Poultry trade shows are important events for everyone involved in the poultry sector to make business connections. But with numerous events each year, a strategy is needed to pick when and where to go because it is not possible to attend them all

This is where ShowCo comes in; it is an association of companies who work together to achieve more from poultry trade shows. ShowCo is made up of various companies from around the world which all sell products and services to poultry producers.

Its main tool to get more from events is the Global Exhibition Calendar which maps out trade fairs in the poultry sector. ShowCo discusses and decides which events members will attend in each year.

Every two years
The general rule is that ShowCo members attend each major exhibition every two years. For example, ShowCo attended IPPE in 2022 and will do so again in 2024, but in 2023 ShowCo members are focusing on other international poultry trade shows such as VIV Asia and VIV MEA.

Missing out on big shows like IPPE has its drawbacks but ShowCo members buy in to the overall strategy. “Undoubtedly, every trade show has opportunities for ShowCo members,” says ShowCo director Fenny Straat. “But that needs to be considered against the time and financial resources needed to prepare for and attend trade shows.”

More innovation

“A founding principle of ShowCo is to attend fewer, and work together to make better, trade shows and use the time and resources saved to improve the standard of the products and services we offer customers. By not attending every event, we believe that we offer visitors more innovation and higher quality at the events we do attend.”
With this strategy, having a robust method to choose which events to attend is vital. ShowCo members develop collectively a biannual program. For this, ShowCo also works closely with event organizers to learn more about events early in the planning cycle. There is also detailed evaluation of previous events by members. All this information is discussed by ShowCo members collectively to create the Global Exhibition Calendar.

For members and event organizers

“We make sure the Global Exhibition Calendar works for all our members,” says the ShowCo director. “The calendar is a strong recommendation of which events to attend. But member companies are in principle free to attend other shows.” Ms Straat points out that member companies tend to follow the plan because they agree with the ShowCo approach and have been involved all the way with the decision-making process.

“Having a three-year rolling plan makes It easy for ShowCo members and event organizers to plan for events. Everyone focus on delivering events that make an impact. But it is flexible, we continually discuss the plan and make changes if desired or necessary.”

ShowCo in 2023
To find out which companies are members of ShowCo, Ms Straat recommends visiting the website www.showco.org

In 2023, ShowCo members will attend VIV Asia in Bangkok in March and VIV MEA in Abu Dhabi in November. A smaller group of ShowCo members will also attend other international regional shows  such as, CAHE China and VIV Turkey.