How Exhibitors Can Use Empathy in Design to Stand Out at the Global Products Expo 2025
The food and beverage landscape is undergoing a seismic shift. From plant-based innovation to hyper-personalized nutrition, consumers are demanding more — not just in terms of ingredients, but in how brands connect with their real-life needs. For exhibitors at the Global Products Expo 2025, which takes place June 26–28 at the New Jersey Expo Center, this is an opportunity to reimagine product design through a powerful yet often underutilized lens: empathy in design.
What is Empathy in Design?
At its core, empathy in design is about deeply understanding the end-user — not just through data, but through genuine insight into their emotions, behaviors, and pain points. It’s more than user research or customer feedback; it’s the art of placing yourself in the consumer’s shoes to create solutions that feel tailor-made.
This approach is especially relevant in the food and beverage sector, where preferences are deeply tied to identity, culture, and lifestyle. As an exhibitor at one of the most anticipated food and beverage expos in the USA, showcasing products that resonate on an emotional level can drive not only engagement but conversions.
Why Empathy Matters for Exhibitors in 2025
The era of mass-market messaging is fading fast. In its place? A consumer base that values authenticity, personalization, and meaningful connection. Here’s how empathy-led product innovation gives exhibitors a competitive edge:
1. Improves Consumer-Centric Innovation
By prioritizing empathy in design, product teams can build offerings that address actual user challenges rather than theoretical trends. For instance, a plant-based snack isn’t just “trendy” — it might be a lifeline for consumers with dietary restrictions or sustainability concerns.
2. Enhances Brand Trust
When users feel seen and understood, they’re more likely to trust a brand. Exhibitors that demonstrate this through thoughtful packaging, clear labeling, and interactive booth experiences will naturally draw attention and engagement.
3. Aligns with Food Tech Advancements
The rise of food tech — from AI-driven personalization to sustainable packaging — is rooted in solving real-world problems. Empathy ensures these technologies are implemented with the user, not just innovation, in mind.
Data Meets Empathy: A Winning Formula
While empathy focuses on emotional insight, it should never be divorced from data. Successful exhibitors combine qualitative and quantitative feedback to craft a complete consumer picture. At the Global Products Expo, buyers and distributors will be seeking data-backed products that are also grounded in real-world usability.
Examples of Empathy + Data in Action:
- Consumer Personalization: Using demographic and behavioral data to create personalized food kits, protein blends, or supplement stacks that reflect cultural preferences, fitness goals, or dietary restrictions.
- Inclusive Packaging Design: Leveraging accessibility data to create packaging for individuals with visual impairments, arthritis, or limited literacy — an often-overlooked demographic in the food and beverage space.
- Sustainability Communication: Telling the sustainability story in a way that connects emotionally while backing it up with lifecycle analysis or carbon footprint metrics.
Global Products Expo Tips: Bringing Empathy to Life at Your Booth
Whether you’re showcasing the next breakthrough in plant-based innovation or unveiling a tech-powered nutrition tool, empathy should inform every part of your presence at the expo.
1. Tell a Story
Don’t just list ingredients or features. Walk attendees through the “why” behind your product — who it helps, how it solves a problem, and why you created it in the first place. Story-driven messaging anchored in empathy is more memorable and shareable.
2. Design Your Booth for Human Flow
Think about how people move, interact, and explore. Use intuitive layouts, clear signage, and accessible materials. If you’re using AR/VR demos or sampling stations, make sure they accommodate a wide range of ages and abilities.
3. Train Your Staff in Empathetic Communication
Your team should be more than just sales reps. Train them to ask meaningful questions, listen actively, and guide conversations based on attendee needs — not just product pitches.
4. Offer Personalized Interactions
If possible, use tablets or QR-code tools to offer brief assessments, taste quizzes, or AI-generated product suggestions based on user preferences. This reinforces the perception that your brand gets them.
5. Follow Up with Value
Post-event emails and remarketing should mirror the same empathetic tone — offering educational content, personalized offers, or solutions that go beyond a generic sales pitch.
Empathy in Plant-Based and Food Tech Innovation
The rise of plant-based products and food tech isn’t just a trend — it’s a consumer movement fueled by climate awareness, health consciousness, and a desire for transparency.
Empathetic product development in this space might look like:
- Formulating allergen-friendly dairy alternatives that cater to both taste and nutrition.
- Creating lab-grown meat that mimics traditional cooking experiences for cultural familiarity.
- Developing smart labeling that uses QR codes to explain how ingredients are sourced or how to recycle packaging properly.
The intersection of empathy and innovation creates deeper loyalty and lasting market differentiation — especially in a competitive setting like the Global Products Expo 2025.
Case Study: How One Exhibitor Won Big with Empathy
At last year’s European Plant-Based Innovation Fair, a small Mediterranean food brand introduced a high-protein hummus aimed at older adults. But instead of just pitching “healthy aging,” they designed their entire booth around intergenerational connection — showing videos of grandparents cooking with grandchildren and offering soft, easy-to-chew samples in nostalgic packaging.
The result? A 300% increase in buyer interest — not because the product was revolutionary, but because it made people feel something real.
That’s the power of empathy in design.
Make Empathy Your Secret Ingredient
As the countdown to the Global Products Expo 2025 begins, exhibitors have a unique chance to rise above the noise. The products that win hearts (and market share) will be the ones built not just on trend reports, but on human insight.
Empathy in design isn’t soft. It’s strategic. It’s data-backed. And in today’s experience-driven economy, it’s non-negotiable.
✅ Ready to Lead with Empathy?
Join the conversation at the Global Products Expo 2025 and show the world how design with heart delivers real-world impact. Book your booth, refine your message, and build products people truly care about.
