# Expo Manger Santé 2023 — olives, kiosks, and discoveries

> Two days at Montreal’s health-food expo — olive kiosk sales, vendor notes, photo credits, and products worth buying again.

- HTML page: https://antoineboucher.info/CV/blog/posts/expo-manger-sante-2023/
- Language: en
- Translation (fr): https://antoineboucher.info/CV/blog/fr/posts/expo-manger-sante-2023/index.md
- Published: 2022-09-06
- Updated: 2026-05-22
- Tags: Expo Manger Santé, Montreal, Conference, Food, Photography
- Author: Antoine Boucher (https://antoineboucher.info/CV/index-en.html)I spent two days at **Expo Manger Santé 2023** in **Place des Congrès**, Montreal — part work on an **olive kiosk**, part wandering the aisles with a notebook and an empty stomach. Event photos by **OS7Media** (os7mediamatrix@gmail.com); thanks for letting me use a few here.

## Why go at all

Trade shows are exhausting and good for one thing: **sampling reality** — what packaging looks like on a shelf, which pitches sound human, which booths are empty despite loud branding. I wanted both the vendor view (kiosk) and the visitor view (what I would actually reorder).

![On the floor — first day energy, badge and aisle traffic](https://antoineboucher.info/CV/blog/posts/expo-manger-sante-2023/images/antoine1.jpeg)

![Second day — quieter moments between rushes](https://antoineboucher.info/CV/blog/posts/expo-manger-sante-2023/images/antoine2.jpeg)

## Olive kiosk economics

I like olives — taste and the usual “good for you” story — and two days of samples and conversation turned into about **$300** in sales.

| What worked | What did not |
|-------------|--------------|
| Short tastings with a story (origin, brine) | Competing with loud neighbors on price alone |
| Repeat visitors on day two | Selling bulk without bags ready |
| Honest “try this one if you like X” | Generic “healthy snack” script |

The number is small; the useful part was talking with people who **stopped on purpose**, not tourists drifting past every booth.

## Kiosk prep (what I would repeat)

- **Samples in small cups** — people commit when the portion is one bite, not a meal.
- **Price cards at eye level** — nobody asks verbally twice.
- **Day-two inventory** — Saturday crowd buys what they tasted Friday; restock the hero SKU.
- **Neighbour booth chemistry** — Maté Libre traffic literally walked past our olives; friendly neighbours beat a better aisle number.

## Food worth tasting

The expo is loud and generous with samples. **Gen V** lettuces were the produce highlight: crisp enough that you notice after a day of crackers and dips — a reminder that fresh produce can still win in a hall of packaged goods. If you are scouting suppliers, ask for **MOQ and shelf life** on the spot — the answers separate hobby brands from ones that can survive a grocery reset.

![Fresh produce at the expo — Gen V display](https://antoineboucher.info/CV/blog/posts/expo-manger-sante-2023/images/genV.jpg)

The photo is the booth at peak hours — greens under bright hall lights, which is the real packaging test (not Instagram studio light).

## Booths that stood out

**BKind** looked polished and priced like it — interesting if you track natural cosmetics, not my cart that weekend. I still took a photo because the display design was cleaner than most rows: vertical rhythm, readable ingredients panel, no visual shouting. If you are learning merchandising, compare this booth to the discount end caps two aisles over.

![BKind display — shelf layout and packaging](https://antoineboucher.info/CV/blog/posts/expo-manger-sante-2023/images/bkind-products.jpg)

Next door, **Mate Libre** made the neighbour kiosk the best part of the row. I drink maté anyway; their **matéina** line was the find I texted friends about.

![Mate Libre kiosk — neighbour traffic spillover](https://antoineboucher.info/CV/blog/posts/expo-manger-sante-2023/images/matelibre.jpeg)

**Wise** smoothie mixes (green and red) are going into my rushed-morning rotation — add liquid, blend, leave. Not revolutionary, but **frictionless** beats aspirational kitchen gear.

![Wise smoothie mixes — green and red SKUs](https://antoineboucher.info/CV/blog/posts/expo-manger-sante-2023/images/wise-smoothies.jpg)

## Photo credits and etiquette

Floor photos marked **OS7Media** — ask before reusing commercially. My booth shots are mine; event-wide crowd shots belong to the photographers who covered the hall properly.

## Afterward

Expo Manger Santé is part trade show, part tasting menu. Glad I went, and I would do another edition if the timing works — with better kiosk inventory planning and more water bottles.

## Related posts

- [Snowflake Data-for-Breakfast](https://antoineboucher.info/CV/blog/posts/snowflake-data-for-breakfast/) — another Montreal-adjacent industry morning
- [Skate rack — from CAD to plywood](https://antoineboucher.info/CV/blog/posts/skate-rack-cad-to-object/) — unrelated craft, same “make things at home” energy