PLMA World of Private Label 2027: how a food exporter should prepare

When and where

PLMA’s World of Private Label 2027 is on Tuesday 25 and Wednesday 26 May 2027 at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre. It is run every year by the Private Label Manufacturers Association International Council, which describes it as the largest concentration of private label professionals in the industry. Read on plmainternational.com in October 2026.

Who goes, and who pays

This show runs the other way round from most. The buyers are retailers and wholesalers looking for manufacturers to make their own-brand products, and the organiser gives verified full-time staff of retail and wholesale companies free registration. Manufacturers, distributors, brokers, agents and consultants who come to visit pay a registration fee, which includes Dutch VAT and is not refundable. The fee schedule is on the organiser’s registration page.

It is for trade professionals only, and you need a business card to register. Registration is online and in advance only; the organiser says there is no registration at the show. Nobody under 16 is allowed on the show floor. If you need a visa, the organiser sends invitation letters to registered visitors only, so register early.

What that means for you: if you make products that a supermarket could sell under its own name, the people walking this show are looking for you. You can exhibit, or visit and pay the manufacturer fee. Either way, the meetings worth having are with retail and wholesale buyers, not with other manufacturers.

Four to six weeks before

Decide which retailers and markets you want. A private label buyer is filling a particular shelf in particular stores. Pick the chains whose own-brand shelf you could fill, and the countries you can ship to.

Write to them before you travel. One line on what you make, one on which part of their own-brand range it fits, and a request for fifteen minutes. If you are exhibiting, give them your stand number.

Prepare what a private label buyer asks for. Your capacity, the certifications your factory holds, the packaging formats you can run, your minimum order per label, and your lead times. Have it on one page, ready to send the same week.

Check your email arrives. A note in a spam folder looks exactly like a note that was ignored. Our guide on why buyer emails go to spam covers the three records to check.

During the show

Write on the back of every card that evening: which range they were buying for, what they asked, what you promised. Two days of meetings blur together fast.

Keep the price for the follow-up. A private label price depends on volume, format and packaging. A considered quote by email is better than a number guessed on the stand.

After the show

Send what you promised in the first few days, then one short, personal note to everybody else, then one or two more over the following weeks, each with something new to say. Our trade show follow-up guide has the week-by-week plan and three short notes you can adapt.

The short version

PLMA Amsterdam 2027 is 25 and 26 May at the RAI. Retail and wholesale buyers register free; manufacturers who visit pay a fee, and everyone registers online in advance. Pick the retailers whose own-brand shelf you could fill, write to them first, keep the price for a written quote, and follow up within the week.

Next: How to follow up with buyers after a food trade show