The NAMA Show 2027 · May 5–7, 2027 · Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans
NAMA Show 2027 booths in New Orleans built around machines that run
Your booth puts working vending machines, micro market kiosks and brewers in front of operators who tap, pay and open every unit before they talk price. At the Morial Center we plan power per machine, ship to the advance warehouse and level each unit on a floor that runs two miles along the river.
- May 5–7 · Morial Center
- 400+ exhibitors in 2026
- Imagination Way showcase
Every last fee listed upfront, in full, on paper. 3,000+ exhibitors · 10,000+ booths built · 4.9★ client rating · Since 2015
Beverage vending machines lit at night
01 Purple at The NAMA Show 2027
What makes The NAMA Show different, and how we build for it
The NAMA Show is the convenience services industry's own marketplace, and it is built around equipment that has to work in front of an operator. Imagination Way stages autonomous stores, robotic retail and new delivery concepts on the floor, the New Product Zone gathers the year's introductions, and in 2026 the opening General Session recognized the NAMA Industry Award winners. Operators walk the Expo Hall to compare vending machines, micro market kiosks, coffee brewers and payment systems side by side. A booth here wins when a machine runs, takes a payment and opens for inspection in the middle of a conversation.
Working machines and kiosks they can tap, pay at and open up, with a clear answer on service intervals, telemetry and what the unit earns per location.
Brewers running real coffee, a pantry or breakroom set they can picture in a client office, and someone who can talk route economics.
Software and payment demos on a screen they can reach, plus a seat away from the aisle to walk through integration with the systems they already run.
Your team in New Orleans
Two shops, one project manager, every hall
We build in our own production shop in Fishkill, NY, and our Las Vegas hub, ship to the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, and install with our own project manager on the floor and vetted local labor. Predictable 30–45-day turnarounds, secure storage and pre-show QA.
Your team walks into a lit, stocked booth. You just show up.
02 Booths & pricing for The NAMA Show 2027
Popular booth sizes at The NAMA Show
NAMA floors mix 10×10 and 10×20 inlines for snack, beverage and software brands with 20×20 and larger islands for machine makers and micro market platforms. We recommend a 10×20 built around two working units for a focused launch, or a 20×30 island when you want to stage a full self-service store.
Two machines or a compact micro market wall with a self-checkout kiosk, plus a standing table for software demos.
Shown: NIMS Food, a Purple inline booth
See 10×20 rental booths →
A breakroom set with brewer and cooler at one end, a kiosk-fronted micro market wall at the other, and a sampling counter with its handwashing point between them, every service panel within reach.
Shown: XL-Bloom YoungPlants, a Purple inline booth
See 10×30 rental booths →
A small walk-in micro market or breakroom set with coolers, a kiosk and a brewer, under a hanging sign up to 20 feet.
Shown: Lakeside Foods, a Purple island exhibit
See 20×20 rental booths →
A full self-service store layout, a row of machines, a payment and telemetry demo bar and a closed meeting room for operator deals.
Shown: Ecotact, a Purple island exhibit
See 20×30 rental booths →In Purple's price
- Design and a 3D rendering, revised until it is right
- Structure, printed graphics, counters and storage as specified
- Lighting and power distribution inside the booth
- Installation and dismantle, with our project manager on the floor
- Every show-service order and deadline tracked for you
Billed by the show and its contractor
- Booth space (paid to the organizer)
- Material handling / drayage, where the space rate does not include it
- Electrical service, internet and rigging
- Booth cleaning and any union labor the venue requires
Rates to plan with for The NAMA Show:
- Drayage About $155 per cwt, 200 lb minimum, 2026–2027 planning estimate
We estimate every one of these on your proposal, so the total is 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. Get an exact number for The NAMA Show with the booth cost calculator or read the 2026 booth cost guide.
Send the show, your booth size and what the space needs to do. We reply within one business day and send a rendering and a fixed proposal, usually within a week. No charge.
03 Built by Purple
Booths we have designed, built and installed
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.
Different product, same problem: Machu Picchu Foods needed a walk-through space that turned curiosity into sampling conversations, which is how operators taste and buy at NAMA.
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 client reviews
Trusted by exhibitors including
04 Designing for vending, micro market and coffee service suppliers at The NAMA Show
Four things we get right for The NAMA Show exhibitors
1Plan power and data first
Refrigerated machines, coolers, brewers and kiosks each need dedicated circuits, and payment and telemetry demos need a wired or reliable network connection. We map every unit's draw and plug location before drawing walls, so electrical and internet orders go in once and at the advance rate.
2Stage the machines like a location
Operators judge equipment by how it looks in a breakroom or a lobby. We build a floor, a wall finish and lighting that make your machines read as a real placement, with service panels reachable so your team can open a unit mid-conversation.
Sample inside the show limits
NAMA caps samples at 12 oz beverages and 6 oz snacks and asks for a handwashing kit for anything unsealed (2026 rules). We build the sampling counter with storage, a waste point and a handwashing location, portion your product to the limits and keep the line inside your footprint.
Give software a quiet seat
Payment, telemetry and route management platforms sell at a table, not at the aisle. We set a demo bar with large screens at the front and a semi-private meeting area behind, so a buyer can see their own data model without competing machine noise.
Concept rendering
Every proposal comes with a rendering like this
You see the booth in 3D before we cut a single panel: layout, graphics, lighting and product positions, revised until it is right. Shown: a Purple concept for PAL.
Start my NAMA Show concept05 Ernest N. Morial Convention Center · New Orleans
Logistics for The NAMA Show 2027, handled
Louisiana is a right-to-work state, so your full-time staff can set up their own booth, while drayage, electrical and rigging stay with the union trades through the official contractor. The show runs a targeted move-in plan with assigned slots and asks for approved drawings for island structures over 8 feet well before opening (2026 rules), so we draw your structure early. Machines are heavy and the Morial Center stretches about two miles along the river, so dock-to-booth distance matters. We read the exhibitor manual, book your move-in slot, ship to the advance warehouse, and our project manager and vetted local labor level and power every unit.
Hall rules, drayage estimates and freight deadlines for this building are in our Ernest N. Morial Convention Center exhibitor guide.
Hall guide
NAMA publishes its 2027 floor plan online. These are the halls this building uses and what each one means for a booth full of heavy, powered equipment.
About 1.1 million square feet of divisible exhibit space stretching roughly two miles along the Mississippi River, served by the official contractor for drayage, electrical and rigging.
Our advice: Dock-to-booth distance varies a lot across the building, so we map your nearest dock as soon as your booth number is set and schedule machines accordingly.
A 60,300 square foot space completed in 2013 at the upriver end, with 25,000 square feet of ballroom and prefunction space and indoor and outdoor balconies.
Our advice: It hosts receptions and general sessions, and it sits closest to the Warehouse District hotels, so plan your team housing near that end.
A divisible performing arts theater used for general sessions and keynotes, with rigging and audiovisual rules separate from the exhibit halls.
Our advice: If you sponsor a session or award moment, we coordinate signage and staging there separately from your booth orders.
What Purple handles
- Exhibitor manual, move-in slot and electrical orders
- Structure drawings for NAMA approval
- Machine placement, leveling and power testing
- Sampling counter built to NAMA sampling rules
- Freight to the advance warehouse and return shipping
- Installation and dismantle led by our own project manager
Timeline, counted back from move-in
We need design sign-off by late February 2027.
- Late February 2027Design sign-off, equipment list and electrical plan locked.
- Early March 2027Island structure drawings prepared and submitted to NAMA.
- March to early April 2027Production in Fishkill, NY; graphics printed and machine wraps proofed.
- Mid-April 2027Booth and equipment ship to the advance warehouse in New Orleans.
- Days before May 5Move-in in your assigned slot; our project manager and vetted local labor install, power and test every machine.
- May 5–7, 2027Show days, then dismantle after the official close and freight home or to storage.
Purple planning timeline. Official move-in, freight target and order deadlines come from your exhibitor kit and assigned schedule; we confirm them against your booth when you book.
Printable budget & deadline sheetThe NAMA Show exhibitor questions
Questions exhibitors ask us before The NAMA Show
How much does a booth at the NAMA Show 2027 cost?
Machine makers staging an island should plan $50,000 to $120,000 for a custom 20×20, while a 10×20 rental runs $7,500 to $15,000 and a 10×10 rental starts at $3,500. At NAMA the number moves with how many refrigerated machines need dedicated circuits and how much heavy equipment needs material handling. Booth space is billed by NAMA and show services by the official contractor.
When do we need to sign off on a NAMA Show booth design?
We need design sign-off by late February 2027. That leaves room for NAMA to review island structure drawings, a 30–45 day build in our Fishkill, NY shop and an April ship date to the advance warehouse. NAMA releases the show kit with service order forms about 90 days before the show, and we file every form once it opens.
Can we rent a booth for the NAMA Show, and what does a rental include?
Yes. A rental includes the structure, your printed graphics, lighting, a counter or demo bar, shipping and installation by our project manager. We size it around the footprints of your machines and coolers. Many suppliers rent the structure and spend the savings on custom machine wraps and a proper sampling counter.
Can we set up our own booth at the Morial Convention Center?
Yes, within limits. Louisiana is a right-to-work state, so full-time employees of your company may set up their own booth without union labor. Drayage, electrical and rigging stay with the union trades through the official contractor, and the building does not lend carts, dollies or pallet jacks, so heavy machines move through the contractor.
What are the NAMA Show sampling rules for food and beverage?
Under the 2026 rules NAMA capped samples at 12 oz for beverages and 6 oz for snacks and asked for a handwashing kit for anything served unsealed. We design the counter around those limits with product storage, a waste point and a handwashing station, so your sampling stays compliant and the line stays inside your space.
What does drayage cost at the NAMA Show and who pays it?
Drayage is billed to you by the official contractor by weight. Our planning estimate for the Morial Center is about $155 per hundredweight for 2026 and 2027, with a 200-pound minimum. A single refrigerated machine can weigh several hundred pounds, so we total every unit and put the drayage estimate on your proposal before you sign.
Can we reuse our NAMA booth at other food and beverage shows?
Yes. We design modular frames and swap graphics so the same booth works at the Sweets & Snacks Expo, the National Restaurant Association Show and World of Coffee. Between shows we store it, check it after each event and ship it to the next advance warehouse, so you pay for the build once.
Which hall at the Morial Center will the NAMA Show use?
NAMA publishes the 2027 floor plan on its Map Your Show site, and the Morial Center runs Halls A through J along the river. Once your booth number is assigned we map the dock closest to it, plan the move-in route for each machine and set the delivery order so your heaviest units arrive first.
Do you handle the official contractor orders and move-in slot for our machines?
GES served as the official contractor in 2026, and we order electrical, flooring, internet and material handling from whichever contractor NAMA names for 2027. We book your targeted move-in slot, plan drayage around each machine weight and copy you on every deadline so nothing waits on a single inbox.
Before you sign with anyone
Five questions to ask any exhibit builder for The NAMA Show:
- Is every fee on the proposal, including what the show contractor bills?
- Who builds the booth: your own shop or a subcontractor?
- Will your project manager be on the floor for install and dismantle?
- What exactly is in the rental, and what is billed by the show?
- Where does the booth go after the show, and what does storage cost?
Common situations
Already own a booth? We refresh the graphics, repair what is worn, ship it, install it and store it between shows. You keep the structure you paid for.
Exhibiting from outside the US? We are your team on the ground: freight to the advance warehouse, show-service orders, installation and storage, with one project manager answering your emails in your time zone.
Short on time? A rental with your graphics can be ready in two to three weeks. We tell you on the first call what is realistic for your date.
Get a proposal
Tell us about your NAMA Show booth
What happens next
- We reply within one business day with questions about your products, goals and footprint.
- You get a concept rendering and a fixed proposal, usually within a week. Every last fee listed upfront, in full, on paper.
- We build in 30–45 days, ship to the advance warehouse and install before the hall opens.
