Exhibition coffee: a planner's guide

Exhibition visitors walk past hundreds of stands a day. A working espresso bar interrupts that walk: the aroma carries, the machine draws the eye, and a queue of people holding branded cups is the best social proof a stand can have. In our experience across 646 exhibitions, a branded coffee bar increases stand footfall dramatically.

Set-up: book the day before. Wherever the venue schedule allows, the bar should be built the day before the show opens. Allow a minimum of 2.5 hours for load-in and set-up either way — show mornings are chaotic enough.

Space and services: simpler than you think. A professional mobile bar is fully self-contained — no plumbing, no water supply, no drainage. Space and power requirements depend on the configuration, and your supplier should confirm both for your stand as part of the quote.

Configuration: match the bar to the crowd. A single station suits a steady stand; two joined stations hold a bigger crowd at peak. Give your supplier your expected guests per day and let them recommend.

Branding: decide early. Bar panels, printed cups, aprons and foam-printed logos need artwork lead time. Each element should be itemised in your quote so you can choose deliberately.

If your exhibition calendar crosses borders, consistency becomes the hard problem — a different local supplier at every show means a different bar, menu and standard each time. We solve it the direct way: the same Aroma team has served exhibitions in 33 countries, so the stand in Berlin pours the same cup as the stand in London.

Planning a show? Our 60-second quote form covers everything in this guide — dates, set-up, configuration and branding — and returns a tailored, itemised proposal.