The drink and beverage industry relies on events to get the word out about their latest products.
But even if a company has the best new energy drink or hard cider, attracting attendees to your booth for a sample — and potential business deal — requires savvy marketing and an impressive event setup.
Over the past several years, TentCraft has helped a number of beverage brands, from small start-ups to well-established players in the industry, stand out at events with custom tents and structures that are both functional and aethetically pleasing.
Here are our favorite drink sampling tents — all proudly made in the USA:
C4 Smart Energy Storefront Tent
We’ve worked with C4 for a couple of years now, most recently helping the energy drink maker rebrand all of its event assets with new messaging and a fresh color scheme.
The photo above is from the 2024 South by Southwest (SXSW), where the brand debuted its new MONARCHSTOREFRONT, a heavy-duty, custom-printed pop-up tent with a unique canopy designed for maximum branding real estate.
To complete the setup, C4 anchored its tent with a branded barrel beverage coolers (try saying that five times fast!).
A 10x10 with Peak Flag for Hinny Hard Seltzer
TentCraft and Hinny Hard Seltzer share a lot in common. We’re both veteran-owned businesses, and we both are dedicated to producing super high-quality products.
We’re big fans of their 10x10 MONARCHTENT for three reasons:
1) They use it all the time, so they needed a reliable, heavy-duty frame that comes with certified wind ratings.
2) They included counters! One of the first tent accessories we recommend to beverage brands that are sampling at events are tent counters. They not only make it easy to pour beverages, but make it more comfortable for attendees to engage with your brand. There’s nothing better than leaning into the counter, sipping a seltzer, and carrying a conversation.
3) The donkey peak flag! We love that little guy because it’s such a cool way to be spotted and stand out at an event. The MONARCHTENT Peak Flag tops your height visibility out at about 17 feet, which (you can assume) will give you the tallest tent at most events.
Fass Brewing’s Classic mightyTENT
Sometimes less is more with a pop-up tent. And that is certainly the case for a custom project for Fass, a craft brewery in Conroe, Texas, north of Houston.
The brewery unveiled its new 10x10 mightyTENT at a recent event in downtown Conroe. They set it up in the middle of the town’s main corridor — the perfect location to serve up brews and promote their business.
The tent’s valance features a graphic of the brewery’s historical building along with its name. The yellow color definitely stood out at the crowded event. For additional branding and better aesthetics, the brewery attached a custom-printed backwall — an ideal backdrop for the bartender working the taps.
Game Up’s Quick-Deploy Beverage Stall
Game Up sells adult sports drinks that they dub as “hard hydration.” Their field marketing team needed a quick-deploy structure that could fit in a sedan and be set up by one person. They ended up going with TentCraft’s custom MONARCHSTALL.
The MONARCHSTALL is a pop-up tent alternative that uses the same heavy-duty framework as a our MONARCHTENT. It can easily fit inside a a full-size sedan and can be set up in about 5 minutes when you have two people (it takes a little longer if you’re doing it solo).
Game Up took its beverage sampling actiation up a notch with a custom-printed mightyTABLE, an event counter that is wrapped in additional branding, while providing hidden storage for empty beverage boxes and more.
Vibrant SEG Backdrop for Waterloo
When it comes to backdrops for indoor events and trade shows, SEG (silicone edge graphics) is the industry standard. Waterloo, a fast-growing sparkling water company, took their activation to the next level with a 20x8 SEG backdrop.
The photo above doesn't show a tent — it’s a great example of what you can do indoors to easily promote your beverage brand.
That doesn't mean, though, that Waterloo doesn't exhibt outdoors. They're big-time users of our custom-printed inflatable GYBE tents:
Hochstadter’s Slow & Low Storefront Tent
Whiskey brand Slow & Low (Cooper Spirits Company) wanted a distinct pop-up tent for tastings around the country that stood out, but stayed true to the company’s classic branding.
The MONARCHSTOREFRONT is a heavy-duty pop-up tent that gives a large, billboard-style front valance on top of the same heavy-duty framework of the MONARCHTENT collection.
To complete the activation — and make serving easier — the brand invested in two custom-printed mightyTABLEs.
Modelo's 10x20 MONARCHTENT for Custom Shop Tour
The Modelo Custom Shop traveled across the country celebrating local artists who embody the same fighting spirit as the popular beer brand.
The 10x20 MONARCHTENT was big enough to park the iconic Model Custom Shop van underneath, making it the perfect spot to enjoy a cold one.
Pacifico’s Grand Storefront Setup
Popular beer brand Pacifico took their MONARCHSTOREFRONT pop-up tent to the next level by adding counters around three sides of its 10x20 frame and closing it off with a fully-printed backwall. Hall walls around the tent with the brand’s motto, “Live Life Anchors Up” closed off the counters, allowing reps to store empty boxes and bottles out of sight.
The brand also included a photo experience for patrons with custom-printed backdrops flanking both sides of their tent.
Bluebird Hardwater's Pagoda-Style Tent
Bluebird Hardwater is a unique hard beverage brand that sells a refreshing hard beverage using water and one of three liquors — vodka, tequilla, or whiskey. Made with real spirits and pure water, it's marketed as the perfect balance on a summer day.
The brand's field marketing invested in TentCraft's MONARCHREACH, a pagoda-style tent that extends canopy coverage by 18 inches on all four sides — making it the perfect tent for beverage sampling in inclement weather because patrons can sip on your samples at the counter, while staying out of the rain.
Find Your Beverage Sampling Tent Today
TentCraft has helped numerous beverage brands activate at events across the country. Is yours next? Send us a note and let's get started on your project today.
