Why The National Women’s Show Is Amazing

The National Women’s Show! Not only can you get your hair, makeup and nails done, but you can make your own flower crown too!

The annual National Women’s Show is often dubbed as the ultimate girl’s night out. This is because you can get super pampered by having someone do your hair, makeup, and nails all in one place. This event appeals to a broad audience as attendees from all age groups were at the event. What’s interesting is that the title “Women’s show” didn’t deter men since many visitors were in fact, men.

But of course… I went alone (loner). To be fair, my schedule with some friends didn’t line up so they couldn’t make it. That ended up working out in my favor because it gave me the chance to explore the 500+ exhibits at my pace.

Read more: What Is My One Life Changing Year?

Vendors At The National Women’s Show

There are over 500 exhibitors at this show. The sections are:

Market
Fashion
House, home, and design
Beer, wine & spirits
World of taste
Travel
Beauty, health & wellness

The first place I checked out was food. Bad bad idea. Many vendors had lucrative specials that were too good to pass, but I didn’t want to buy them early in the beginning and carry them around the trade show.

A side note… there were tons of booths that seemed out of place. Some looked like they were selling clothing from the 80s while others resembled a garage sale…

New product discoveries At The National Women’s Show

What I love most about trade shows is the chance to discover new products while having the opportunity to talk to the founders of the companies and learn more in-depth about the products. Many items that I now use on a regular basis would not have been discovered had it not been for trade shows.

Maison Orphee

Learning how to make salad dressing with Maison Orphee

I’ve never heard of Maison Orphee before attending the National Women’s Show. Now that I’m aware of this brand, I know that I will be on the lookout for their products the next time I am at the grocery store. Maison Orphee did a fantastic job educating consumers on their products. This company made their booth interactive by allowing consumers to make their own salad dressing by using their products and giving away a useful product. Hands down, they definitely had the customer experience in mind when putting together their booth.

truLOCAL

truLOCAL, a local meat delivery service

While I don’t eat a lot of meat, I sometimes like to incorporate meat in my home-cooked dishes. However, I struggle to find products that are local, hormone-free and antibiotic-free.

Enter truLOCAL, a startup that delivers high-end meat products right to your door.

Stretch Lids

Stretch lids – silicone food safe lids

I’ll save my spiel about why I’m against plastic containers for another blog post. Long story short, I read Undiet and watched documentaries about plastics which changed my perspective on plastics. Over the years, I’ve built a collection of glass containers from Pyrex Storage. Sadly, most of the lids are now cracked, and I’ve struggled to find replacement covers.

This is where these silicone stretch lids came in handy and met the needs of what I was looking for with my lidless containers.

Happy Planet

Yummy soups from Happy Planet

This Canadian-based company creates products from premium, natural ingredients free of preservatives and artificial ingredients. Soups that have chicken are certified organic, free-range and grain-fed chickens from Ontario farms.

This is where I appreciate samples at trade shows because I see Happy Planet products in stores but never considered the products. Buying a big bag of soup is a commitment to me (what if I don’t like the soup? And there’s so many soup choices at the grocery store). However, having the chance to sample some of the soup flavors makes me a more likely buyer.

Last year’s product discoveries at The National Women’s Show

Thanks to the National Women’s Show, I found some excellent products that I would not have considered buying in the first place. Here are some of last year’s discoveries that I now love and buy.

Soup Girl

Yummy Soup Girl products

I’m a big fan of Soup Girl’s dry soup mixes. The dry ingredients are packed in a glass jar and comes in handy for weeks when I don’t have time to cook. Each soup makes about eight servings, so they go a long way. I’ve tried almost every product from this company and would have to say, my favorite soup is the Spicy Coconut Lentil Soup and the Detox Soup.

Matcha Ninja

I discovered Matcha Ninja last year at the Women’s Food Show, and I am now a regular customer of this organic matcha tea. This matcha is water soluble, meaning no whisk is required. Just shake and go, and that’s it!

Goodie bag from the National Women’s Show

All the products from the goodie bag

I was shocked that I got a goodie bag because they only hand out limited quantities each year. I ended up getting one of the last four goodie bags that they were handing out. The only downside to receiving the goodie bag at the beginning of the show was that it was so heavy and a pain to carry around during the trade show.

Tips to know for the National Women’s Show

Visit the food section last because there’s a lot of good products to buy. It’s a pain to have to carry purchases around during the duration of the show
If you typically bring a water bottle to stay hydrated, there’s no need to at this event. There were tons of juices, tea, kombucha, and of course, alcohol that will keep you hydrated
Having data on your mobile makes it super convenient to research products on the spot before buying. Mobile data came in handy and stopped me from buying items that did not have good reviews on the internet
If you think you’ll buy a lot of heavy stuff, you can bring a suitcase. There’s a check-in for suitcases which tons of visitors used
Go early if possible to avoid lineups

Would I go again to the National Women’s Show?

I enjoyed the event. I find the National women’s show to be fun because I get to explore new products, talk to people and meet many entrepreneurs.

Also, I like to sit and listen to some of the pitches that people have about how they sell their products. It’s pretty interesting. I could write a whole article about how to be an effective exhibitor, but… maybe next time.

Check out their website here for more information.