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There are many ways to stand out at a trade show, but few are as effective as knowing exactly who you want to talk to and what you want to say when you find them.
That was the clear lesson to me from EFTTEX 2025 in Brussels – and nowhere was it demonstrated better than on the booth of a first-time exhibitor from China, Goofun Fishing.
Goofun may have been new to EFTTEX, but it arrived with a level of preparation and purpose that put many more established brands in the shade. Its owner, Sam Fu, had defined his company’s ideal customer before the show opened its doors – small and emerging lure brands looking for design and manufacturing expertise they could trust. His message to them was equally precise: we will make a free sample worth $500 for you and bring it to the show.
It was a simple way to demonstrate Goofun’s professional OEM services. Not a new idea, sure, but I didn’t see anyone else doing it.
By keeping both its audience and offer so sharply focused, Goofun turned what could have been an unremarkable debut into one of the busiest stands at the show. Over the course of three days, it welcomed more than 30 potential customers – most with a clear business purpose and an appetite to collaborate. Deals were already in motion before the company’s team boarded their flight home to China.
That is how lead generation works in today’s global tackle industry: not by broadcasting to everyone, but by speaking directly to those who will most value what you can do. Trade shows like EFTTEX are built on connections, but connections alone don’t make business happen. What makes business happen is clarity – clarity of who you serve, what you offer and why it matters.
That same principle lies at the heart of Angling International. Every story we publish, every product we feature, every campaign we support is designed to connect buyers and suppliers in the most direct and meaningful way possible. Just as Goofun identified its perfect customer profile and shaped its message around it, we help the global tackle trade do the same – by placing your message in front of the right audience. We are helping you make long-term matches.
There’s also a deeper message here about how smaller and newer companies can succeed on the world stage. Goofun didn’t try to act like a giant manufacturer. Instead, it built its proposition around what it could genuinely do better – agility, creativity and efficiency. Its ‘VIP service‘ for small and emerging brands turns size into an advantage: faster decisions, faster design and a more personal service.
Goofun’s success in Brussels proves that even a brand with no profile can create powerful momentum if it focuses on what its customers really need. But here’s the reality: not every stand at EFTTEX was buzzing like Goofun’s. This year’s show was quieter than many had hoped, with too few visitors and too few exhibitors who had connected with their audience beforehand with the same clarity and purpose.
Unless more companies start approaching trade shows the way Goofun does – identifying their ideal customers and making a compelling, specific offer – the event risks losing its value for all but a small minority of buyers and sellers.
EFTTEX should be a vital meeting point for the industry in Europe, but its long-term health depends on exhibitors doing their part to generate real interest and activity. If that doesn’t happen, the show will struggle to remain a viable business for its organiser. There are not enough Goofuns out there right now – and that should serve as a wake-up call for everyone who wants EFTTEX, and all other trade shows that support our industry, to thrive in the years ahead.
