Winning market and festival applications: what organisers actually look for
Insider tips for getting into the best markets and festivals — from an organiser's perspective.
The best events get 5-10x more applications than they can accept. Here's what tips the decision.
Photos
Not the food — the setup. Organisers want to see how your stall looks. Clean, branded, cohesive wins.
Menu clarity
Six items, well-priced, that describe themselves. Not sixteen items that need a paragraph each.
Complementary offer
Organisers curate to avoid overlap. If they already have Mexican, applying with the exact same product is a no.
Reliability signals
Insurance, food-safety cert, previous market references — all upfront. It says you're not going to disappear at 6am on Saturday.
Follow the format
If the form asks for three photos, don't send eight. Attention to detail is a proxy for whether you'll follow the pack-in rules.