The Indian Exhibitions, Conferences and Event Services Association is organising the 5th edition of India Expo Shop 2025 on 12th August 2025 at Yashobhoomi, New Delhi. In this exclusive Interview with Ms. Uma Menon, we have discussed about the objective behind organising India Expo Shop, it’s contribution to the Industry and the Road Ahead!
TFT: Please tell us about IESA, its Inception, Mission and Vision!
Ms. Uma Menon: In April 2013, a group of leading event-services providers began efforts to establish a national association representing exhibition, conference, and event service firms in India.
Mission:-
IESA works to advance and professionalize India’s exhibitions, conferences, and events services industry. Its core purposes include:
- Representing service providers collectively before government bodies, regulators, clients, and international stakeholders.
- Addressing operational and policy problems, from taxation and compliance (e.g. GST, e‑way billing) to safety standards and contract frameworks.
- Hosting annual exhibitions (India Expo Shop), conferences, seminars, training workshops.
- Facilitating industry-wide collaborations, forming sub-committees, zones, alliances with other associations, and publishing newsletters and directories to enhance visibility and engagement.
Vision:-
- To become the apex national body representing exhibition, conference, and event service providers across India—offering a unified voice and shaping industry standards.
- To elevate India’s exhibitions & events services to global standards through professionalization, innovation, safety, and policy reform.
TFT: IESA is organizing the India Expo Shop 2025 on 12th of August, please tell our readers about the expo, its inception and purpose behind organizing it!
Ms. Uma Menon: India Expo Shop 2025 is India’s premier B2B exhibition exclusively focused on showcasing the capabilities, innovations, and excellence of the exhibitions, conferences, and events services industry. Organized by the Indian Exhibitions, Conferences & Events Services Association (IESA), this platform brings together key stakeholders, including event infrastructure providers, service specialists, venue operators, exhibition organizers, and technology suppliers under one roof.
This year’s it is 5th edition, scheduled for 12th August 2025, is expected to be bigger and more dynamic than ever—creating unmatched networking, business development, and knowledge-sharing opportunities.
Inception of India Expo Shop:
The first edition of India Expo Shop was launched in April 2016 inspired by the global model of EuroShop. The goal was to create a national platform where the backbone of the exhibition industry—the service providers—could present their expertise, innovations, and infrastructure to event organizers and corporate clients.
Since then, the event has evolved into a benchmark B2B trade show, with editions held in Mumbai and Greater Noida With every passing year, it has grown in participation, scale, and industry relevance.
Purpose Behind Organizing the Expo
The core purpose of India Expo Shop is to:
- Recognize and showcase the service ecosystem powering India’s exhibition and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) industry—spanning fabrication, logistics, booth design, lighting, AV, electricals, branding, security, and more.
- Facilitate business opportunities by bringing together buyers (organizers, venue owners, corporates, Governments and PSU’s) and sellers (service providers) on a unified, focused platform.
- Promote innovation and excellence, with live demonstrations of new materials, event technologies, and infrastructure solutions.
- Uplift industry standards by encouraging knowledge exchange, training, safety awareness, and the adoption of global best practices in events and exhibition execution.
- Foster community building among service providers from across the country and beyond, reinforcing IESA’s mission of creating a structured, professional, and collaborative ecosystem.
TFT: The Indian Exhibition and Events Market is valued at USD 5.66 billion and is estimated to reach USD 8.44 billion by 2030. How exhibitions like India Expo Shop will help in this journey?
Ms. Uma Menon: India’s exhibition and events market is on a sharp growth trajectory—from USD 5.66 billion currently to an estimated USD 8.44 billion by 2030. This growth is being driven by rising domestic demand, global interest, infrastructure expansion, and a maturing service ecosystem.
In this context, exhibitions like India Expo Shop, organized by the Indian Exhibitions, Conferences & Events Services Association (IESA), are not just industry showcases—they are growth enablers.
India Expo Shop contributes to this journey by:
- Strengthening the Backbone of the Industry
- Driving B2B Opportunities
- Promoting Standardization & Global Best Practices
- Catalyzing Innovation & Technology Adoption
- Building a Stronger National Ecosystem
- Policy Advocacy & Government Engagement
TFT: What types of service providers and stakeholders can attendees expect to meet at this year’s edition?
Ms. Uma Menon:
At India Expo Shop 2025, attendees can expect to meet a diverse and comprehensive lineup of service providers and industry stakeholders—representing every facet of the exhibitions, conferences, and events ecosystem.
The types of participants visitors can expect to interact with:
- Temporary Infrastructure Providers
- Booth Designers & Fabricators
- Electrical & Lighting Contractors
- Audio-Visual (AV) & Technical Suppliers
- Flooring & Carpeting Experts
- Furniture & Decor Suppliers
- Branding & Signage Partners
- Rigging, Trussing & Stage Setup Providers
- Registration & Badge Printing Solutions
- Event Management Agencies etc…….
TFT: Are there any new technologies or innovations being showcased at this edition of India Expo Shop?
Ms. Uma Menon: At this year’s India Expo Shop, IESA introduces a wave of cutting-edge innovations shaping the future of India’s exhibitions, conferences, and events industry. With over 100 leading suppliers onsite, attendees will see how technology, design, and sustainability are converging to elevate the MICE ecosystem nationwide.
- EventFull Bharat 1.0 – MICE Innovation Platform – This year marks the debut of EventFull Bharat, a curated initiative spotlighting startups and new-age ventures in the event services space. Participants will pitch live to a jury of industry leaders, investors, and global buyers—making it a launchpad for disruptive thinking in exhibitions and events
- Sustainable & Eco-Friendly Infrastructure – Eco-conscious infrastructure is a key focus: exhibitors will showcase modular booth systems made with biodegradable materials, zero-waste event solutions, energy-efficient lighting, and power-saving tech components, reflecting India’s growing green events agenda
- Smart Registration & Visitor Engagement – Digital registration setups, onboarding kiosks, visitor lead scanning tools, and predictive analytics dashboards will be on display, offering seamless visitor management and event reporting capabilities.
- Audio-Visual & Stage Innovation – From LED wall solutions and projection mapping to synchronized multi-zone lighting and interactive stage setups, these technologies enable immersive visitor experiences and sophisticated brand presentations
TFT: How does IESA ensure quality and standards in the event service ecosystem represented at India Expo Shop?
Ms. Uma Menon: The Indian Exhibitions, Conferences & Events Services Association (IESA) is deeply committed to raising the bar of professionalism and operational excellence in the Indian event services industry. At India Expo Shop, this commitment is brought to life through a structured approach to quality assurance, industry standards, and compliance.
Here’s how IESA ensures high standards at the show:
- Curated & Vetted Exhibitor Participation
Only qualified, experienced, and compliant service providers are invited to exhibit. IESA ensures that participants meet defined criteria in terms of:
- Years of experience in the industry
- Track record of safe and timely service delivery
- Ethical business conduct and client satisfaction
This curated approach ensures that only credible, dependable partners are showcased.
- Code of Conduct & Operational Guidelines
IESA enforces a formal Code of Conduct for all members and exhibitors—covering safety norms, worker welfare, delivery timelines, and ethical practices. These guidelines are built into the India Expo Shop exhibitor agreement, ensuring that all stakeholders adhere to industry best practices.
- Technical Training & Certification
Through its year-round initiatives, IESA invests in the skilling and upskilling of technicians, fabricators, electricians, and AV specialists. The impact is reflected at India Expo Shop, where:
- Exhibitors demonstrate advanced workmanship
- Safety-trained staff are deployed
- Certified personnel represent their firms
- Industry Collaboration & Continuous Improvement
IESA works with:
- Venue authorities (e.g., India Expo Centre, Yashobhoomi, Bharat Mandapam etc.)
- Trade bodies (EPCH, IEIA, FICCI, CII)
- Government stakeholders
to regularly update quality frameworks, infrastructure protocols, and service models.
TFT: What challenges have the organizing committee faced while curating such a specialized exhibition, and how have they tackled them?
Ms. Uma Menon: Organizing a niche B2B exhibition like India Expo Shop—dedicated solely to exhibition, event, and conference service providers—is a complex task. The IESA organizing committee has consistently tackled several key challenges over the years to ensure the success and integrity of this specialized platform.
Here are the main challenges—and how IESA has addressed them:
1.Fragmentation of the Event Services Industry
- Challenge:
India’s exhibition services sector is highly fragmented, with hundreds of small and medium-sized vendors spread across regions. Standardizing practices and bringing them under one professional banner has been a long-standing challenge. - Solution:
IESA undertook an extensive national outreach, forming regional chapters, onboarding local players through awareness drives, and offering training, certification, and professional networking to align regional vendors with national-level expectations. India Expo Shop became the central platform for uniting this fragmented network.
- Securing Participation from the Right Audience
- Challenge:
Being a specialized show, India Expo Shop must attract the right mix of exhibition organizers, venue owners, corporate decision-makers, and buyers—not just general visitors. - Solution:
The committee curated a targeted visitor outreach strategy—collaborating with venue partners, associations (like IEIA, EEMA, ICPB), and trade bodies. It also ran personalized B2B matchmaking, hosted buyer-seller meets, and offered curated exhibitor experiences for top-tier decision-makers.
- Financial Constraints for SMEs in Exhibiting
Challenge:
Many quality-driven small and mid-sized vendors hesitate to participate due to budget limitations or uncertainty about ROI.
Solution:
IESA introduced affordable booth packages, Eventfull Bharat, shared pavilions, and sponsorship subsidies to encourage broader participation. It also ensured high-value networking and B2B lead generation so that every rupee spent leads to tangible business.
TFT: What is the one thing you are most excited about in this year’s edition of India Expo Shop?
Ms. Uma Menon: The one thing I’m most excited about at this year’s edition of India Expo Shop is the launch of our co-located initiative — EventFull Bharat. This platform has been specially created for startups and small companies who may not have the resources to participate as full-fledged exhibitors, but are eager to connect, collaborate, and contribute to our industry’s growth.
Through EventFull Bharat, these emerging players will get a unique opportunity to pitch their ideas and services directly in front of industry stalwarts, mentors, and VIPs — all of whom are genuinely invested in driving innovation and elevating standards in the exhibitions and events space. It’s our way of democratizing access and nurturing the next generation of change-makers in this industry.
TFT: What are your long-term aspirations for India Expo Shop in the next five years?
Ms. Uma Menon: Our long-term aspiration for India Expo Shop over the next five years is to establish it as the definitive, go-to platform for the entire event services ecosystem—not just in India, but across South Asia. We envision it evolving into an international B2B hub that brings together the most innovative minds, technologies, and infrastructure providers in exhibitions, conferences, and events.”
We want to see India Expo Shop expand in three key directions: one, deeper regional integration by empowering more service providers from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities to participate and grow; two, greater focus on sustainability and digitization through live demos, training, and global partnerships; and three, to host high-impact dialogues and policy engagement sessions that shape the future of India’s MICE sector.
Ultimately, our goal is to make India Expo Shop not just a showcase, but a catalyst—for skill development, industry formalization, cross-border collaboration, and innovation. We want to build a platform that doesn’t just reflect where the industry is today—but actively leads where it’s going next.
TFT: Lastly, what message you would like to convey to our readers?
Ms. Uma Menon: Whether you’re a service provider, an event organizer, a venue partner, or simply someone passionate about the exhibitions and events industry—I invite you to be a part of the movement we’re building through India Expo Shop.
This platform is more than just a trade show; it’s a celebration of the people, the passion, and the purpose that drive our industry forward. With new ideas, young innovators, seasoned professionals, and game-changing technologies coming together under one roof, this is where the future of the Indian MICE ecosystem is being shaped.
Let’s connect, collaborate, and contribute to creating a smarter, stronger, and more sustainable industry—for India, and for the world.