I noticed that many exhibitors had dedicated much of their floorspace to networking with clients , rather than just making their stands look pretty for consumers .
There were a lot of stands with relatively large private meeting rooms to conduct business deals , demonstrating that the organisers ’ boasts of putting business first was not just hype .
Another sign here that the industry is more mature than it once was , could be found within the conference zone at the back of the hall .
I have been to many vape expos where the organisers would be lucky to get a handful of people turning up to listen to the live talks .
Very often the audience would consist of consumers just taking a break from bagging freebies .
These people were more interested in boasting on social media about the swag they had collected than actually listening to the people on stage .
However , this show was very different .
There was a packed programme of talks throughout the two days , with many distinguished experts discussing a range of topics including vape regulation , consumer trends , the scourge of misinformation , advocacy and more .
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