18,000 visited the Expo, but which business had the best booth?

Expo Belize marketplace is a traditional feature in the September calendar. This year the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry reports that eighteen thousand visitors filed into the ITVET compound for the two day event. While consumers were looking for deals, the BCCI was judging the most impressive booths. The top award went to Karl H Menzies’ Heineken booth. News Five’s Delahnie Bain reports.

Delahnie Bain, Reporting

Expo Belize Marketplace 2012 was a hit in September with over eighteen thousand visitors. Shoppers came out in numbers to take advantage of the deals and the BCCI took time to recognize the businesses that set up the most impressive booths.  Those awards were handed out today.

Vanessa Peyrefitte

Vanessa Peyrefitte, Director of Member Relations, BCCI

“In relation to the best booth awards that till be given out at this event, this year’s results were tabulated from the collation of scores given by three independent judges via a very transparent process. They visited each booth and graded the exhibitors on the following criteria; creativity, in particular: are the design elements, color, decorations, placement of products eye-catching and attractive? Efficiency; is the flow and management of visitors to the booth efficient? Professionalism; were the employees courteous, informative and cooperative in answering questions from visitors to the booth? And innovativeness; did the team think outside of the box in presenting their brand concept and their products and services in a new way.”

Marleni Avilez

First place for best overall booth went Karl H Menzies, which drew a massive crowd with its deals on Heineken beer. While they catered to the adults, the Belize Camping Experience had the attention of the kids, putting them in second place.

Marleni Avilez, Brand Manager, Beverage Division, Karl H. Menzies 

“This year what we did, we had a promotion where the Heineken was sold for three for ten, ice cold. As well, we had a raffle which was done for the second day but for the first and the second day, what we did, we offered customers a chance to win instant prizes with scratch cards so every beer that you purchase, you return your cans and that enabled you to scratch a card.  I must say thanks to everyone that participated, the Chamber and most of all I must say thanks to our staff and management that help us put this off. I think we did an excellent job and deserved it so it feels good.”

Alexander Perez, Director, Belize Camping Experience

Alexander Perez

“At the Expo we had a variety of things. We had seven options that people could choose from. It was amazing because we had a very small booth. One of the things that we were really promoting was the Harvest for Kids project, but at the same time we were giving people the awareness. You could take a picture with Peanut Butter [the clown], you can take pictures, you can take a grasshopper that was made by young people, you can take colored popcorn; so they had options for people to get involved and that’s what made it very unique.  We were really encouraged to see that people came and dropped a donation of one dollar, two dollars; some even dropped twenty dollars and that’s what made the booth very encouraging the following day because we knew that people were responding. Even though we were tired the first day, we came full throttle the second day because people were wanting to hear more from what we had.”

Third place was awarded to the Belize Insurance Center Limited, while the expo organizer, Vanessa Peyrefitte, says several other booths stood out this year.

Vanessa Peyrefitte

“This past expo was quite a success with throngs of people visiting the event, eager to see what businesses were offering while gradually making their way to the football field, where the ICA creative village was located and most of all to sample the various spirits being offered by many exhibitors from the beverage industry. Completing the entire experience, were exhibitors offering something a little bit out of the ordinary, with Moho Chocolate, YWCA, Maya Bags and the Youth Business Trust Belize.”

Persons who won the six gate prizes at the expo also received their awards today. Delahnie Bain for News Five.

The Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry is now planning a smaller expo targeting Christmas shoppers; that event is tentatively set for December first at the Princess Hotel.