Coffee and Tea Don't Mix

Buyers of both coffee and tea could be spending their first few weeks in Atlanta ¡ª if they want to hit both World Tea Expo and Coffee Fest without making two trips, that is.

For the past four years, World Tea Expo has been held in Las Vegas, but George Jage, company president, decided to switch things up this year and move the show to Atlanta's World Congress Center. He also moved its dates from March to June 9¨C11.

Little did he know that David Heilbrunn, president of LifeStyle events and manager of the Coffee Fest series, had the same idea and scheduled one of his shows at Atlanta's Cobb Galleria June 1¨C3.

Each said he didn't know the other's plans, but when Jage found out Coffee Fest's dates and location might be close to his, he said he called Heilbrunn to give him a courtesy heads up.

"I reached out to Dave and he told me at the time that he was going to Atlanta in June also," Jage said. "I don't know if he had signed contracts at that time yet."

Having the shows so close together, Jage added, was "significant to us. We are certainly marketing to a lot of coffee stores to start selling tea."

Heilbrunn and Jage said that though the exhibitor crossover was nominal ¡ª coffee and tea sellers are very different markets ¡ª buyers, especially those from big chain stores such as Whole Foods Market, retail in both coffee and tea and would be potential attendees for both shows.

"I don't think it will impact me; I think it will impact him," Heilbrunn said. "Our show has a greater appeal, and we are not concerned because they are in back of us."

The two did make an effort to avoid forcing attendees to choose one show over the other.

"We had brief discussions of collocating, but there was too big of a disparity between the events," Jage said. One issue, he added, was cost. World Tea Expo's exhibit space rate is $23 per square foot; Coffee Fest's is $19.50. There is also a paid conference program at the tea show that has a strict no commercialization policy. Jage said he ultimately didn't feel his show was a good fit with Coffee Fest, because the two didn't have matching elements.

Heilbrunn said he wanted to bring the two shows under the same roof at the same time. "I tried; he didn't," he said. "I thought it would've been a wonderful marriage, but I don't think we'll ever come together."

A collocation would've added profitability to both shows, according to Heilbrunn. "It's unfortunate, because it would have been good with us," he said of World Tea Expo.

Both shows are successful on their own and growing rapidly. Coffee Fest Las Vegas is a three-time TSW Fastest 50 winner, 2004 through 2006, and World Tea Expo was a winner in 2006.

Jage launched World Tea Expo in 2003 to fill what he felt was a void in the marketplace. "I was looking for a tradeshow opportunity, and the tea industry didn't have a show of its own," he said. "There were tea exhibitors at other shows such as the Specialty Coffee Assn. (Annual Conference) and Fancy Foods, but there was no competition, and they needed an identity of their own."

The inaugural show, held at the Las Vegas Hilton with 85 exhibiting companies and 1,000 attendees, was called Take Me to Tea Expo.

"There was a tremendous amount of excitement around the first show," Jage said. In its second year, the show doubled in size. In 2005, when Jage renamed it World Tea Expo, it attracted 2,500 attendees, followed by 4,100 in 2006, a 60-percent increase.

The show maxed out in the Las Vegas Hilton with more than 22,000 net sq. ft.

Jage said he polled exhibitors and attendees about a possible move. "It was decided that having one show annually and rotating it around the country worked better," he said. "This is an exploratory step."

Jage moved the show to Atlanta for 2007, though it will be back in Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in 2008.

Jage said, of the switch to June for this year's show, "It was based on a number of factors. In March there are important buying cycles going on in Asia, and a crowded tradeshow schedule also that made it difficult for some people to be able to make it to our show." He cited Natural Products Expo West/Supply Expo as an example of a March show that tea buyers and sellers attend.

Coffee Fest has been around since 2001, and there are now three annual shows. Two typically take place in Seattle and Las Vegas, and the third rotates between Chicago and Washington, D.C.

The average show, according to Heilbrunn, has approximately 300 10¡ä¡Á10¡ä booths and attracts 4,000 attendees. This year he decided to move the Las Vegas show, which is normally held in the June timeframe, to Atlanta, the fourth appearance the show has made there. In 2008, it will go to Hawaii.

Jage and Heilbrunn said they expected each of their shows to grow even more, just not together.

In fact, Jage said he's been in talks with the Specialty Coffee Assn. to possibly collocate with its show. "The show is more aligned with ours, and I met with them several years ago, and we've had an ongoing dialogue, so the possibility still exists," he added.

Heilbrunn, in the meantime, said he was happy to stick with the successful collocation he's had with the American Dessert Expo for the last five years. "We have a great agreement with them and we work well together," he said. "It's fully equitable and enjoyable on both sides."