Sweets & Snacks Expo 2027 · May 18–20, 2027 · Indiana Convention Center, Indianapolis
Sweets & Snacks Expo 2027 booth design & build in Indianapolis
Custom and rental exhibits for candy, snack and confectionery brands, built so a buyer tastes the product, sees the pack and talks assortment without leaving your counter. Sampling stations, refrigeration and union drayage at the Indiana Convention Center handled by our on-site team.
- May 18–20, 2027
- Indiana Convention Center
Every last fee listed upfront, in full, on paper. 3,000+ exhibitors · 10,000+ booths built · 4.9★ client rating · Since 2015
Rows of colorful sweets and snack products displayed in a candy shop
01 Purple at Sweets & Snacks Expo 2027
What makes Sweets & Snacks Expo different, and how we build for it
Sweets & Snacks Expo is the National Confectioners Association's flagship, and it is built around new products. The Most Innovative New Product Awards and the Featured Products Showcase pull buyers toward launches before they reach the aisles, Startup Street and the Specialty Market give emerging brands a defined address, and Distributor Connect puts brokers and distributors into scheduled conversations. The Supplier Showcase opens the afternoon of May 17 and runs through midday May 18 for ingredients, packaging and equipment, before the main floor opens. Buyers walk the hall with an assortment to fill and a sample in hand, so your booth has to connect the taste to the pack and the pack to a shelf conversation in a few seconds.
A fast taste, the actual pack at shelf scale, and a table where case counts, formats and seasonal timing can be discussed away from the sample line.
A readable range by category, a clear hero launch and a representative who can answer portfolio and channel questions on the spot.
Application samples, component comparisons and technical staff, with a display that shows the supplier's role in the finished product.
Your team in Indianapolis
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 Indiana 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 lands to a lit, stocked booth. You just show up.
02 Booths & pricing for Sweets & Snacks Expo 2027
Pick a footprint. We price it as a rental, a custom build, or a hybrid.
The show floor sells in 8×6 and 10×10 units, and the Supplier Showcase uses the same two sizes, so most exhibitors run a 10×10 or 10×20 inline with one sampling counter. Purple clients at candy and snack shows usually land between a 10×20 with a lit pack wall and a 20×20 island with two sampling points and a meeting table.
One lit pack wall for the hero launch, a sampling counter with hidden restock and a stool for a buyer conversation.
Shown: NIMS Food, a Purple inline booth
See 10×10 rental booths →
A hero wall plus a shelf-scale merchandising run of the range, a sampling station and a small table for assortment talks.
Shown: Ecotact, a Purple inline booth
See 10×20 rental booths →
Two sampling points under a hanging sign, a refrigerated or heated display, storage for cases and an open meeting table.
Shown: Nature's Touch, a Purple island exhibit
See 20×20 rental booths →
Several brand zones around a shared sampling bar, a retail vignette, a private meeting room and back-of-house replenishment.
Shown: J&J Snack Foods, 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
- Electrical service, internet and rigging
- Booth cleaning and any union labor the venue requires
We estimate every one of these on your proposal, so the total is on paper before you sign.
All-in 2026 ranges for design, structure, graphics, installation and dismantle. A custom-built booth runs roughly $100 to $250 per square foot depending on finish level. A rental of the same footprint usually lands at 35 to 50 percent of the purchase price for one show. Get an exact number for Sweets & Snacks Expo 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 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 client reviews
Trusted by exhibitors including
04 Designing for candy, snack and confectionery brands at Sweets & Snacks Expo
Four things we get right for Sweets & Snacks Expo exhibitors
1One hero, a readable range
Lead with the launch or the product family that explains the brand, then give the supporting and seasonal items their own shelf. We light the pack wall for color recognition and test it with your real wrappers so small labels and reflective film do not disappear.
2Put the sample next to the pack
Each sample gets a defined place on the counter beside the pack it belongs to, so the taste a buyer remembers connects to the item they would order. Staff can explain variants without digging through cartons, and the discovery route stays open for the next visitor.
3Design the replenishment route
Presentation packs, samples and replacement stock get separate homes, with a staff route that never crosses the public display. We build serving supplies, waste and a working surface into the furniture so the counter stays presentable through three days of tasting.
4Wire refrigeration and warmers early
Chocolate, frozen novelties and warm samples need power and sometimes water at exact counter positions. We list every refrigerated case, warmer and light fixture before ordering and place the service points so cords and drains stay hidden and the product stays at temperature.
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 Quick Mil.
Start my Sweets & Snacks Expo concept05 Indiana Convention Center · Indianapolis
Logistics for Sweets & Snacks Expo 2027, handled
The Indiana Convention Center uses union labor for install, dismantle and drayage, and only Teamsters crews work the loading docks, so nothing about Indiana's right-to-work law changes how your freight moves. We plan drayage at about $135 per hundredweight with a 200-pound minimum, label booth structure, sale samples and replenishment stock as separate shipments, and ship the build to the show's advance warehouse on a target date. ICCLOS staff make every utility connection, so we order power and water for refrigeration and warmers early and place them where your counters need them. Your team stays in one of the 12 skywalk-connected hotels, including the JW Marriott, and walks to the hall under cover while our on-site team runs the floor.
Hall rules, drayage estimates and freight deadlines for this building are in our Indiana Convention Center exhibitor guide.
What Purple handles
- Exhibitor kit, decorator orders and target move-in dates
- Sampling counters, refrigeration and utility orders through ICCLOS
- Graphics proofed against your actual packs
- Freight to the advance warehouse and union drayage paperwork
- Installation, dismantle and return shipping with our on-site team
Timeline, counted back from move-in
- Early March 2027Design sign-off; sampling layout, refrigeration list and hanging sign locked for approval.
- March–April 2027Production over 30 to 45 days; graphics proofed against your actual packs.
- Late April 2027Booth, counters and fixtures ship to the show's advance warehouse in Indianapolis.
- Mid-May 2027Move-in at the Indiana Convention Center on your target date; our on-site team installs, stocks the counters and runs the pre-show checklist. Supplier Showcase booths open the afternoon of May 17.
- May 18–20, 2027Show days; a Purple project manager is on call for the whole run. The hall closes at 1 p.m. on May 20.
- May 20–21, 2027Dismantle, unsold stock packed to your return plan, booth to storage or the next show.
Sweets & Snacks Expo exhibitor questions
Questions exhibitors ask us before Sweets & Snacks Expo
How much does a Sweets & Snacks Expo booth cost?
A complete 10×10 rental runs $3,500 to $8,000, a 10×20 rental $7,500 to $15,000, and a 20×20 custom island $50,000 to $120,000, covering design, structure, graphics and installation. Refrigerated cases and custom sampling counters move the number; send us your pack sizes and we return a fixed quote.
Can you install at the Indiana Convention Center?
Yes. The ICC is a union building, so our on-site team works with the Teamsters on the docks and the show's labor for install and dismantle. We book the target date, receive the freight, set the counters and have the booth stocked before your team arrives.
Can we rent a booth for Sweets & Snacks Expo?
Yes. Rental structures with your graphics, custom pack walls and sampling counters, or a hybrid of the two are all available. Most first-time Sweets & Snacks exhibitors start with a 10×10 or 10×20 rental and add a custom counter or lit shelf.
When do we need to decide?
Design sign-off in early March gives a comfortable 30 to 45-day build and a late-April ship to the advance warehouse. Later is possible; the trade-off is choice of fixtures, refrigeration lead times and freight cost.
Do you handle the decorator orders and drayage?
Yes. We read the exhibitor kit, file every form that concerns the booth, order labor, electrical and material handling through the show's general service contractor, and keep you copied on every deadline so nothing depends on a form you did not know about.
Before you sign with anyone
Five questions to ask any exhibit builder for Sweets & Snacks Expo:
- 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 Sweets & Snacks Expo 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.