Trade shows: what they really cost, and a cheaper first step
Updated 23 October 2026
Trade shows are where the drinks trade meets, and they still matter. But for a young brand a stand is a big bet. Here's what it really costs, worked out per minute, and a cheaper way to start.
What a small stand costs
From our own work with brands, a small stand at a London trade show comes to roughly $15,000 all in (a typical figure, not a quote): the stand and its build, travel, a hotel, samples and your time. For three days you'll have somewhere between 40 and 80 real conversations, and a handful of those turn into meetings afterwards.
That's about $10.42 for every minute the show is open, and about $250 for every conversation (at around 60 conversations).
The same minute on LlamaPort
A LlamaPort page doesn't close at six o'clock. It's open every minute of every day, to buyers in every country, whether you're at your desk or asleep. A free page costs nothing. The paid plans, with more drinks and more detailed stats, work out at fractions of a cent a minute.
Trade show: $15,000 over three 8-hour days (1,440 minutes). LlamaPort: the monthly price over every minute of a 30-day month (43,200 minutes).
When a stand is the right call
A page doesn't replace tasting and handshakes. Shows are good for tasting, for meeting a buyer you already know face to face, and for being seen in a category. They work best when you go in with meetings already booked rather than hoping people stop by.
A cheaper first step
- Claim your free LlamaPort page and make it good: pictures, story, your hero drink.
- Let buyers find you and ask for samples before the show.
- Go to the show as a visitor, with meetings booked with the buyers who already asked.
- Take a stand when you know who's coming to see you.