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The Gathering brings together the top retailers and manufacturers in the gift and souvenir industry, providing the perfect setting to build long-term business relationships and close deals. With a focus on high-quality connections, the event's success depends on getting the right people together, but the team lacked visibility into whether buyers and exhibitors were actually connecting. Appointments often happened informally, with no way of monitoring engagement.
To balance structured meetings with genuine relationship building, Clarion Events needed a platform that provided operational insights without disrupting the event's natural flow.
With Grip Engage powering the meeting experience, Clarion Events now has access to the visibility and structure they need to help attendees get the most out of The Gathering. This has resulted in some participants securing million dollar deals at the show.
Participants embraced the platform over time, using it to book meetings and keep track of all the different events going on. Meanwhile, the organizers can now monitor engagement in real time and proactively resolve any potential issues. With carefully curated networking moments, from shared meals to themed parties, the result is an environment where structured appointments and organic interactions combine for a truly memorable event.
Grip's Event App enables us to be more proactive and address any issues before we even get on site.
Each year, millions of tourists leave attractions with souvenirs in their bags, from keyrings and mugs to branded t-shirts and plushies. However, what most of those visitors never see is the network of relationships between retailers and manufacturers that determines what ends up on those shelves.
Every one of those souvenirs is carefully selected from countless options, with purchasing decisions made months in advance. Retailers must identify products that will resonate with their visitors, while manufacturers work hard to design merchandise that fits each attraction's brand and audience. Strong relationships are vital.
This is where The Gathering comes in. Designed to stand out from other trade shows, The Gathering is an exclusive hosted buyer event, where every detail, from meals to hotel stays, is taken care of for qualifying attendees.
While other events try to get as many people through the door as possible, The Gathering is all about quality over quantity. Buyers must meet a strict set of criteria, including a minimum annual souvenir purchasing budget of $1 million. Think major theme parks, amusement parks, zoos and resorts – the Disneys and Universals of the retail world.
The bar is equally high on the exhibitor side, with participation limited to 100 companies. "We carefully curate the show so that there aren't too many exhibitors in any one particular product category," explains Lisa Berry, Group VP of Gift and Souvenir at Clarion Events. "If there are too many, it becomes overwhelming for buyers and nobody succeeds."
"It puts them on a level playing field," adds Nadira Ramatally, Marketing Director at Clarion Events. "They don't have to compete against dozens of identical suppliers, and no one is promoted over anyone else. They've all got fair representation throughout the show."
The outcome is an event created to spark meaningful conversations that often lead to lasting partnerships and significant business deals being done at the event itself – some have been over a million dollars.
Each year, around 300 qualified buyers and 100 exhibiting companies arrive at the Gathering with the goal of finding new business partners and exploring new potential opportunities. Meetings typically take place directly at exhibitor booths, where manufacturers can showcase their products and buyers can review items in detail.
However, it wasn't always easy to keep track of those meetings.
"We used to just provide the buyer lists, then exhibitors would reach out to those buyers directly and make appointments," explains Nadira. "We had no visibility into what appointments were being made, how many appointments were being made or the quality of the buyers."
Now, rather than leaving those connections to chance, the team uses Grip's event platform to help the organizers and participants get the best out of every conversation. Using Grip Engage, specifically the company's Event App, participants can browse profiles and request appointments before the show begins. By the time attendees arrive on site, much of the schedule is already in place.
"At The Gathering, people have more time," says Lisa. "They have the time to sit down, have conversations and show their designs." With a more relaxed atmosphere, meetings go on as long as they need to. Some of the meetings scheduled through Grip were four hours long, allowing buyers plenty of time to review samples, explore customization options and write orders.
The Clarion Events team has also incorporated other methods to make those meetings more productive. For example, the team introduced a dedicated Buyer Preview Week. Before the Grip meeting portal opens to exhibitors, buyers can login and request meetings on their own terms. This helps protect the buyer experience and prevent their calendars from being overfilled with exhibitor meeting requests.
Behind the scenes, Clarion Events closely monitors meeting activity through the Grip dashboard. If buyers haven't logged in or if their calendar's empty, the team takes action. "If a buyer doesn't have any appointments, it's a red flag," explains Lisa. "We'll call, email, text, whatever it takes to get in touch."
The meetings are a key part of the event, but Clarion Events has created an atmosphere that encourages business relationships to develop beyond the booth.
For several days, buyers and exhibitors share the same environment, from breakfast through to evening meals. During lunch hours, the exhibition hall closes to encourage attendees to step away from the booths and spend time talking with each other. Over time, this dynamic has helped create a sense of community. Participants begin to recognize familiar faces from other shows and relationships deepen.
Along with buyers and exhibitors connecting, Lisa has also seen plenty of peer-to-peer relationships blossom. "You'll see a lot of exhibitors become friends, maybe more experienced companies helping out the newer exhibitors and taking them under their wing. It's the same with retailers. They'll meet up, exchange business ideas and discuss the latest trends. It's a very amicable, fun environment."
Clarion Events has also introduced some lighter moments to help participants break the ice. One of the most anticipated evening events is the show's themed costume party, where participants arrive in elaborate outfits. Teams have shown up as jellyfish, complete with clear umbrellas trailing strings of tentacles. Others have come as a full cast of Star Wars characters, a group of holidays personified and even an ageing Mario and Luigi, wrinkles and all.
"People come prepared," says Nadira. "They're travelling from all over the country with these elaborate costumes. They really go all out."
Themed dinners, an annual off-site event, and open-bar evening receptions round out the program, creating a relaxed environment where conversations flow naturally.
For Clarion Events, using Grip Engage has brought much-needed structure and visibility to the meetings, resulting in a better outcome for everyone involved.
77% of attendees actively used the event app. Buyers and exhibitors sent 7,809 meeting requests through the platform, resulting in 2,371 confirmed appointments and an impressive 85% response rate. That translates to an average of 10 booked meetings per participant, with a 15% increase in total connections YoY. Attendee NPS consistently sits in the high 70s year on year, with satisfaction scores in the 80s and 90s on both the buyer and exhibitor side.
When it comes to retention, over 80% of exhibitors return to the show each year, a rate that speaks volumes about the value they find at The Gathering. "This is an order writing show," says Lisa. "Even just one meeting can turn into a $50,000 order. For some of our exhibitors, The Gathering is literally a million-dollar show."
"Ever since we started using Grip, we've been able to increasingly control the buyer quality," says Lisa. "Before, we didn't know if those buyers were just hanging out by the pool or if they were actually keeping their appointments. Now we can see how busy they are. We can see how long they stay in the booth. There's so much that's given us."
The Gathering has come a long way, but the Clarion Events team shows no sign of resting on its laurels. On the experience side, the team is exploring new ways to engineer the moments of serendipity that have always set The Gathering apart. Ideas on the table include speed networking, assigned seating at meals to encourage fresh conversations and other formats designed to draw attendees out of their usual circles.
Beyond the social program, the team has a clear ambition for the platform too. As data becomes an increasingly powerful tool across the events industry, Lisa wants to give exhibitors even greater insight into the buyers they're about to meet. The aim is to make every appointment as productive as possible before anyone has even shaken hands.
However, the number one priority is buyer quality. "Our main focus always starts with the buyers," says Lisa. "How do we get the best buyers to this event? Because at the end of the day, we can have the best parties, but if we don't have the right quality people there, it doesn't matter."
That means looking beyond the existing buyer pool and actively targeting new regions, including attracting more major resorts and retailers from the Caribbean to next year's event. With Grip providing the visibility and insight to support its continued evolution, The Gathering is well-positioned to cement its role as the premier hosted buyer event in the gift and souvenir industry.
Everything at The Gathering is designed with the buyer experience in mind. When buyers have a great experience, exhibitors see stronger ROI. When exhibitors see strong ROI, they come back. "One thing we do is give every buyer a big goodie bag filled with exhibitor products," says Nadira. "It's a good way for exhibitors to introduce their products, plus it's something that buyers really look forward to."
One of the biggest advantages of using an event platform is visibility. The organizers require everyone to actively engage with the online meeting portal, enabling the team to closely monitor activity in the weeks leading up to the show. "Grip's Event App enables us to be more proactive and address any issues before we even get on site," says Nadira.
While meetings are central to the event, the team recognizes that some of the most valuable connections happen outside scheduled appointments. "It's about connections and experiences that happen beyond the platform," says Lisa. "We're always working on ways to help people go from meeting appointments to more casual conversations over a meal. That's how you create and evolve those connections."
The Gathering uses Grip Engage, an AI-powered event platform developed by Grip. It powers the pre-scheduled meeting system that allows buyers and exhibitors to browse profiles, request appointments, and build personalised schedules before the show begins. Clarion Events also uses Grip's real-time dashboard to monitor attendee engagement and intervene proactively if participants are not booking meetings.
In the most recent edition of The Gathering, 2,371 meetings were confirmed through the Grip platform, with an 85% response rate to meeting requests and 77% of attendees actively using the event app. Attendees sent 7,809 meeting requests in total, averaging 10 booked meetings per participant — a 15% increase in total connections year-on-year. Attendee NPS consistently sits in the high 70s, and over 80% of exhibitors return to the show each year.
A hosted buyer event is a format where the organiser covers costs — hotel, meals, and sometimes travel — for pre-qualified buyers in exchange for their commitment to attend a set number of pre-scheduled meetings with exhibiting suppliers. Unlike open trade shows, participation is by invitation only and meeting schedules are arranged in advance using a matchmaking platform. The Gathering is one of the most prominent hosted buyer events in the gift and souvenir industry.
The Gathering is organised by Clarion Events. The show is managed by Lisa Berry, Group VP of Gift and Souvenir at Clarion Events, and Nadira Ramatally, Marketing Director at Clarion Events. It takes place annually and brings together approximately 300 qualified buyers and 100 exhibiting companies from the gift and souvenir industry.
Grip Engage is an event engagement platform that combines an event app, AI-powered matchmaking, and a pre-scheduled meetings system. It allows event organisers to manage the full meeting lifecycle — from profile creation and meeting requests through to on-site scheduling and post-event analytics — while giving attendees a simple way to discover relevant contacts and manage their time at the event.
Grip gives hosted buyer event organisers the visibility and control they need to ensure every participant gets maximum value from the show. Buyers can initiate meeting requests before exhibitors gain access, protecting the buyer experience. Organisers can monitor meeting activity in real time, clear stale requests that are blocking exhibitor calendars, and proactively contact participants who haven't yet booked appointments. This structured approach is what enables events like The Gathering to consistently deliver high response rates and strong exhibitor ROI.
The Gathering is an exclusive hosted buyer event for the gift and souvenir industry. With Grip Engage powering the meeting experience, Clarion Events gained full visibility into attendee engagement — resulting in 2,371 confirmed appointments, an 85% response rate, and some participants securing million-dollar deals at the show.
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