Trade Show News Trends

{Sponsored} In the 1990s, the demand for cheap goods made overseas diminished the amount of American-made goods available on the market. Companies had to compete for the best prices with others that used the cheap labor available in many other countries. In the last few years, the industry has seen the demand shift the other way. Companies have moved toward not only manufacturing in the U.S. but also sourcing parts and materials solely from the U.S.

“The Made in America and Handmade Designs categories have products that are highly sought after by buyers looking for new and unique products. We are seeing an increase in paper product companies in these categories,” said Grace Creta, director of sales in Gift and Home Tradeshows.

If the increase in companies wanting in on the Made in America and Handmade Designs categories of AmericasMart doesn’t tell you how much the movement has taken off, some of the exhibitors for AmericasMart whose booths are in that category share what the increase in demand for American-made goods has done for their business — and what they’ve seen and heard while exhibiting at AmericasMart.

Exhibitors who are part of the AmericasMart Made in America category are thrilled with the traffic they’ve seen. “We had to stop taking orders over the

holidays,” said Stephanie Monahan of Monahan Papers. Since they couldn’t keep up with demand, customers had to wait. They’re caught up now. “But I am increasing my booth space in both AmericasMart shows. They’re the only shows I do,” said Monahan.

“In this small community outside of St. Louis, our pricing is such that we can compete and do better than imports. That’s what it has come down to.”

Ursula Dodge, of Ursula Dodge Studio, said that in the early days of the movement, she often received comments that her products were much more expensive than imported products.

“At AmericasMart, no one bats an eye about our pricing, and in fact we are often complimented. I feel this is in no small part due to the overall quality, attention to

detail and thoughtfulness of products on our entire floor, which includes Handmade and Museum, as well as technological developments in printing which have enabled so much more manufacturing to happen in the U.S. Buyers now consistently express gratitude for the whole movement,” said Dodge.

Marguerite Rawden of Cardthartic moved to the Made in America temporaries in recent years after seeing how much traffic that category had. Cardthartic redesigned their booth fixtures based on customer feedback. So many people were asking for Made in America items that Cardthartic added call-outs on their fixtures to highlight the fact that they carry completely U.S.-made products.

The Made in America movement is only going to increase in the coming years. As more and more consumers request American-made goods, buyers will continue to shop the Made in America category at AmericasMart. Stay tuned for what is in store with the Made in America movement at AmericasMart and at americasmart.com.

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