The city of Philadelphia will host a bevy of high-profile sporting events this year—first round games for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship in March, the PGA Championship in May, FIFA World Cup matches in June and July, and the MLB All-Star Game also in July, just to name a few. Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) is focused on being a good “front door” to the region for all of them.
“It’s really a year where Philadelphia is on the global stage,” says PHL Chief Commercial Officer Kate Sullivan. “We thought a lot about what kind of passenger experience we wanted to deliver while we’re expecting extra inbound visitation.”
For starters, PHL is spending $500 million spiffing up its seven terminals with fresh paint, new carpeting and improved holdroom seating, complete with additional charging capacity for travelers’ electronic devices. In addition, there has been a concerted effort to increase the exposure of local products in the food/beverage and retail lineup.
| facts&figures
Project: Location: Event: Buy Philadelphia Fair Format: Networking event to connect small local businesses with existing airport concessionaires Event Partner/Concessions Manager: MarketPlace PHL Participation: About 150 representatives from nearly 50 small local businesses; about 40 airport concessionaires Results: Countless connections made; several deals struck, with more under discussion |
To do so, the airport and its concessions manager/developer, MarketPlace PHL, staged the first-ever Buy Philadelphia Fair in late September 2025. The one-day event was like speed dating for existing concessionaires and small local businesses that aspire to have millions of travelers’ eyes on their products.
“We were hearing that some of our operators were really having a hard time identifying those local opportunities,” explains Dana Krawchuk, marketing and guest experience manager at MarketPlace PHL.
That’s how the business-to-business networking mixer was developed.
“We really wanted to make sure we were continuing to offer all the amazing things we have to represent Philadelphia,” says Krawchuk. “We recognized a really positive opportunity to make sure the small business community was really shining at the airport.”
Ready, Set, Network
About 150 guests from nearly 50 small local businesses attended the event to market their wares; about 40 airport concessionaires participated to shop for new vendors. The format allowed representatives from small local businesses to circulate among tables staffed by large and small airport concessionaires for impromptu conversations about potential business collaborations.
There was also a Pitchadelphia element (patterned after the concept of succinct “elevator pitches”) that allowed small businesses to create 60-second videos marketing their products.
The overall event was on brand for PHL, which has long had a strong local presence throughout its terminals and concourses. In fact, it was one of the first U.S. airports to feature kiosks, a format that gives small businesses the opportunity to enter the sought-after selling environment for a relatively low financial investment. The airport has even run a Concessions Academy to help prospective operators prepare for new experiences.
“And now we’re creating [another] kind of entry point for businesses who maybe don’t want to have a full store, don’t have a broad enough product mix for a store,” explains Sullivan. “We’re giving them the option and tools to try to get into the airport.”
To connect with companies that might not be aware of opportunities at PHL, airport staff and MarketPlace PHL advertised their networking event in the Philadelphia Business Journal and reached out to business associations, chambers of commerce and other area groups. They also took a highly targeted approach and “dropped into the DMs (direct message threads)” of companies producing goods that could help the airport demonstrate what makes Philadelphia unique. “Anybody we believed would be a good representation for our traveler, for the passengers, we reached out to,” Krawchuk says.
The strategy worked well for Onsite Travel Essentials, a retail shop that opened between concourses B and C this past December. From the beginning, Onsite planned to showcase local products, including Emma’s Gourmet Popcorn, tea towels and other screen-printed items from Girls Can Tell, Martin’s Potato Chips and Sweetzels spiced molasses cookies. It even created a “store-within-a-store” for Hakim’s Bookstore, the oldest Black-owned bookstore on the East Coast.
At the recent recruitment event, Onsite found four more local vendors: Parcel Island (for funny greeting cards, stationery, etc.), exit343design (Philly-theme totes, apparel and other gifts), Skip’s Candles and The Famous 4th Street Cookies.
“All four have received positive customer feedback and remain popular,” reports Patricia Daguro, a buyer for Onsite Retailers. “We have retained contact information for other vendors we met in case of future opportunities.”
The airport store even created a special display table and a rotating pop-up section to highlight the new local merchandise.
Feedback and Plans for The Future
Daguro describes the Buy Philadelphia Fair as smooth and well-organized, and hopes it will become an annual, or at least recurring, event.
“Consistent involvement fosters ongoing innovation, strengthens bonds with the local business community and promotes collaboration and mutual improvement for future opportunities,” she comments. “The event provided great exposure for local and emerging businesses that we might not have discovered otherwise.”
The airport and MarketPlace PHL are both pleased to have created an environment for participants to make business connections—and, in some cases, deals. “We’re happy to say that has actually happened,” says Krawchuk. “It was very cool from a marketing perspective to see the event be very successful.”
Connections were made and business deals struck at the first-ever Buy Philadelphia Fair.
Sullivan reports great feedback from both airport concessionaires and the small businesses who came to pitch products to them.
With plans already underway for a follow-up event in 2026, the airport and MarketPlace PHL are brainstorming ideas about how to make it even better.
Daguro suggests allowing more room for concessionaires to display their products, and organizing the room by categories. “This setup would also help retailers concentrate on the specific products they want to incorporate into their business,” she notes.
Building on substantial outreach efforts in 2025, the airport and MarketPlace PHL have identified even more business groups to invite this year. They also plan to fine tune the Pitchadelphia portion of the program, which was added shortly before the inaugural event.
MarketPlace Development, the parent company of MarketPlace, was so impressed with the results, it is considering bringing similar events to other airports where it operates concessions.
“It was all about supporting the small business community,” Krawchuk summarizes. “And really showcasing the amazing businesses we have in the area.”
Planning is already underway for a follow-up event later this year.
From PHL’s perspective, the Buy Philadelphia Fair is helping add more local products to its concessions lineup and building long-term relationships with the small business community.
“The thing that we’ve always been committed to,” explains Sullivan, “is finding ways to create opportunities for Philadelphia, for regional Philadelphia businesses, and to make sure that our food and shops program really reflects the best of what Philadelphia has to offer.”
