IFT FIRST 2027 · July 11–14, 2027 · McCormick Place, Chicago
IFT FIRST 2027 booth design & build in Chicago
Custom and rental exhibits for ingredient, food and food-technology brands, built around the sample, the data and the specialist. Working tasting counters, utility drops ordered, and McCormick Place drayage handled by your Purple project manager.
- July 11–14, 2027
- McCormick Place
No fee left off: every IFT FIRST cost is listed upfront, on paper. 4.9★ client rating · 3,000+ exhibitors · 10,000+ booths built · Building since 2015
A chef tastes a dish in a professional kitchen with steam rising
01 Purple at IFT FIRST 2027
What makes IFT FIRST different, and how we build for it
IFT FIRST is the Institute of Food Technologists' annual food science event, and since 2026 the education runs inside the expo hall, so the Scientific & Technical Forums, the Hot Topics Studio stage and The Pitch! Finale presented by the Seeding The Future Foundation all pull traffic past the booths. The IFT FIRST Food Expo draws 1,000+ exhibitors and 15,500+ participants from 80+ countries, and the people at your counter are R&D scientists, product developers and plant operations leads, not consumers. They want to taste an application, read the data behind it and ask a formulation question. A booth that puts the sample, the evidence and the specialist within three steps of each other wins the lead.
A tasting counter with consistent sample codes, the technical sheet beside the exact sample, and a specialist who can answer a texture, stability or clean-label question on the spot.
Equipment or process demos at real scale, throughput and utility figures in plain view, and a seated table to walk through a pilot-line or sourcing brief.
A brand story that reads from the aisle, a short meeting space away from the queue, and a lead record that captures the application and the next step.
Your team in Chicago
From our two shops to the IFT FIRST floor
For IFT FIRST, we build in our own shop in Fishkill, NY, and at our Las Vegas hub, ship to McCormick Place, and put our own project manager on the floor with vetted local labor for the install. Every IFT FIRST build runs a predictable 30 to 45 days and gets a pre-show QA, with secure storage after.
Your team arrives at IFT FIRST to a lit, stocked booth. You just show up.
02 Booths & pricing for IFT FIRST 2027
Popular booth sizes at IFT FIRST
IFT FIRST floors are anchored by large ingredient-house islands with tasting bars, so an inline booth needs a visible sample counter and a clear application headline. Exhibitors here usually land between a 10×20 with a tasting counter and a 20×30 island with two application stations and a meeting table.
A tasting counter with prep space behind it, a sample library by application and a small table for formulation talks.
Pictured: Al Sharq, a Purple inline booth
See 10×20 rental booths →
A third bay gives the tasting counter room to breathe: sample codes and the technical sheet at one end, prep and cold storage in the middle, a seated development table at the other.
Above: Piccolo Bambino, a Purple inline booth
See 10×30 rental booths →
Two application stations, a shared prep and storage core, a hanging sign and an open meeting table for buyers and R&D.
Shown: Golden Boy, a Purple island exhibit
See 20×20 rental booths →
A working innovation studio: live equipment or pilot demo, several tasting stations, a private project table and back-of-house refrigeration.
Above: Türkiye / Turkish Tastes, a Purple island exhibit
See 20×30 rental booths →In Purple's IFT FIRST price
- Design and a 3D rendering for IFT FIRST, revised until it is right
- The structure, printed graphics, counters and storage your IFT FIRST plan specifies
- Booth lighting, with power distributed inside the booth
- Setup and teardown, with our project manager on the IFT FIRST floor
- Show-service orders and deadlines for IFT FIRST, tracked on your behalf
Billed by IFT FIRST and its contractor
- Booth space, paid to Institute of Food Technologists
- Material handling (drayage) at McCormick Place, where the space rate does not include it
- Electrical service, internet and rigging at McCormick Place
- Booth cleaning, and union labor where McCormick Place requires it
Every one of these is estimated on your proposal, so you see the full IFT FIRST total on paper before you sign.
Prices are all-in 2026 rental ranges for design, structure, graphics, installation and dismantle; custom builds are quoted per project. Run your IFT FIRST numbers in the booth cost calculator and the 2026 booth cost guide.
Tell us your IFT FIRST booth size and what the space has to do. A reply within one business day, then a IFT FIRST rendering and fixed proposal, usually within a week. No charge.
03 Built by Purple
Booths to look at before you plan IFT FIRST
Case study · Machu Picchu Foods
Machu Picchu Foods at a food and beverage trade show
A layered, walk-through environment inspired by the landmark itself, turning curiosity into sampling conversations.
Read the Machu Picchu Foods case study All case studies →“If you’re looking for a trade show booth expert who shows up and gets the job done right, Purple Exhibits is the real deal.”
Magdalena Kulisz, Service Manager, Miss Immigrant USA · more reviews from Purple clients
Trusted by exhibitors including
04 Designing for food, ingredient and food-technology brands at IFT FIRST
Four things we get right for IFT FIRST exhibitors
1Build the tasting counter as a workstation
Design the tasting counter from the workflow out: where product arrives, where cold storage sits, how serving supplies are replenished and who resets the surface. We build prep space behind the counter, a queue lane in front and a sightline from the aisle so the demo never turns into a crowded workbench.
2Layer the science for a technical crowd
One application story reads from 30 feet, a concise explanation sits at the sample, and the supporting data lives one step behind it. We keep sample codes and labels consistent across the counter, the tablet and the follow-up sheet so a specialist can join at the right depth.
Start equipment demos from real dimensions
We start from the real instrument or pilot-line dimensions, access points, power and water, then decide what runs live and what a component, model or video tells better. Equipment supports, cable routing and utility drops are drawn into the booth before the graphics.
Give the development brief a seat
A seated table with a notebook, a sample tray and room for two colleagues keeps the development brief off the aisle. We give technical and commercial staff a place to confer without blocking the sample station, and the lead form records the application and formulation stage, not just a badge scan.
Concept rendering
Your IFT FIRST proposal comes with a rendering like this
You see your IFT FIRST booth in 3D before we cut a single panel: layout, graphics, lighting and product positions, revised until it is right. Above: a Purple concept for Hypro.
Start my IFT FIRST concept05 McCormick Place · Chicago
Logistics for IFT FIRST 2027, handled
McCormick Place is a union building with one exception: since the 2010 MPEA reforms your own full-time staff can assemble a booth of any size with their own tools, while material handling from the dock stays Teamster work billed by weight. Our planning number is about $210 per hundredweight with a 200-pound minimum, so we build IFT FIRST booths on aluminum frames, crate everything and send one consolidated shipment from our Midwest carrier to the advance warehouse. We read the IFT exhibitor kit, order the show contractor services, file the sampling and utility forms, and your Purple project manager runs the install, daily resets and dismantle with the labor McCormick Place requires. Your team sleeps at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place or the Marriott Marquis, both connected by skywalk.
This building's hall rules, drayage estimates and freight deadlines for IFT FIRST exhibitors are in our McCormick Place exhibitor guide.
What Purple handles
- IFT exhibitor kit, show contractor orders and target move-in dates
- Sampling, hand-wash and utility forms for the tasting counter
- Electrical, water and drain drops placed to the demo plan
- Graphics printed in house and proofed against your packaging
- Freight to the advance warehouse and McCormick Place drayage paperwork
- Installation, daily resets and dismantle overseen by your Purple project manager
IFT FIRST timeline, counted back from move-in
- Late April 2027Design sign-off; island and hanging-sign drawings submitted where the footprint requires it.
- May 2027Production in Fishkill, NY; tasting counter mocked up and tested with your real sample trays.
- Mid-June 2027Booth ships crated in one consolidated load to the McCormick Place advance warehouse.
- Early July 2027Targeted move-in; your Purple project manager oversees the install, connects utilities and runs the pre-show walkthrough.
- July 11–14, 2027Show days; a Purple project manager is on call for resets and every service issue.
- Mid-July 2027Dismantle the evening the expo closes; samples and equipment packed to your return plan, booth to storage or the next show.
Purple's planning timeline for IFT FIRST. Move-in, freight target and order deadlines are set by the IFT FIRST exhibitor kit and your assigned schedule; we confirm them for your booth once you book.
Printable IFT FIRST budget & deadline sheetIFT FIRST exhibitor questions
Questions exhibitors ask us before IFT FIRST
How much does an IFT FIRST booth cost?
A complete 10×20 rental with a tasting counter lands between $7,500 and $15,000, and a 20×20 custom island between $50,000 and $120,000, covering design, structure, graphics and Chicago installation. Refrigeration, sinks and live equipment move the number; send us your sample plan and we return a fixed quote.
Can you install a tasting booth at McCormick Place?
We can, and McCormick Place is our home floor. We design counters with cold storage and hand-wash provisions built in, order the utility drops and the show contractor services, and your Purple project manager has every station installed, leveled and tested before your first sample is poured.
Can we rent a booth for IFT FIRST?
Yes. Rental structures with your graphics, custom tasting counters on a rental frame, or a fully custom build are all options. Most first-time IFT FIRST exhibitors start with a 10×20 rental, upgrade the counter and reuse the graphics at the next food show.
When do we need to decide?
Design sign-off by late April 2027 gives a 30 to 45 day build and a mid-June ship date to the advance warehouse. Later is possible; the trade-off is finish choices and freight surcharges, which run 25 to 35 percent on late or off-target shipments at McCormick Place.
Do you handle the show contractor orders and drayage?
We do. We book your material handling, order electrical, water and drain drops, schedule the target move-in, and keep you copied on every deadline. Freight is addressed with building, hall and booth number so it lands at the right McCormick Place dock the first time.
Before you sign for IFT FIRST
Five questions to ask any exhibit builder for IFT FIRST:
- Are all fees on paper, including what the contractor at McCormick Place bills?
- Who actually builds it for IFT FIRST: your shop or a subcontractor?
- Who from your team is on the IFT FIRST floor for install and dismantle?
- What exactly is in the rental, and what is billed by the show?
- What happens to the booth after IFT FIRST, and what does storage cost?
Common situations
Already own a booth? We refresh the graphics, repair what is worn, ship it to McCormick Place, install it and store it between shows. The structure you paid for stays in use.
Exhibiting from outside the US? We handle the ground work for IFT FIRST: freight to the advance warehouse, show-service orders, installation and storage, with one project manager replying to your emails in your time zone.
Short on time? Rentals with your graphics can be ready in two to three weeks. The first call tells you what is realistic for your date.
Get a proposal
Tell us about your IFT FIRST booth
What happens next
- Our reply comes within one business day, with questions on your products, goals and footprint.
- Usually within a week, you receive a concept rendering and a fixed IFT FIRST proposal. Every fee on paper upfront, in full, for your IFT FIRST booth.
- Production runs 30–45 days, then we ship to the advance warehouse and install before the IFT FIRST hall opens.