Every year, the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) Trade Show brings together the biggest names in retail, food and beverage, and CPG innovation, and 2025 was no exception. The show, running from October 14th-17th in Chicago, featured high-energy product launches, immersive booth experiences, timely nods to global events, digital tech and so much more, proving that trade show engagement is evolving fast.
We attend this event each year to:
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Support our customers and their activations - This year’s customers included popular brands like Circle K, Bruegmann, and Wisconsin’s Best.
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Ensure our team understands trends and the evolution happening in the experiential trade show world - As we saw this year, it’s important that we continue to make bold statements with booths that blend creativity, functionality, and unforgettable brand storytelling.
After walking the floor and seeing hundreds of activations firsthand, here are our five top takeaways from this year’s NACS Show:
1. Interactivity Is Everything
The days of static displays are gone. This year, interactivity took center stage, and it wasn’t subtle. From game stations with prizes to roaming mascots like the Nerds Gummy Cluster and Jack Link’s Sasquatch, exhibitors were leaning into experience. Large-scale sampling opportunities drew crowds, while live DJs turned booths into mini entertainment zones.
Attendees don’t just want to see your brand in a clean exhibit format. They want to play with it, taste it, and remember it.
2. Soccer Fever Hits the Show Floor
With the FIFA World Cup around the corner, soccer became the unofficial theme of NACS 2025. Several brands tied activations to the sport, blending competition and global culture into their displays. Electrolit’s booth was a standout with two professional soccer players juggling to the beat of the music while guests watched and cheered from the sidelines.
This culturally attuned approach showed how aligning a booth with timely global moments—like the upcoming World Cup—can instantly boost engagement and relevance.
3. Pickle Is the Flavor of the Year
Pickle is having its moment. From Pepsico to Pabst to Jack Link’s, CPG brands unveiled new pickle-flavored launches - even Pickle Juice shots were making rounds on the show floor.
Flavor trends often start in niche spaces before becoming mainstream, and the scale of pickle representation at NACS hints that this one is moving fast. Expect to see more “pickle-powered” products in the year ahead.
*Image Pulled from Pickle Juice’s Instagram page
4. LED Screens Are the New Focal Point
From Ferrara to Monster Energy to Tropicana, some of the biggest players leaned into massive LED screens and dynamic digital assets to amplify their presence. These displays did more than broadcast visuals - they set a tone, creating motion, light, and storytelling that could be seen from across the hall.
Digital integration isn’t just a nice-to-have anymore - it’s becoming central to booth design strategy. Check out the videos below to get the full impact.
5. Booths as Brand Ecosystems
One of the most inspiring trends was how exhibitors transformed booths into microcosms of their full operations. Several brands set up complete restaurant environments on the floor, showing how their products and systems integrate seamlessly into real-world convenience experiences.
Krispy Krunchy Chicken was a prime example of this, with a full-service kitchen on site that their team heavily utilized to hand out more than 5,000 freshly fried chicken strips throughout the trade show.
A trade show booth is no longer just a billboard - it’s an immersive, fully functional representation of what your business can deliver. That’s where the industry is heading, and where creative partners like WCD can help brands stand out.
Final Thoughts
The NACS Show continues to prove that brand storytelling through experience is what drives connection and memorability. Whether it’s through interactive play, dynamic digital displays, or immersive design, the brands leading the charge are those investing in experience-first thinking..
We left the show feeling energized, inspired, and frankly, appreciative to work with brands that understand this vision of the future - crafting in-person environments that continue to bring brands and customers together.
Ready to reimagine your next trade show booth? Talk to one of our exhibit experts.