Whole Foods' photo op let guests pose in bright frames that appeared to grow out of a garden box.
![Spirits brand Patrón has held dozens of interactive cocktail events around the country, including mojito and margarita making. “A lot of my events are not my own, so I have to come alive [as a sponsor] in someone else’s event. So how do I get people talking about my brand?” said Patrón planner Pam Dzierzanowski. She said these experiential programs are the answer: “I’ve done these all over the country for years. People will stand in line for 45 minutes—I’ve never seen anything like it.'](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2015/07/muddle_bar.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
Chefs including Food Network star Alex Guarnaschelli greeted fans and signed books at the Twitter Food-branded station during the Grand Tasting at Pier 94.
The liquor brand debuted its new flavored bourbon—Jim Beam Apple—with an impressive tree display featuring dangling fruit and samples at the Grand Tasting.
Festival attendees were able to print and mail a sharable postcard by using the hashtag #CocaColaNYC at the beverage brand's activation. Mini Coca-Cola-flavored cupcakes with buttercream frosting were up for grabs as well. The company also created mocktails at the Grand Tasting and handed out Coca-Cola Life samples during Pier 92 rooftop events.
Fans posed for a photo at the beverage brand's activation during the Jets & Chefs event.
At the media company's sixth annual Barbecue & the Blues event, which was hosted by the Travel Channel's Adam Richman and held at Good Units, guests enjoyed barbecue fare and played branded backyard games like cornhole.
In addition to samples of its popular coconut water, Vita Coco's activation also featured popcorn made with the brand's coconut oil.
The centerpiece of the brand’s activation at the festival was the Samsung Lounge, an immersive space located at Pier 92. There, attendees enjoyed snacks and one-on-one chef demos, as well as learned about Samsung's new products. The brand's appliances were also used during the culinary demonstrations at the Grand Tasting.
During the Pier 92 events, the online deals site turned things upside-down with two different photo booth vignettes, a topsy-turvy pizza parlor and a concert venue. The company was promoting its mission to help users discover new eats, events, and more.
A new vendor at this year's festival, the meal delivery service's activation consisted of an Airstream trailer with cooking demos and a “guess the spices” giveaway during the Grand Tasting.
For the Grand Tasting, the pasta brand parked its custom trailer—a renovated shipping container with a high-tech kitchen that debuted at last year's festival—on the Pier. Throughout the two-day event, Barilla chefs prepared recipes to promote the brand's products.
At the Grand Tasting, the wine company offered attendees tastings from its truck, which was decorated to resemble a quaint home on the side of the road.
Delta staff handed out branded wine lanyards to the crowd, while also serving up glasses of vino. A lush background of colorful autumnal leaves covered the Grand Tasting booth.
As the culinary destination of the year, Mexico hosted a special pavilion at the Grand Tasting. Mexican and American chefs teamed up to offer a collaborative menu of Mexican flavors.
Mohegan Sun, which sponsored all of the festival's late-night parties, handed out screen-printed tote bags at the Tacos & Tequila event, which was held at Urbo in Times Square.
Staff handed out dishes featuring the brand's pasta from the Pier 92 kitchen setup. The large build out served attendees during all of the rooftop events.
Attendees and staff posed with culinary props inside an oversize pasta box at the Ronzoni activation.
The liquor brand served cocktails in front of a vibrant greenery backdrop with its hashtag #LiveItalian made of blooms.
Guests were able to sit and relax at the company's tented lounge area, which was open during the Pier 92 rooftop events.
For a recent event at the Perot Museum of Science and Nature in Dallas, Wolfgang Puck Catering employed a "chef shadowbox." Meant to provide a strong visual behind a more standard food station, a chef in a shadowbox prepared appetizers as guests looked on.
Other new stations at Wolfgang Puck Catering include a frozen sushi station. The activation displays fresh fish and sushi rolls atop illuminated ice blocks with frozen orchids and other flowers inside.
In Chicago, Blue Plate Catering brings candy apple stations to holiday parties. Treats include apples dipped in caramel and assorted toppings and sliced up into snack-size portions.
The catering firm also has a new burrata action station. Staffers top the creamy cheese with toasted pine nuts and Italian muscat syrup. The snack is gluten-free.
Toronto catering firm Eatertainment has a new chef action station devoted to salmon gravlax. Salmon is hung from hooks above the station and is sliced to order in front of guests. The raw fish is then chopped and served with root-vegetable crisps, miniature greens, and spiced yogurt.
The Toronto firm is also using bar carts to display food items. One such spread, wheeled to tables at an event, offered snacks such as frittatas, foie gras, sliders, and lobster.
In Chicago, catering firm Limelight has an innovative format for serving fruit skewers. The fruits are inserted into a custom wall with thematic wallpaper design (which varies for different events). Guests approach the wall and pull of a skewer and can dip the fruit in sauces that are arrayed on a nearby table.
Instead of serving French fries at a stationary table, Limelight has used a wheelbarrow to deliver Belgian frites at events. The fries are served in cones, and assorted sauces are displayed on the side.
Limelight's "Smash It" station offers assorted homemade chocolate bark in flavors such as dark chocolate with dried cherries. Mallets next to the sweets let guests "smash" off a snack-size piece of the bark.
Roar Events produced a summertime event at Estancia La Jolla Hotel and Spa in Southern California. The dinner had a modern Mexican theme and featured an interactive margarita station. Guests chose the type and flavor of their tequila, as well as one of many specialty salts.
Guests who stopped by MTV's Noise Floor tent could post a photo to Instagram using the hashtag #MTVNoiseFloor and receive a printout to help build a mosaic.
More than 10,000 unique visitors came through the activation over the course of two days. Specialty cocktails such as the Bacardi Governors Punch were available for purchase at a bar constructed out of plastic crates.
Vita Coco had set pieces that guests could interact with for photos and social-media sharing.
The 10-camera Array from StudioBooth captures one moment from multiple angles to create dynamic 3-D gifs. It’s easy to set up and fits in a 10- by 10-foot space. The gifs can be shared immediately on social networks and via email.
Kiehl’s teamed up with Brooklyn-based artist, product designer, and animator Jeremyville for its new holiday gift sets ($30). The festive packages feature classic products from the beauty brand, including cleanser, facial cream, hand salve, and lip balm. Kiehl’s can also create custom gift sets with mix-and-match items (with a minimum of two and a maximum of five products).
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey-based entertainment provider Bounce Music and Entertainment recently debuted “The Coolest Most Amazing New York Candy Table in the Whole Word!” The custom New York City-theme tablescape features eight branding opportunities on the subway tiles, in addition to interactive branding or animation on the screens in mini Times Square. An attendant is also available to hand out customized candy bags to guests.
Inspired by the fashion magazine’s futuristic light tunnel-style photo booth at the Met Gala, which was held in May in New York, Coco Events allows guests to strike a pose and rock out to music during their photo session. The booth is approximately 8 feet deep and 6 feet wide, and rents for as many as five hours for $2,500. Guests receive a print and video via email.
Using a special polish and printing process, Nail Printing Events creates custom nail art, including emojis, logos, and even selfies. The designs are printed directly onto guests’ nails and can be removed with nail polish remover.
Franco Vitella Catered Affairs served up “dragon’s breath” popcorn made with liquid nitrogen. Flavored popcorn is tossed with and frozen by liquid nitrogen and then when the ice-cold popcorn is warmed up (thanks to body heat), clouds of cold air are released through guests’ mouth and nose.
This multi-camera photo experience from Pixperience surrounds guests, taking photos from 360-degree angles simultaneously and stitching them together to make the moment appear to rotate in space. Guests can share the image on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The setup can also be fully customized to match an event’s branding and theme.
Selffee’s technology uses edible food coloring to print directly onto coffee, cold drinks, cupcakes, cookies, and more. After guests take a selfie, their high-quality image is printed on the treat and is available to eat almost immediately. Selffee is available in the New York City area for social or corporate events.
Mixologist Jason Kindness offers boozy teambuilding activities such as Mixology 101, in which teams create an original cocktail in 10 minutes and then present it to judges. In addition, his Newport, Rhode Island-based company also provides cocktail-making lessons for groups, as well as serving private events. Plus, the Kind Spirits offers cocktail consulting services to venues.
In addition to professional bartending services, New York-based cocktail caterer Bar Club also provides a handcrafted mobile bar that’s customizable to any space and is available for rent alone or with accompanying staff.
