When the product stays off the floor, the guest list sells.

Skift Meetings reports that MJ Unpacked, a B2B cannabis show, bans sales and distribution on site, so exhibitors cannot rely on sampling. The show limits entry to qualified operators, brands, and investors, and about 3,000 attended this year. CEO George Jage frames the job as making sure the people attendees want to meet are in the room.

Pharma congresses have worked under the same constraint for decades. When the product cannot be handed over, the guest list becomes what the exhibitor is buying.