The Global Products Expo, happening June 26–28, 2025, at the New Jersey Expo Center, is where food and beverage brands debut their boldest ideas. But a great showing doesn’t guarantee success—especially once the booth lights go out. If you want to win shelf space and earn reorders, your product needs more than flavor or flash. It needs product appeal—that elusive combination of craveability, persuasion, and design that keeps buyers and consumers coming back.
In this post, we break down how craveability works as a sales tool, what makes a product truly appealing beyond taste, and how to convert expo momentum into retail deals that stick.
Why Craveability Matters to Retail Buyers
Retail shelves are a battlefield of first impressions. With thousands of SKUs competing for attention, your product has milliseconds to signal “pick me.”
Buyers aren’t just looking for innovation—they’re looking for products that move fast, generate repeat purchases, and occupy emotional space in the customer’s brain.
Product appeal isn’t a soft metric—it’s a decisive factor in post-expo retail success.
What Retail Buyers Are Really Asking:
- Will this stop a shopper in their tracks?
- Will they try it again?
- Will it survive the first three months on shelf?
To win those three questions, craveability must be embedded into your product from flavor to format to front-of-pack.
Understanding Product Appeal: The Three Core Dimensions
To build true product appeal that survives beyond the sampling booth, focus on three areas:
1. Sensory Crave Triggers
Taste, texture, scent, and even temperature can elicit instant emotional responses. The right combo can mimic nostalgia, comfort, or indulgence—and drive immediate purchase intent.
Example: A popcorn brand added a “hot honey crunch” flavor at the 2024 Expo that paired sweetness with a delayed heat finish. Attendees didn’t just like it—they talked about it, shared it, and came back for seconds.
2. Visual Desire
Packaging and visual storytelling drive perceived taste before the first bite. Color, typography, and food styling heavily influence shelf performance.
Stat: 64% of consumers try new CPG products based on packaging appeal alone (FMI, 2024).
Pro tip: Use high-saturation imagery with contrasting focal points to direct eye movement. Retail shelf visuals must “pop” at 4 feet away.
3. Narrative Persuasion
Today’s shoppers want brands they can believe in—products that carry a story, solve a problem, or reflect a value system.
Examples of narrative-based hooks:
- “Formulated with your 3PM crash in mind.”
- “Crafted in a two-person kitchen in upstate Vermont.”
- “The dessert that helps you sleep better.”
A strong brand narrative can convert curiosity into loyalty.
From Booth to Shelf: Bridging the Appeal Gap
Let’s say you nailed your expo presence. You had long lines, press mentions, and retailers asked for follow-up calls. That’s not enough.
Now comes the real work: turning craveable experience into commercial momentum.
Step 1: Audit the Crave Factor
Ask yourself:
- What part of the experience do people remember—taste, texture, aroma?
- What made people smile, post, or talk?
Document that moment and design your post-expo packaging and pitch around it.
Example: A coconut-based snack brand noticed people loved the crisp “snap” of their bar. For retail, they emphasized this auditory cue with a “Snap. Smile. Repeat.” tagline on the front of the box.
Step 2: Translate Taste into Shelf Language
Buyers and merchandisers need:
- Flavor shorthand (e.g., “Salted Brownie Crunch” > “Decadent cocoa delight”)
- Occasion framing (e.g., “Breakfast Boost” or “Pre-Gym Bites”)
- Emotional outcome (e.g., “Guilt-Free Indulgence” or “Snack Without Crash”)
Use these cues in your sell sheets, pitch decks, and retail packaging.
Product Appeal in Action: Real Expo-to-Retail Success Stories
1. Plant-Based Chocolate That Feels Naughty
At the 2023 Expo, a vegan chocolate brand leaned into hedonism, not health. They named their best-selling SKU “Date Night” and packaged it in matte black with gold lettering.
Appeal Levers Used:
- Emotional naming
- Indulgent color psychology
- Occasion framing
Retail Result: 14-week sell-through in Whole Foods nationwide.
2. Functional Beverage With a Relatable Problem
A hydration powder brand positioned their formula as “hangover support without the shame.” While clinically supported, they led with real-world benefits and added user stories to their packaging.
Appeal Levers Used:
- Narrative truth
- Situational empathy
- Problem-first messaging
Retail Result: Secured distribution in 400+ convenience stores across the U.S.
Data-Backed Principles That Boost Shelf Success
According to 2024 shopper behavior data:
- Products that solve a specific problem are 2.3x more likely to get picked up during initial discovery.
- Nostalgic flavor cues (e.g., “campfire s’mores,” “birthday cake”) increase impulse trial rates by 47%.
- Bold flavor names generate 3x more clicks in digital shelf tests than generic descriptors.
Use this data to shape your product naming, design choices, and pitch language.
How to Pitch Retailers with Crave Appeal
A retail buyer may have seen your booth—but their next question is: Will this work on our shelves?
Key Elements of a Product Appeal–Centered Pitch:
- The Hook: One line that explains why shoppers will grab it without thinking.
- The Sensory Proof: Specific crave triggers that translate to trial (e.g., “a salty finish that lingers”).
- The Shelf Fit: How it fills a current gap or trend (e.g., “high-protein dessert under 200 calories”).
- The Shopper Moment: When and why people consume it.
Frame your sell-in deck like a story, not a spec sheet.
Retail Packaging That Sells
Shelf success requires packaging that:
- Signals taste from afar
- Reinforces a problem it solves
- Looks distinct from competitors
Design Tips for Higher Appeal:
- Use tactile finishes like soft-touch or embossing for premium feel.
- Add subtle cues like “new,” “limited batch,” or “fan favorite” to drive curiosity.
- Avoid overcrowded front labels—clarity outperforms complexity.
Remember: In a 3-second decision window, simplicity wins.
Building Product Appeal Post-Purchase
True appeal doesn’t end at shelf—it extends into post-purchase.
Here’s how to turn one-time buyers into repeat loyalists:
- Include a brand card in DTC boxes explaining how the product was crafted.
- Use email or SMS to invite feedback on flavor satisfaction.
- Share behind-the-scenes content about the people or process behind the product.
Retention Tip: If you can get a customer to rebuy once, the odds of a third purchase jump by 63%.
Final Takeaway: Shelf Success Starts with Sensation
Flavor alone won’t win retail. To build a product that thrives long after the expo, you need to design craveability into every element—from flavor and format to packaging and positioning.
Remember, product appeal isn’t decoration—it’s your brand’s most valuable sales tool.
At the Global Products Expo 2025, show up ready to make people stop, taste, talk, and buy. Then take that momentum and translate it into packaging that moves, storytelling that resonates, and sensory design that drives repeat purchase.
Because in the post-expo world, the most successful brands don’t just sample well.
They sell hard.
