One socket is enough: the exhibitor logistics checklist for stand catering
Stand catering at a German trade fair needs less than you think. One socket, two square meters, and a caterer who reads the hall regulations for you.
The myth of the complicated coffee bar
Ask exhibitors why they skip proper coffee on their stand and you hear the same worries. Where would the water come from? Do we need a kitchen? Who deals with the venue? All reasonable questions, and all solved problems.
A professional mobile coffee bar is built to be self sufficient. Power comes from a standard socket. Water travels in tanks. Waste leaves with the crew at the end of the day. Your part of the job is eight small checks, and most of them are a single line in an email.
- One standard 230V socket
- A footprint of about 2 x 1 meters
- No water connection, ever
The checklist: eight points, one quiet afternoon
Work through these with your stand builder and your caterer. None of them is difficult, and half of them are the caterer's job anyway.
Order one 230V socket
When you order stand services from the venue, add one standard 230V connection where the coffee bar will sit. That single line on the form powers the espresso machine, the grinder and the lights on the bar. No three phase power, no special permits.
Reserve 2 x 1 meters
The bar fits in roughly two meters by one meter. Mark it on your stand plan, ideally facing the aisle so the machine works as a magnet. The mobile Kaffeebar page shows what fits inside that footprint.
Mobile Kaffeebar →Skip the water connection
You do not need plumbing. Fresh water arrives in tanks, used water leaves in tanks, and the crew swaps them quietly during the day. If your hall position has no water access at all, nothing changes.
Arrange access the day before
Setup the day before the fair is the comfortable option. The halls are calm, the machine gets dialed in properly, and on day one your stand opens with the bar already polished. Ask your stand builder when the stand will be ready for us.
Ask who takes the waste
Coffee grounds, milk packaging, used cups. A good caterer takes their own waste back, every evening, without being asked. Make it one question in your brief and then forget about it.
Protect the floor
Rented carpet and raised floors mark easily. A simple mat under the machine and grinder keeps the stand builder happy at handover. We bring ours as standard, and your caterer should too.
Brief your caterer on hall rules
Every venue writes its own regulations, and Messe Düsseldorf, Koelnmesse and the regional halls all differ in the details. Forward the exhibitor service documents early and let your caterer read them. Our Messecatering Düsseldorf page covers how we handle the local rules.
Messecatering Düsseldorf →Sort badges and load-in
The barista crew needs setup badges, and the van needs a load-in slot. Both are ordered through the exhibitor portal in minutes. Your caterer sends names and plate numbers, you click submit.
The short version
Copy this into your stand planning notes and tick the boxes as you go.
- One 230V socket, ordered with your stand services
- 2 x 1 meters reserved on the stand plan
- No water connection needed
- Day-before access confirmed
- Waste handling agreed, the caterer takes theirs back
- Floor protection under the machine
- Hall regulations forwarded to the caterer
- Badges and load-in slot ordered
We sent one email with our hall, stand number and opening hours. Everything else just happened. The bar was running before our own team arrived on setup day.Marketing lead, Italian packaging manufacturer
What this list really tells you
If the checklist feels short, that is the point. Stand catering is normal fair logistics, and a caterer who works the German Messe calendar every week has answered these eight questions hundreds of times. The earlier you brief them, the more invisible the whole topic becomes.
Send us your hall, your stand size and your fair dates, and we will tell you exactly what to order from the venue. You get a quote within 24 hours, and the logistics section of your project plan gets one tidy line: coffee, done. Request a quote and tick the first box today.
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