The Future Trends for Music Festival Vendors.

Vendors are an integral part of every music festival providing essential on-site services as well as generating significant income for organisers. Festival-goer audiences are getting more sophisticated and their needs and desires are changing. This shift needs to be reflected in the range and types of vendors selected by organisers for each festival.

As well as the changing requirements of festival-goers additional factors like advancements in technology and adherence to sustainability are impacting on the vendors seen on a music festival site. Organisers need to keep up-to-date and adapt to changing consumer needs and external factors driving the event vendor sector to ensure they book relevant and appropriate vendors. 

Music Festival Vendor Landscape. 
The days of the fast-food burger and chips vendor may be numbered, the range and variety of food and beverages now offered has changed significantly in recent years. A combination of new technologies, sustainability efforts, and shifting consumer preferences are driving these changes. Some of these shifts have spawned an increase in prices for festival-goers and organisers are increasingly looking for a balance between variety, sustainability and value for money. 

Types of Offerings. 
The most common vendor types found on festival sites are food and beverage suppliers who are an essential part of the infrastructure. The focus now and in the future is for sustainable and health-conscious food options with vendors offering vegan, plant based and non-allergen friendly ingredients. Beverages are increasingly more varied with a focus on specialty micro-breweries offering alcoholic beers for example. Merchandise vendors selling T-shirts, hats and bags now have a focus on sustainability and ethical fair trade with upcycled materials becoming more popular. With advancements in technology more festival-goers are dependent on their mobile devices so there is an increasing demand for charging stations and supporting tech products or services. In recent years there has been growth in vendors offering experiences which can vary between wellness (yoga, meditation and massage) and food cooking lessons for example. 

Technology. 
One of the biggest changes in recent year has been the explosion of technology in the music festival sector. RFID wristbands and cashless payments are now commonplace. Some organisers allow funds to be uploaded to RFID wristbands which can then be used to make purchases from vendors. All vendors should have the ability to integrate seamlessly with organisers preferences and in any event as a minimum should be able to accept digital payments like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and crypto options. In addition, vendors should, where possible, integrate with any dedicated festival App allowing festival-goers to find what they want more easily. Food and beverage vendors are increasingly digitising their menus allowing for festival-goers to order what they want through an App (contactless ordering). In some instances, vendors may offer festival-goers an option to pre-order prior to the festival dates allowing them to specify a time and date for example. 

Size Variations.
Most festival organisers offer a variety of pitch sizes at different costs with the option for pre-built modular spaces. A standard stall using modular components is more suitable for merchandise vendors whereas food and beverage venders are more likely to use mobile vans and require the space only. Larger corporate vendors and sponsors will usually have a pitch space that is custom designed and built on a well-positioned pitch space that is considerably larger than the average pitch space. Organisers will put an emphasis on all vendors for zero waste solutions and embracing substantiality in their construction and operation. 

For festival organisers planning their next events using a software management platform like Festival Pro gives them all the functionality they need manage every aspect of their event logistics including a dedicated vendor module. The guys who are responsible for this software have been in the front line of event management for many years and the features are built from that experience and are performance artists themselves. The Festival Pro platform is easy to use and has comprehensive features with specific modules for managing artists, contractors, venues/stages, vendors, volunteers, sponsors, guestlists, ticketing, site planning, cashless payments and contactless ordering.

Image by Immanuel MacCarthy via Pexels

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