March2010bloggers

(warning: long post with lots to read!)

Reflecting on this past Fiery Foods Show is not the easiest task. It was the first time that I had attended this show since 2001, when the show was in the Albuquerque Convention Center and I roomed with my older brother who lived in ABQ at the time. There was a lot going on at this show, and despite the crush (and I do mean crush) of the crowd during the hours that the general public was there, I managed to spend quite a few hours at the show each of the three days.

In essence, there are three perspectives to cover with this show. I will exclude a perspective from the show management/producers, as I was unable to speak with ANY of them at length because of how busy the show was. The perspectives of note were as an attendee/show patron, as a vendor there to do business, and as a vendor’s relationship with the venue and show management.

ffsentryportal

Attendee/show patron viewpoint

The FFS is nothing new to ABQ residents, but it was surprising how far a geographic reach this show had this year. People came from many states away to attend this show, myself included. Having the show at the Sandia Resort & Casino helped provide an alternative for entertainment once you either spent all your shopping funds on spicy products or just wanted to double-down at one of the blackjack tables.

The variety of vendors was decent, although a dominant theme of the show was confections. If you liked spicy chocolate, candy, nut brittles, or sweet popcorn, then there were numerous vendors selling their chile-laced confections for your sweet tooth. As with all the past FFS, there was quite a local flavor to the show with many ABQ- and New Mexico-based businesses there to present their products. There was a pretty broad variety of products available, so no matter whether you were looking for hot sauce, salsa, or spicy chocolate, there was something there you would find worthwhile.

However, all this comes at a price…and it will really dent your wallet. The show was $15 each day to attend. Given that the show was only open to the public for 3 hours on Friday, $15 was ridiculous to pay for only 3 hours especially considering that you were paying that much for either 7 or 9 hours during either of the other two weekend days. This doesn’t include the $2 for bottled water, $3.50 for a soda or $5-6 for a beer once you were inside the show. Obviously, all the vendors were counting on your purchasing dollars, so it was blissfully easy to be out $100 or more once you made it down one aisle of the show!

zanezackcrew

The vendor/doin’ business perspective

I don’t have the exact numbers of patrons who passed through the show during the weekend, but the crush of the crowd was impressive. While this doesn’t always translate to dollars being spent at the vendor booths, there certainly is NO chance of that happening if the people don’t show up. While many patrons certainly wanted to get their $15 back by tasting as much free food as possible, lots of happy customers were seen toting bags of hot & spicy food products out of the show.

In general, business was good. I spoke to several vendors towards the end of the show who indicated that this show was one of the best FFS events yet held…at least in terms of their sales. However, booth placement always seems to be an issue with some vendors…and sometimes rightfully so. If you were lucky enough to have a booth inside the show hall or right outside the entrance doors, you had a good chance of good product placement for the crowd. If you were in one of the side halls, adjoining rooms, or even in the far row of the show (where even we were tired of tasting & shopping at that point), then you seemingly had a lower chance of those eager customers spending money on your stuff.

dewitt

The vendor/show management and venue relationship

In Dante Alighieri’s “The Divine Comedy,” the gate to Hell has the inscription “Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.” This could also be said for those vendors who endeavored to deal with either the show’s management, or heaven forbid had issues with the Sandia Resort and Casino having to do with the venue hall or other concern with the Indian Health Service. If you think I am over-dramatizing this issue, consider some of these gems:

The Indian Health Service saw fit to inspect all the booths for various “possible health code violations.” Despite the fact that all these vendors have their products approved by the FDA, the IHS conducted inspections that made a rectal exam seem like a cool handshake. I mean, really, you can ensure that the products are being safely stored and served…but after that, it’s simply overkill. If these products are good enough to be approved by the FDA, then it should be good enough for the IHS. In some cases, not so much.

Forgot to bring hooks to hang a banner? Need electricity to run your credit card machine to do commerce? Need anything else that wasn’t explicitly agreed to in your contract for your booth? Well, if you needed something that would help you…be prepared to pay, and not at a terribly reasonable rate either. Some of what was being charged was just plain silly.

Did I mention being charged for stuff? Try this on for size. Just imagine that you are a show vendor just minding your own business, selling stuff to customers and generally having a good time. Now imagine that you get a visit from the show’s management telling you that they need your money for next year NOW, and that you booth will be sold out from under you if you don’t pay up soon. Heck, the Sopranos didn’t have episodes as good as some of the high-pressure sell deals that were being pushed by the show management.

Speaking of trying to get blood out of a turnip, or rather more money out of the vendors, there was ample opportunity to get a visit from Dave DeWitt as he tried to sell everything he could that seemingly wasn’t bolted down. Advertising space on his website. Advertising space on the show’s program (which I never saw anyone reading, btw). In fact, I think Dave may have been trying to sell time-share condos there in his spare time. If you, as a vendor, had any extra money…then the show management was determined to relieve you of the burden of taking it home with you.

german

The coup de grâce to any semblance of goodwill between the vendors and management evaporated in what will forever be known in my mind as the “extract incident.” There was no shortage of vendors there who were selling capsaicin extract sauces. DEFCON Sauces has their “Zero,” CaJohns Fiery Foods has their “Black Mamba,” just to mention a few. Well, there was a new vendor at the show called the German Chili Police. They sold a BBQ sauce, but also happened to feature an extract sauce that they happen to be sampling for the public. After one of the members of the crowd (who I think might have been a chromosome shy of the requisite number) decided to make a tour of all the extract sauces and stop by the GCP booth, that person opted for a too-big sample of the extract sauce and subsequently passed out. Yes, passed out as in down-for-the-count. I did not witness the incident, but I became well aware of the aftermath. The vendors paid the price for the stupidity of one of the show patrons by being brow-beaten within an inch of their lives. As is the case in society nowadays, individual people are apparently not responsible for the stupidity of their actions…someone else is. The reason you eat extract sauces a little at a time is because they’re pretty damn potent. DUH! The level of disgust going on at some of these vendors’ booths was palpable.

Suffice to say, I cannot imagine why some of these vendors continue to patronize this show, given the hassle they get from the show’s management. Without the vendors, there is no show! One would think that the management would make even a passable attempt at treating these people and companies better than they do. If it weren’t so absurd, it would be utterly laughable.

Well, that’s my take on the 2010 National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show in Albuquerque, NM. I look forward to hearing some feedback from some of the people, vendors, and others who were there to see if they are willing to support or refute some of my assertions.

Share