'Renewable' Exhibit Reflects Values

Going to trade shows with a “super heavy” custom exhibit never felt right to Maria Emmer-Aanes, Director of Marketing for Nature's Path Organic Foods.

“I’d been frustrated for years,” she says. “When you’re making organic foods, you have an obligation to be environmentally sustainable. Our exhibit was out of step with who we are.”

After contacting eight exhibit companies, Nature’s Path bought a custom modular exhibit from Skyline.

“We did our homework,” Emmer-Aanes says. “We wanted the lightest footprint possible, and we now have an exhibit that is renewable and recyclable. And it looks absolutely fantastic.”

Reduce. Skyline’s lightweight exhibit systems pack into compact containers for fuel-efficient transporting and assemble with no need for power tools. Nature’s Path saved more than one-third on shipping costs and two-thirds on installation costs. When exhibiting in Europe, the company can boost energy savings by shipping just the fabric graphics and renting the exhibit structure from Skyline locally.

Reuse. Skyline designed the exhibit for a 20’-by-30’ space, but it can be reconfigured into numerous layouts down to 10’ by 20’. “We can meld and morph the exhibit into anything we need,” Emmer-Aanes says. “That versatility is incredibly valuable.”

Renew. The marketing messages and product names may change, but the exhibit structure won’t become obsolete. “It’s renewable,” Emmer-Aanes says. “When we redesign, we can replace the fabric graphics and get a whole new look and feel.”

Recycle. While traditional custom exhibits end up in landfills, the steel and aluminum exhibit frame can be recycled.

“We definitely marketed the sustainable aspects of the exhibit,” Emmer-Aanes says. “We feel really great about the impact it has made on our industry. Now we’re more in line with who we say we are.”