Founded in 1999, CHAMPS has spent more than two decades as the country’s leading B2B counterculture trade show. This year’s summer show returned to the Las Vegas Convention Center August 26-28, bringing brands, retailers, artists and buyers together for three days of networking, product launches and deal-making.
But the longstanding event looked a little different than in years past. Cannabis Now Founder and CEO Eugenio Garcia, who has attended CHAMPS for more than 10 years, was on the floor to see how exhibitors and buyers were navigating a changing market—and whether the show’s smaller footprint made a difference.
CHAMPS Trade Shows | Dabsel Adams
One Level, Same Energy
In previous years, CHAMPS spread across two levels of the Convention Center. This time, the entire show was consolidated onto a single floor, a change Garcia said worked in the event’s favor.
“CHAMPS was definitely smaller this year, but it didn’t feel empty,” he said. “Consolidating everything onto one floor actually made the show feel full, energetic and very business-focused. There were a lot of real conversations happening.”
William Rekel, founder and CEO of Denver-based Blazy Susan, has attended CHAMPS for the better part of a decade and echoed that sentiment from his booth on the floor. “I love the smaller footprint. I’ve been coming here for seven or eight years now, and it feels a lot better when there’s not too much space,” Rekel said. “It feels condensed, it feels busy, so I think it’s going to be a good show.”
With the booths concentrated onto a single level, the tradeshow had a more compact feel, putting exhibitors and attendees closer together and keeping the action concentrated in one place.
New Brands Still Placing Bets
Part of what shaped this year’s floor plan was the ongoing uncertainty around hemp regulation, with a federal ban on hemp-derived THC products set to take effect in December. Several hemp companies that might have exhibited in past years sat this one out while they wait to see how the rules shake out.
Even so, Garcia said the brands that did show up brought real momentum with them.
“You could see the uncertainty around hemp reflected in who wasn’t exhibiting, but what stood out to me was who was still showing up,” Garcia said. “We met new brands entering the market for the first time, particularly in beverages, with a lot of optimism about where the industry goes next.”
Among them was Jolly, a CBD and hemp company whose president and co-founder, Zach Gleason, stayed upbeat about both CHAMPS and his company’s future regardless of how the regulatory picture develops. Jolly has already built out East Coast distribution, including availability through DoorDash in select markets.
Dallas-based Lantana, a THC-infused seltzer brand led by owner Brad G., made its CHAMPS debut this year, a first-timer’s bet on a category other brands are bracing to defend. Show veterans
