any advice !

Also what is the average numbers of cake dummies that you display

Lisa

yes, yes, yes!!! the expo helped my business get its start!!!! all the cake decorators had samples, so you need to offer samples also. I am a one woman show, so I couldn't cut cake samples and talk to brides...that would've been way to stressful. so I precut mine and put in little souffle' cups with lids on them. they were little bit size pieces of cake with frosting. the brides loved them. by the time they got to me, they had eaten so much cake they were tired of it. this way, they got to take it home.
I had 5 dummy cakes. but the next show I might have a few more.
one more thing to mention, there is so much for the bride to see that day, they shortly forget you and your cakes....you need a way to follow up with them.
make sure you get a list of the brides names and info from the show.

good luck

melody

Thankyou so much Melody! Huge help you gave me. Wow that's alot of dummy cakes . They are providing me with an eight foot table so I wasn't sure. Did you offer a choice in flavors for your samples? Or did ya keep it simple?

Oh my Gosh Yes......


Wedding Expos can be a big business drawing.As melody mentioned having samples is a fabulous idea and have everything precut and done before the expo so all you have to do is talk to brides and hand out brochures.The brides are usually given a large bag as they come in and they toss all the brochures,samples etc in the bag and take it home later to look at.Having a fairly large display to show off your talent is important also...Brides and the MOB want to see what you have to offer.Have about 6-7 dummy display cakes in the latest trends and color themes so try to research beforehand as to what is in or not!! Also have a portfolio book there for them to browse through...The more the better!! Have plenty of brochures and business cards on hand.You don't have to have a big selections of cake flavors on hand as that is alot of work for you but definelty have a list of flavors you offer in your brochure.The freshness of the cake sample will remind them of your quality. Go and have fun...

I did the same thing as melody. Like she said the other will be passing out cake so you will want to as well. The food tables are the most busy normally for that reason. And those cups really help. There is no way I could cut cake and be making a mess plus talk to people.

I haven't done wedding expos lately but when I did, samples were a must and great for business. I did offer a couple different flavors. I didn't use dummy cakes but displayed 3 actual tiered cakes. If I ran out of samples, I started cutting the ones on display. The sample cups are a great idea and time saver. These expos are a lot of work, but they're also a lot of fun to participate in. You might even get more ideas. Have plenty of business cards and price list information to hand out. Have a great time!

I offered one flavor. if they want to try anymore than that, they need to book a consultation.
I got the souffle' cups and lids at sams club. I got 2000 of each, and I think I paid about $45.00. that was enough to do the last show and the next one in April...plus some.

I ordered 5000 business cards from vistaprint.com for really really cheap. have plenty of cards, make sure you give one to every bride that walks by you. also and very important...put your web site address on each card! If you don't have a web site, get one!!!!
most brides look on the net before ever calling anyone. my husband and I are building my web site, it has been frusterating, and it's still not done yet, but it has my information on it. you can check it out at www.sweetcreationsbymelody.com

after doing the show, I also advertised with the perfect wedding guide, I am listed on there web page and I will have a half page add in the perfect wedding guide book that comes out 3 times a year....that is starting to pay for itself with the orders I've recieved from that. but it was expensive, $1,800 per year....but well worth it.

back to the wedding show.... I didn't have a portfolio and that was fine, the brides looked at my dummy cakes and took a card. pretty sure thats how I'll do it for next time too. there are so many brides walking by, that if they stop for a long period of time to look through an album, I would have missed tons of brides walking past because they couldn't see. give them a sample of cake, give them a card, a few nice words, sell yourself.....then move along so the next bride can come through. we have 700 brides at the show I did....that kept me very busy!!

I am getting my dummy cakes out now, and making list for the cakes I want to have at my next show....starting to get ready for that. thats so much fun.
most importantly, relax and have fun.

melody

Thanks so much everyone for all your input I really appriciate it especially being my first expo. Sounds like a good idea to offer only one flavor and have them book something for another. Certainly makes things much easier. I will be getting started on my dummies today I'm sure!

I am very excited and you all have given me a great list to start from!

Thanks again, Lisa

When I've done shows, I did mini cupcakes - all one flavour cake and buttercream, plus a decoration of fondant.

Dummy cakes are needed to attract attention, make sure you have DO NOT TOUCH all over the place! And even then keep a good eye on things!

I like the mini cups with lids, I did have lots of brides saying they were full from the other vendors.

When I did my first expo, I was the only bakery. Even so, the samples were a hit and pulled in a lot more interest in non-wedding cakes as well. The other vendors were some of my best promoters after a taste.

I found that since many brides tasted my cake at the show, they felt comfortable ordering a wedding cake by email or telephone. I didn't have to meet with many of them.

On an 8 foot table, you will be too crowded if you have very many displays. I got some large plaster pillars from Michaels and added 2 extra spaces on the floor beside my table. It was elegant and very useful for the larger dummies.

My best tip is to make a slideshow of all of your work for computer/dvd/VCR and have it running throughout the show. This way everyone can see it at once and don't have to take turns to see your portfolio. Have a portfolio too in case something goes wrong with it (This happened to me at one show).

Good Luck!

I bought my self a 13" flat screen TV to have my slide show on and I also have my lap top I can use. I like the idea of the plastic cups I'll have to look around for them. I have about 6 dummies planned so I hope thats enough we are going to have a matching cake cookie with each cake and a large Valentine cookie bouquet for a drawing since its just a few days before Valentines Day. I am also going to make some cupcakes covered in fondant for display.My mind is aways going with different ideas I can do, this will be my first Bridal Show so I'm excited. Good luck with your and have fun.