Mainebiz

V O L . X X X N O. X X S E P T E M B E R 2 , 2 0 2 4 14 S TA R T U P S / E N T R E P R E N E U R S H I P sales — generates up to $80 billion in annual revenues, with the market projected to reach $95 billion by 2025, according to data aggregated by CapitalOne Shopping in May. e comparison-shopping website also notes that two-thirds of retailers open a pop-up shop with goals that include raising brand awareness. Pop-up retailers also tend to be repeat acts, with close to 40% going that route two or three times. In addi- tion, a greater percentage of pop-up shops belong to brick-and-mortar stores (40%) than stem from online businesses (32%). ough temporary retail has been around since farmers and holiday markets of yore, the phrase "pop- up" didn't enter the national lexicon until 1997, when media entrepreneur Patrick Courrielche produced the nightclub-meets-shopping center Ritual Expo in Los Angeles. It came to be known as the "ultimate hipster mall." e concept quickly caught on with brands and top designers trying to outdo one another above ground and even underwater. Today, pop-up is more about strategy and focus, notes Allison McCabe, the Boston-based director of retail technology for enVista, an Indiana-based supply-chain and enterprise technology consultancy to clients including Shoe Carnival, Sportsman's Guide and Spencer's. "Regardless of the pop-up, more is not more," McCabe says. "Pop-up retail leaders should make sure to still have a focused story, with well-planned quantities and sales." Small and strategic When Lewis Goldstein thinks of pop-ups, he mainly thinks of highly trafficked areas of New York City. at's where his former employer, Organic Valley, staged a month-long cream-themed café and TV commercial backdrop. e year was 2016, the place New York's SoHo district. Today in Winslow, Goldstein runs a niche snack brand company called Maine Crisp Co. Lacking resources for big events, the 35-employee maker of Better with Buckwheat crackers regularly stages in-store samples and sales at small vendors like the Blue Hill Coop in Hancock County. "When you pop up in a city, it's a limited target," Goldstein says. "We focus our limited resources on in-store demos, because we know we're talking to people that definitely could be interested in buying our products." e recent Blue Hill haul was 40 boxes sold in three hours. "at's a really good amount for a demo of prod- ucts," Goldstein says. is September, Maine Crisp will enlist an out- side company for the first time to conduct product samples at Whole Foods stores around the country to ease some of the pressure on employees. "Right now, the focus is making sure we can fill all the orders that we have," Goldstein says. In the midcoast town of Boothbay, Cherie Scott is equally selective in picking pop-up partner- ships for her Mumbai to Maine brand of gourmet Indian simmer sauces. is summer on a farm in Waldoboro, for example, she whipped up a Save Your Seat FOR OUR LAUNCHPAD LIVE EVENT Join us for Maine's premier small business competition. Come mingle with Maine entrepreneurs and influencers, support the local small business community, and find out which of the five finalists will win our $50,000 grant at our live pitch event. WHEN: Tuesday, October 22, 2024 SOCIAL GATHERING: 4:30pm COMPETITION: 5:30pm WHERE: University of New England's Innovation Hall, 772 Stevens Ave., Portland RSVP TODAY GorhamSavings.Bank/LaunchPad/Attend The event is free, but an RSVP is strongly encouraged to reserve your seat. Member FDIC » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E F O C U S P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F M A I N E C R I S P C O. Lewis Goldstein at a Maine Crisp Co. display in the Blue Hill Co-op.

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