Showbag

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Themed bag of items often sold at Australian agricultural shows

title: "Showbag" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["culture-of-australia", "agricultural-shows-in-australia", "bags", "merchandise", "novelty-items", "advertising-techniques", "sales-promotion", "australian-inventions"] description: "Themed bag of items often sold at Australian agricultural shows" topic_path: "geography/australia" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Showbag" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Themed bag of items often sold at Australian agricultural shows ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Ekka_2013_showbags_2.jpg" caption="Showbags and their contents on display at Queensland's [[Ekka]] in 2013"] ::

A showbag is a themed bag of commercial products, novelty items and promotional merchandise, usually made available for purchase. It is a distinctive feature of Australian agricultural shows (the Australian equivalent of state fairs or travelling carnivals), where they are sold from stalls; they can also be found at exhibitions, festivals and fundraising events. Showbags are unique to Australia.

History

Showbags were once known as "sample bags" as they originally contained product samples of household goods such as soap or canned foods, produced by a single vendor or a group of vendors. Such sample bags were originally given away free of charge or carried only a nominal price in order to promote brand awareness.

The first "showbag", a bag of coal, was given away for free to all visitors at the inaugural Brisbane Ekka in 1876; however, only from 1902 were stallholders allowed to start giving out samples. An IXL sample bag from 1933 contained tomato sauce, canned fruits, baked beans or spaghetti in a can and a ruler, all for 9 pence ($3.90 in 2020); this allowed families during the Great Depression to fill up their pantries for very little.

By the 1970s, the sample bag had evolved into the confectionary and merchandise-filled showbags known today.

Pricing and contents

Compared to the practice of giving away sample bags for free or at very low cost in the past, showbags in the late-2010s were commonly priced in the $5 to $30 range, up from a typical maximum of $20 during the previous decade. while the classic Bertie Beetle showbag has been sold for $2 for more than three decades. The rising cost of showbags is often identified as a major negative aspect of shows. Despite this, it is generally assumed that the total retail value of the individual contents of a showbag will exceed the price charged for the package.

Most showbags are marketed towards children, containing toys, sweets and chocolate. Other common showbag items include clothing such as hats, socks and T-shirts, backpacks, drinking cups and mugs, posters and stationery. Comic books were frequently included in showbags in the 1970s and 1980s, but the practice has declined since. A number of showbags are marketed to the adult consumer, with themes including cosmetics, fashion, fitness and health, premium confectionery and gourmet food, and even adult toys. Showbags themed around movies such as Ghostbusters, Top Gun, or Back to the Future, or television shows such as The Simpsons, The Big Bang Theory, Friends or The Office are generally targeted at adult fans of those properties. An adult marketed showbag may also include discount vouchers that can be redeemed at the vendor's business at a later date.

Common themes for showbags include confectionery brands such as Cadbury or Chupa Chups, children's toy brands such as Barbie or Hot Wheels, and licensed properties such as Disney, Star Wars, Pokémon, Harry Potter, or DC and Marvel Comics superheroes. Broad areas of children's play interest such as fairies, dinosaurs or pirates are also common subjects for showbag themes, as well as international and domestic sporting teams. Showbags may also be created to cash in on current fads and trends, as well as to promote recently released movies or television series. Others take on vague generic themes such as extreme sports, teen culture or practical jokes. The 2008 Royal Melbourne Show had a David Hasselhoff-themed showbag offered for sale.

The physical showbag itself is similar to a shopping bag and is usually made from plastic or heavy paper, and is printed with graphics promoting the theme or brand. Sometimes a backpack or tote bag may be used to hold the items instead, especially if such a bag is part of the showbag's contents.

Distribution and sales

Major showbag companies operating today include Bensons Trading and Hunter Leisure as well as other smaller companies. Assembly of the showbag is often done by a third party before final distribution to the show or event, where they are usually sold directly to the consumer by the showbag company.

In 1971 the Sydney Royal Easter Show offered a selection of only around 30 different showbags; in 2012 there were 342 varieties for sale.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic cancelling many agricultural shows in Australia during 2020 and 2021, online retailers of showbags have reported a boom in trade, though online sales of showbags still lagged far behind those sold at shows in previous years. The pandemic also forced smaller showbag sellers in regional areas to tour country towns independently in order to continue trading.

After children aged 5 to 11 became eligible for COVID-19 vaccines in January 2022, state vaccination hubs in Victoria gave out showbags to children receiving their COVID-19 vaccination.

References

References

  1. McNeilage, Amy. (2012-04-05). "Showbaganomics: from free to big business". Farm Online National.
  2. Moloney, John-Paul. (2013-02-19). "Nostalgia keeps Bertie Beetle bags alive". Brisbane Times.
  3. "Ekka's history".
  4. Bochenski, Natalie. (2015-08-06). "From free to Frozen: a potted history of Ekka showbags". Brisbane Times.
  5. Millimaci, Grace. (2014-09-27). "Bag samples now rich pickings". The West Australian.
  6. (2013-09-11). "$280 buys most expensive show bag in Oz". WAToday.
  7. Cowie, Tom. (2017-08-30). "Royal Melbourne Show: What we learnt about this year's showbags". The Age.
  8. Cooper, Mex. (2008-08-26). "$10k for beer and beef showbag". Brisbane Times.
  9. Dubecki, Larissa. (2002-09-26). "Either way your wallet's a loser". The Age, Melbourne.
  10. Swift, Tyronne. (2004-07-07). "Been there, done that but show's still a hoot". Alice Springs News.
  11. Haskins Hawthorne, Anna. (2018-09-07). "'Packing sex toys, mystery shopping': How to make a living as an Airtasker in Melbourne". The Age.
  12. Jenke, Brittany. (2020-04-29). "Gear up for 'the one with the Showbags' as Woolies is slinging 'Friends' filled goody bags". The Brag.
  13. (20 September 1960). "1963 Bertie Beetle launched by Hoadley's".
  14. Wilson, Roxanne. (2016-08-26). "Show staple — The Advertiser finds out more about the iconic showbag". AdelaideNow.
  15. Mattson, Diana. (2018-03-04). "Bertie Beetles now sold all year round in Adelaide and not just in showbags". AdelaideNow.
  16. Lyons, Erin. (2021-04-08). "Bertie Beetle: Strange fact about famous Australian chocolate treat". News.com.au.
  17. "Branded showbags and gift bags".
  18. Cosenza, Emily. (2019-08-31). "Unsafe items removed from Perth showbags". 7news.
  19. Olle, Emily. (2020-08-17). "OTR to sell showbags after Royal Adelaide Show cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic". 7news.
  20. (2020-10-28). "Show bag family's business goes on the road inspiring lolly hoarding across regional Victoria". ABC News.
  21. Cassidy, Caitlin. (2020-11-01). "Travelling showbags arriving in Shepparton". Shepparton News.
  22. Howe, Courtney. (2022-01-10). "Vaccinations for children begin in regional Victoria as staffing, supply issues impact services". ABC News.
  23. (2022-01-12). "As some parents face cancelled vaccine appointments, these kids were luckier". ABC News.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

culture-of-australiaagricultural-shows-in-australiabagsmerchandisenovelty-itemsadvertising-techniquessales-promotionaustralian-inventions