PLMA US 2026: Organise Private-Label Meetings and Follow-Up
PLMA US 2026 brings private-label manufacturers and retail sourcing teams to Rosemont, in the Chicago area, November 15–17. The exhibition floor opens November 16–17; Sunday is for education and registration. A useful contact record connects a buyer to the product range, pack specification and sample review they discussed. This guide shows how to keep those details together in Habsy and follow up with the right next step.
Habsy11 min read
PLMA US at a glance
- Dates
- November 15–17, 2026Overall programme; exhibition floor November 16–17
- Exhibition hours
- Nov 16: 09:00–18:00; Nov 17: 09:00–16:00Exhibition floor, local Rosemont time
- Venue
- Donald E. Stephens Convention CenterRosemont, Illinois, United States
- Entry
- Visitor credentials require approvalA request to attend is not completed registration; use the appropriate visitor or exhibitor process.
- Official website
- plma.comConfirm details before you travel
Who exhibits and who attends PLMA US?
A retailer comparing private-label manufacturers needs more than a list of names: product specification, pack format, sample availability, minimum order quantity and launch timing all affect the shortlist. Manufacturers need to know what the buyer is sourcing and which specification or sample review comes next. Treat these as meeting questions to adapt to your category, not organiser-imposed requirements.
Who exhibits
- Private-label food and beverage manufacturers
- Household and cleaning-product manufacturers
- Personal-care and beauty suppliers
- Health and wellness product suppliers
- Private-label packaging and service providers
Who attends
- Retail private-brand teams
- Category and buying managers
- Wholesale sourcing teams
- Product-development and quality teams
- Import and distribution professionals
Plan exhibition-floor meetings for Monday and Tuesday. Sunday education is listed at Hyatt Regency O’Hare, while registration is at the convention center. Group supplier appointments using the official Food & Beverages and Home, Health & Self Care sections; check the current schedule for World of Ideas.
How to prepare for PLMA US with Habsy
Most of the work happens before you reach Rosemont. Set up Habsy once and every conversation at the show ends with a saved contact, the context you need and a next step.
If you are visiting
Before you fly
- 1
Create your Professional digital card
Share your details by QR code, NFC or link instead of paper cards.
- 2
Add your Business digital card
Your company profile and brochures, for partners and suppliers you meet.
- 3
Create a PLMA US category
Plus the visitor intent signals below, to sort vendors by fit later.
- 4
Turn on Send my digital card back
Everyone you scan gets your card automatically.
If you are exhibiting
Before you fly, for every rep
- 1
Install Habsy on every rep's phone
Give each rep a digital card, plus one Business digital card for the company.
- 2
Set up intent signals and templates
Every rep qualifies and follows up the same way, by email or WhatsApp.
- 3
Add an enquiry form to your card
Print its QR code on the booth so visitors leave details when you are busy.
- 4
Create a PLMA US campaign
Bringing several reps? Every scan lands in one live list.
How to set up Habsy before PLMA US
Five steps, in the order the app walks you through them. Visitors need steps 1 to 3. Exhibitors should do all five.
1. Create your digital business cards
Every Habsy account includes two free digital cards under MyQR: a Professional digital card for you and a Business digital card for your company, with your services and brochures. Habsy's AI builds them from your LinkedIn profile and website, or from a photo of your own business card. Share them by QR code, NFC or link. The person you share with opens your card in their browser, with no app needed, and saves your contact in one tap. Add an enquiry form so visitors who scan your card leave their details and are saved as a new contact.
1Your Professional digital card
2Your Business digital card
3Share by QR code, NFC or link
2. Add intent signals
Intent signals are tap-to-answer questions you fill in for every contact, so every rep records the same details in seconds. In Settings, open Manage Intent Signals, then tap Create with AI to get suggestions from your website, or Create Manually to add the set below.
1Open Manage Intent Signals
2Review the signals Habsy suggests
3Tap the answers after each scan
- Retailer
- Wholesaler
- Brand owner
- Importer
- Distributor
- Category manager
- Sourcing manager
- Product development lead
- Quality manager
- Food and beverages
- Household products
- Personal care
- Health and wellness
- Packaging formats
- Within 3 months
- 3 to 6 months
- 6 to 12 months
- Researching
- Request samples
- Send specifications
- Discuss order quantities
- Introduce a colleague
- Food and beverages
- Household products
- Personal care
- Health and wellness
- Packaging services
- World of Ideas
- Exhibit hall booth
- Session or reception
- Strong fit
- Possible fit
- Not a fit
- Book a demo
- Request pricing
- Share with my team
- No follow-up
Add them in Settings, Manage Intent Signals, with Create Manually, or start with Create with AI and adjust the options to match what you sell or what you are looking for.
3. Create a PLMA US category
Create a category called PLMA US and set it as your default for the days of the event, so every contact you scan at the show is filed under it automatically. After the show, use it as a filter to export only your PLMA US contacts to Excel, CSV or VCF in one step. Exhibitors on Habsy Platform can also use the PLMA US category to track how the event performed: contacts captured, companies reached, intent signals and each rep's results.
1Create the category
2Pick it when you save a contact
3Find it on every contact
4. Set up your email and WhatsApp templates
Connect your email account or WhatsApp Business account in Settings before the show. Then, with Send email or WhatsApp template turned on in your Card Preferences, your follow-up goes out from your own account the moment you save a scanned contact. The visitor often has your message, and your digital card, before they leave your booth. It shows you are organized and quick to respond, and it puts you ahead of every exhibitor who follows up next week. To write the template, open Email Templates or WhatsApp Templates in Settings, describe the message, and Habsy's AI writes it. Add variables such as the contact's name and company so every message is personal. Here is a template you can copy for PLMA US:
Hi {{recipient.name}},
It was good meeting you at PLMA in Rosemont.
I would be happy to share product specifications, pack options and sample information to support the ranges {{recipient.company}} is reviewing.
Would you prefer to start with the specification sheets, or arrange a short discussion about minimum order quantities, sample lead times and your planned launch?
Best regards,{{user.name}}{{user.company}}
Hi {{recipient.name}}, this is {{user.name}} from {{user.company}}. Good meeting you at PLMA.
Would sample information or pack specifications help with your private-label review? Happy to discuss order quantities and timing for the ranges you are considering.
Words in braces are variables. Habsy fills them in from each contact and from your profile when you send.
1Let AI write the template
2Save your WhatsApp templates
3Save your email templates
5. Set your Card Preferences
Choose what Habsy does each time you save a contact, once in Settings or per save. It runs in the background while you move on to the next conversation.
Maya Ellis saved at PLMA US · 4 steps running in the background
Email, WhatsApp and CRM steps need the matching integration.
How to capture every contact at PLMA US
Use one app for every contact you make, wherever you make it: at the booth, in a session, at a reception or over dinner. Every rep and every visitor captures contacts on their own phone, free and with no scan limit, and every contact lands in one list with your category, intent signals and notes.
1Scan a business card
2Scan a badge QR code
3Type it in with manual entry
- Badges: point the Habsy scanner at a badge and Habsy reads the attendee's details from its QR code. If a badge holds only a registration number, scan the person's business card or type them in.
- Business cards: scan each card in seconds, or switch to Batch and scan up to 150 cards in about 5 minutes without leaving the camera. Habsy reads cards in 200+ languages.
- QR codes: scan digital business cards from any provider, LinkedIn QR codes and contact QR codes.
- NFC: turn on NFC on the scan screen, then hold an NFC business card or an NFC event badge to the back of your phone. Habsy reads the contact and saves it, with no camera needed.
- Manual entry: no card and no QR code? Choose Manual and type the details in.
- Offline: capture continues when the hall Wi-Fi is busy, and contacts process once you reconnect.
Many shows also sell official lead retrieval through the organizer. Habsy works on its own or next to it. For more, read lead capture vs lead retrieval.
How to add context while you talk
A contact without context is hard to follow up. Before the next conversation starts, add what you discussed and what you promised.
- Intent signals: tap the answers on the review screen after each scan.
- Voice notes: tap Add Voice Note and say what they need. Habsy turns it into a searchable transcript.
- Text notes: type a quick note, such as "Samples and pack options for 3 ranges".
- Reminders: in 1 hour, in 4 hours, tomorrow at 9 AM or any date and time, with a repeat and an alarm. All of them appear in My reminders.
Here is what a contact from PLMA US looks like with context added:
Maya Ellis
Category Manager, Cedar Lane Retail
Intent signals
- Retailer
- Category manager
- Food and beverages
- 3 to 6 months
- 3 ranges
- Request samples
Notes
Reviewing 3 product ranges; needs pack formats, sample lead times and manufacturing capacity.
0:42 · "Send samples and pack options for our 3 product ranges before we scope the launch."
Reminder
Wednesday, 9:00 AM · Request samples and pack specifications
Illustrative example: fictional person, company and buying requirements; not an actual attendee record.
Going to PLMA US?
Your digital card and lead capture in one app.
Unlimited scanning, text notes, reminders and exports are free. Categories, voice notes, intent signals and templates require Habsy Plus. Habsy Platform is separately priced for teams.
What to do in Habsy after PLMA US
The show ends on Tuesday, November 17. What you do in the next 48 hours decides how many of those conversations turn into meetings, partners or deals.
If you visited: pick up the conversations you started
- See who looked at your card: open QR analytics to see how many people viewed and saved your digital card, how they engaged and where.
- Save and call back: save vendors to your phone contacts, and set a reminder to call back the ones you want to hear more from.
- Drop a message: Habsy writes a short email or WhatsApp message for any contact, mentioning where you met.
- Export and share: export your PLMA US category to Excel, CSV or VCF, by date range, with a copy sent to your email, and share the shortlist with your team.
Top locations
Example numbers.
1Export to Excel, CSV or VCF
2Set a reminder to call back
3Send a quick message
If you exhibited: follow up within 48 hours
- Tuesday evening: batch scan any cards left in your pockets and check that every contact has a note.
- Wednesday: filter by intent signals, such as "Book a demo" and "Within 3 months", and send your PLMA US template to the hottest contacts first.
- Send at scale: select several contacts on the home screen, choose email or WhatsApp and a template, and send to all of them.
- Next week: work through the rest by reminder, sync qualified contacts to your CRM, and export the list to Excel, CSV or VCF.
1Write the follow-up with AI
2Pick a template for each contact
3Select several contacts and send
For more message ideas, see our follow-up email templates.
Exhibiting with a team? Run PLMA US on Habsy Platform
When several reps work the booth, the hard part is not capturing leads. It is knowing, during the show and after it, who met whom, who is hot and who follows up. Habsy Platform is the web dashboard for that, at app.habsy.ai. Reps keep scanning in the app, and the manager sees everything in one place.
app.habsy.ai
- One campaign for PLMA US: every rep's contacts land in one live list, by rep and by day.
- Clear ownership: assign contacts, set reminders, and get alerts when two reps meet the same person.
- Follow-up from one place: sync to your CRM and run email sequences, WhatsApp and LinkedIn outreach for the whole team.
The PLMA US post-event report
When the show ends, Habsy turns your PLMA US contacts into a post-event report: what your team captured, who you met, what they told you through your intent signals, and a dossier on every company with how well it fits your business. Use it to decide who to call first and whether the next edition is worth the booth. Here is what it could look like for PLMA US, with example data:
Post-event report · PLMA US
Overview: what your team captured at PLMA US, how complete it is, and what stands out.
Analytics: the kinds of organizations and the seniority of the people your team met at PLMA US.
Intent signals: what contacts at PLMA US are interested in, when they plan to buy and the next step your reps agreed.
Habsy Platform has one team price, with no per-event or per-lead fees. See Habsy for teams or explore the platform.
Bottom line
Record category, pack format, sample needs and launch timing with each private-label manufacturer so your PLMA shortlist supports a practical specification review. Visitors: create your digital card and scan every card and badge you collect. Exhibitors: set up intent signals and templates before you fly, capture every contact in one app, and follow up within 48 hours. See event lead capture with Habsy.
Bringing a team to PLMA US and other events this year? See how Habsy works for sales teams, or book a demo of Habsy Platform.
Habsy is not affiliated with PLMA. Event details come from the official PLMA US website and can change.
Keywords
- PLMA US 2026
- PLMA Chicago trade show
- private-label sourcing
- PLMA show-floor dates
- PLMA supplier follow-up
- business card capture
Frequently Asked Questions
When is PLMA US 2026, and which days is the exhibition open?
The overall programme is November 15–17, 2026. The trade-show floor opens November 16–17 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois, in the Chicago area. Sunday is for education and registration, rather than exhibition-floor appointments.
What are the PLMA US show-floor hours?
The exhibition is open Monday, November 16, 09:00–18:00, and Tuesday, November 17, 09:00–16:00, local Rosemont time. Registration, education and World of Ideas have separate schedules; use the official programme for those activities.
Does submitting the visitor request give me a PLMA badge?
No. PLMA reviews the request and checks credentials before providing an official registration link. Exhibiting-company staff should follow the exhibitor registration process instead. Do not treat a submitted request as approved attendance.
What should a retailer record during private-label supplier meetings?
Record the category and product specification, intended pack format, sample requirements, minimum order quantity, manufacturing capacity and proposed launch timing. Agree who will send the samples or specification sheet and when. These are suggested sourcing questions, not PLMA admission requirements.
How can manufacturers qualify conversations at PLMA US?
Separate retailers, wholesalers, importers and other partners, and record the categories they source, target pack formats and timing. Ask which product or sample review comes next rather than assuming every conversation needs a sales demo.
Can Habsy read every PLMA visitor badge?
Habsy can read supported QR codes that contain contact data. A registration identifier or organiser-only link does not grant access to the badge database. Exchange a business card or enter the details if the badge does not expose contact information.
How should I organise PLMA contacts in Habsy?
Create a PLMA US category and add intent signals for organisation type, category interest, timing and next step. Categories and intent signals require Habsy Plus. Free text notes and reminders can still hold sample requests and agreed deadlines.
What should a PLMA follow-up message include?
Refer to the product category and the action agreed at the meeting: samples, pack specifications, order quantities or a launch discussion. Use the event-specific email or WhatsApp example below and follow the agreed channel and timing.
Which Habsy features are free, and which are paid?
Scanning, text notes, reminders, exports and two digital cards are free. Categories, voice notes, intent signals, templates, enquiry forms, card analytics and integrations require Habsy Plus. Habsy Platform has separate team pricing.
Can a booth team share its PLMA contacts?
With Habsy Platform, representatives capture contacts on their phones and the team works from a shared event campaign, assigns follow-up and reviews the post-event report. CRM and communication steps require the relevant integrations.
Going to PLMA US?
Capture every contact you make in Rosemont.
Save the buyer, product range, sample request and agreed next step together, then follow up with the information that moves the sourcing review forward.
