All the Mercantiles, Explained
With the Good Food Mercantile registration for all three 2020 shows now open, we thought it would be the perfect time to share an overview of each to help guide you in choosing the best fit(s!) for you and your Good Food-crafting business. The “un-trade show” for tasty, authentic and responsible food is now in its sixth year and we’ve noticed a few key differences in the type and number of retailers attending the New York, San Francisco and Traveling shows. We’re delighted to share these insights below.
San Francisco
Saturday, January 18, 2020
The original and most well-attended show, both in terms of food crafters (152 last year) and retailers (666 last year). We got such positive feedback from y’all last year that the proximity to the Winter Fancy Food Show was beneficial that we’ve rebooked City View at The Metreon, a block from the Moscone Center. The San Francisco Mercantile falls a day after the Good Food Awards Ceremony and a day before the Fancy Food Show, enabling both the 200 newly-minted Good Food Award winners and the thousands of buyers staying in the hotels nearby to easily take part. You can bet it’ll be a busy day – and also that we will sell out of tables, so please do register soon if you are keen to be there!
Traveling Mercantile: Minneapolis
Thursday, April 30, 2020
When Good Food goes on the road, we take the responsibility seriously to get the word out about who we are and how amazing YOU are. The Traveling Mercantile is an opportunity to expand the community of retailers we work with and take a deep dive into a new region. At our first show in the Upper Midwest, we’re especially excited about connecting with the thriving co-op culture that calls the Twin Cities home, and are excited to have the support of the legendary cooperative The Wedge to make this come true. The Traveling Mercantile is ideal for crafters looking to test the market in a new region of the country, and for more established businesses to get double duty both showing to meet new retailers and doing store visits with those they rarely have the chance to visit. While we do everything in our power to cultivate a great crowd, from cold calling hundreds of buyers to leveraging existing relationships with the food community, it is inherent to the nature of this show that attendance is smaller. Historically, there are 250-350 retailers and 80-100 crafters in attendance. It is truly regional, with 75% of retailers and 40% of the crafters attending hailing from within 250 miles of the host city. As the smallest show, the cost to show is a third less than at the San Francisco Mercantile.
New York
Saturday, June 27, 2020
What can we say – we may be West Coasters, but man oh man, we love NYC. In 2020, due to popular demand, we have returned to having the show one day before the Summer Fancy Food Show to ensure that specialty food folk can easily attend both great events and are fresh for the Mercantile. Crafters can expect 125 fellow Guild Members and 400+ merchants to be present. Brooklyn Expo Center has been the lovely locale to this event for the past several years and we just love being in Greenpoint – close enough to the action but not smack dab in the middle of the Manhattan madness. As you might expect, retailer attend is skewed towards the East Coast, from Murray’s Cheese to Sahadi’s to Eataly, but you can expect to meet grocers from all over the country there (26 states, three countries and four national brands – Whole Foods, Williams Sonoma HomeGoods and Cost Plus World Market – were represented last year).
Looking forward to seeing you at one (or all) of the Mercantiles in 2020, showing or just strolling through (all Guild Members get free passes to visit and check it out). As always, with thanks to those that would like to register for all three and be part of what makes the Mercantiles so special throughout the year, we are delighted to offer a $500 combined discount. Visit our website or email laura@goodfoodfdn.org to learn more.