Salon du Chocolat Paris 2018

[SuperawesomeSnowflake]

So I need help  😂 regarding salon du chocolat Paris 2018 😋 .  I am exhibiting for the 1st time, selling pralines, and I do not have any idea about the amount of chocolate I can sell. 

If anyone has any tip, advice or suggestion please let me know! Thanks!

[Kerry Beal]

Welcome @SuperawesomeSnowflake! That's quite the handle. 

 

I will also be at Salon - but not selling pralines so a different set of issues for me. 

 

I certainly know at last years Salon the folks selling product seemed to be selling a huge amount. The locals appeared to be bringing in cartloads on a daily basis. I know that @jmacnaughtan seems to know a number of the vendors and might be able to get some better information for you. PM me and I'll contact him if you would like and see what I can find out.

 

Can you tell us a bit more about you? Where are you located? What product will you be selling?

 

 

[jmacnaughtan]

Hi, and welcome to eGullet @SuperawesomeSnowflake

 

At the moment, I can't give you any real figures for the volumes you'll need; however, if last year is anything to go by, you can't bring too much.  It's more a retail space than a B2B event, so make sure you have plenty of sweets for tasting and enough stock to get you through - especially as the last two days are the Saturday and Sunday, when it will be busiest.

 

I'll post back once I've spoken to a few people, and if and when I can give you a better answer.

 

James

[jmacnaughtan]

I've heard back from a friend who used to do the Salon du Chocolat in Lyon with a fairly big chocolatier, and they would bring a month's worth of stock for the Salon.

 

I think this would be a good rule of thumb for the Paris version - maybe even more, judging by the popularity of the show.  You'll be amazed at how many free samples get eaten.

[Rajala]

A month's. 😮 

 

Edit: Wow, this looks amazing. Sorry for hijacking the thread, but would you guys recommend someone to go visit this? 

Edited August 28, 2018 by Rajala (log)

[Kerry Beal]

1 hour ago, jmacnaughtan said:

I've heard back from a friend who used to do the Salon du Chocolat in Lyon with a fairly big chocolatier, and they would bring a month's worth of stock for the Salon.

 

I think this would be a good rule of thumb for the Paris version - maybe even more, judging by the popularity of the show.  You'll be amazed at how many free samples get eaten.

And I guess that's the other thing - what should you be sampling?

[curls]

@jmacnaughtan do you know I what the expected benefits are for the exhibitors?  Increase in sales, name recognition, etc.?

[SuperawesomeSnowflake]

Thank you all for the help and response, I hope that we will get more information, but obviously, I should prepare big quantities  😉

[jmacnaughtan]

18 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

And I guess that's the other thing - what should you be sampling?

 

Good question.  But the more different things you have to sample, the longer people will stay and the greater the chance they'll buy.  That's my thinking, anyway, based on the last couple of shows.

 

17 hours ago, curls said:

@jmacnaughtan do you know I what the expected benefits are for the exhibitors?  Increase in sales, name recognition, etc.?

 

Mostly sales, I think - if chocolatiers are selling a month's worth of stock in a weekend, it's pretty good

 

I don't know about name recognition, but a lot of foreign chocolatiers are there, presumably to get their foot in the door of the French market or get picked up by one of the luxury department stores.  For the bigger names, I think it's more of a marketing thing.

[jmacnaughtan]

19 hours ago, Rajala said:

A month's. 😮 

 

Edit: Wow, this looks amazing. Sorry for hijacking the thread, but would you guys recommend someone to go visit this? 

 

 

Yeah, it's a lot of fun.  Lots of people, but vast quantities of chocolate and demonstrations.  If possible, don't go on the weekend.

[curls]

Thank you for the information @jmacnaughtan! When I read your original post, I misunderstood and thought the chocolatiers were handing out a month's worth of chocolates as free samples. I am glad to learn that is not the case.

[Rajala]

5 hours ago, jmacnaughtan said:

 

Yeah, it's a lot of fun.  Lots of people, but vast quantities of chocolate and demonstrations.  If possible, don't go on the weekend.

 

No, I would go during the first day and buy a B2B ticket as well. Flight to France is only 150 EUR. We'll see what I decide on.  

[pastrygirl]

2 hours ago, curls said:

Thank you for the information @jmacnaughtan! When I read your original post, I misunderstood and thought the chocolatiers were handing out a month's worth of chocolates as free samples. I am glad to learn that is not the case.

 

Actually, big events do require a fair volume of samples, it might feel like a months worth of work!  

 

8 hours ago, jmacnaughtan said:

 

Good question.  But the more different things you have to sample, the longer people will stay and the greater the chance they'll buy.  That's my thinking, anyway, based on the last couple of shows.

 

The flip side of that is, the more samples you have out, the more people will eat. Yes, they may find something they like and buy, but some people just want as many free samples as possible. (Maybe it’s just Americans, I’ve never done the Paris show.). Kids especially tend to methodically shove one of everything in their mouths. Too many choices is also overwhelming, both for the customer to process and for you to manage. I’d say pick your top 3-5 items as your main samples and have tastes of others hidden in case people ask. You can also give pretty small samples.  For filled bonbons I’ve seen chocolatiers dip a tiny tasting spoon into a tub of ganache instead of cutting filled pieces, which gets messy. I do cocoa-dusted truffles and cut them extra small on my guitar - regular size is 22.5 mm square, I cut those in quarters for samples. 

 

Do the organizers give an idea of attendance?  Do you have helpers?  It takes time to talk to people!  

 

Edited August 29, 2018 by pastrygirl (log)

[Kerry Beal]

9 hours ago, Rajala said:

 

No, I would go during the first day and buy a B2B ticket as well. Flight to France is only 150 EUR. We'll see what I decide on.  

Make sure you come and check out my booth in the B2B section.

[Rajala]

13 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

Make sure you come and check out my booth in the B2B section.

 

I sure will, if I go.

 

How big is this thing? What can you expect out of it? 

Edited August 30, 2018 by Rajala (log)

[Kerry Beal]

17 minutes ago, Rajala said:

 

I sure will, if I go.

 

How big is this thing? What can you expect out of it? 

 

It’s huge!

 

I didn’t spent much time upstairs where the chocolate vendors are but that was the largest part.

 

World Chocolate Masters is there this year  so you can watch the competition. Chocolate World will have their folks doing demos all day I’m sure.

 

 

[Rajala]

1 minute ago, Kerry Beal said:

It’s huge!

 

I didn’t spent much time upstairs where the chocolate vendors are but that was the largest part.

 

World Chocolate Masters is there this year  so you can watch the competition. Chocolate World will have their folks doing demos all day I’m sure.

 

 

 

Maybe I should just go, it'll probably be fun! Need someone to babysit my dog though. Hmm.

[Kerry Beal]

I don't think the dog would be welcome unless it's a service dog.

[Rajala]

Haha probably not. She's French by name though. French bulldog. 😅