Exhibitors Rave Over Meaningful Connections At The PPAI Expo 2025

The PPAI Expo was back and better than ever, with new and seasoned exhibitors alike noting the hustle and bustle of the show floor has been more exhilarating than in years past.

“High energy,” says Teresa Fudenberg, CEO of Storm Creek, the PPAI 100’s No. 43 supplier. “It feels like everybody’s coming in with an abundance of energy, a lot of excitement, a lot of positivity and a little bit of a lift off into a new year.”

It feels like everybody’s coming in with an abundance of energy, a lot of excitement, a lot of positivity and a little bit of a lift off into a new year.”

Teresa Fudenberg

CEO, Storm Creek

Taking advantage of making meaningful connections on the show floor is something that’s been emphasized by several exhibitors.

“Our favorite thing here is just meeting new promo distributors,” says Jodi Losee, vice president of marketing for Silipint. “You don’t get a chance to do that very often, so just being able to meet people, explain our products and see the excitement on people’s faces when they see the colors of our products has been great.”

Our favorite thing here is just meeting new promo distributors.”

Jodi Losee

Vice President of Marketing, Silipint

For many first-time exhibitors, being able to see their products in action and receiving immediate feedback has been the highlight of their Expo experience.

“We have a very unique product that’s never been seen here, so just seeing everyone’s first-time reactions to it has been really fun,” says Jordan Long, owner of Surprise Cake. “We’re allowing people to demo it in person, which is not something you can do every day.”

We’re allowing people to demo [our product] in person, which is not something you can do every day.”

Jordan Long

Owner, Surprise Cake

Industry veteran Sarah Goshgarian Unruh, national sales manager for Stahls’, has been coming to The PPAI Expo for a decade, and having intriguing activations to draw people in has been an important aspect for her.

“We’ve really made sure that we have some good activations happening on the floor so that people could know what to do and how to utilize our products,” says Goshgarian Unruh. “It’s very purposeful when you walk into our booth of what you want to walk away with, what we’re aiming for you to know from a product perspective and then how to really elevate your business to the next level.”

We’ve really made sure that we had some good activations happening on the floor so that people could know what to do and how to utilize our products.”

Sarah Goshgarian Unruh

National Sales Manager, Stahls’

This is Brianna LePiane’s third year at Expo, and her advice for new companies looking to exhibit next year is to focus on the bigger picture rather than minute details.

“I’ve been on both sides,” says LePiane, sales agent for Stormtech, the PPAI 100’s No. 28 supplier. “I was a distributor before, and now I’m on the supplier side, and I can tell you, this is ridiculously overwhelming. Do not get into skill-level detail. Give a story about the product and share passion if you’re coming at it from the supplier perspective. Passion will get people to respond to you.”