We always jump at the chance to design and manufacture POP displays out of bamboo. Bamboo is widely recognized as one of the most sustainable and eco-friendly materials on early. Bamboo’s properties are absolutely mind-blowing. What other material can grow 44” in a single day? Compare that to your typical hardwood which might take 50 years to grow to maturity (vs. 6 months for a bamboo tree). How about this one: The root system of a single bamboo tree can extend more than 120 miles- greater than the distance from New York City to Philadelphia or San Diego to Los Angeles.
Bamboo has higher tensile strength than many types of steel, higher compressive strength than many mixtures of concrete, and higher strength-to-weight ratio than graphite. Unlike wood, bamboo has no knots so it can endure stress throughout the length of its stalk. Because of its high silica content, bamboo cannot be digested by termites. Bamboo’s incredible resiliency enabled it to survive the nuclear blast at Hiroshima at a point closer to ground zero than any other form of life.
Aside from these amazing properties, bamboo is a great material to use in making POP display cases and racks for retail stores. It’s better for gluing than hardwoods due to its unique chemical extractives, and it’s also lighter to ship. Bamboo can be milled, cut, sanded, drilled, glued, stained, laser engraved, and finished like any hardwood. In addition to its durability, bamboo offers exceptional dimensional stability across a wide range of climate conditions. What that means is that is won’t shrink or expand much when it gets too hot or cold. Bamboo is also beautiful. Its edges are interesting and aesthetically appealing and therefore don’t need to be edge banded.
Let’s take a look at some of the recent point of purchase display cases and store fixtures we have constructed out of bamboo. One of the examples of bamboo display stands shown below is a combination cabinet and shelf system that we made for Coola to go in high-end spas. The main body is constructed using carbonized bamboo with a clear coat finish. We added an MDF back panel and MDF shelves, both of which had a white laminate finish. We also used laser-cut white acrylic to reinforce the Coola brand.
Our second example is a bamboo countertop display case we designed and manufactured for TP-Link to showcase their networking products. We used carbonized bamboo for the base and back panel of this bamboo display rack. We used our CNC machine to router out a curved shape in the base so we could inset a piece of white acrylic to which we secured the demo units. We added a 1-color silk screened logo and vinyl graphics on the back panel. The combination of natural bamboo and white acrylic created a simple and clean look.
Our third example of a bamboo retail display is a bamboo lip balm merchandising tray we created for Coola that rolled out to Ulta stores nationwide. Coola was looking for a display that had a natural vibe that could hold both boxed product and tubes. We created a two-tier structure with holes that we that we cut on our CNC machine. We finished it with a clear coat and used our laser machine to inscribe the Coola logo on the front edge of the tray.
Our fourth example is a 4-ft. countertop glorifier we designed out of bamboo to showcase EZVIZ’s security camera products. In addition to the bamboo base and back panel, we added white acrylic on the sides and header with logo header graphics. We incorporated LED lighting under the base and a digital media player that featured a live-feed from the camera. In addition to the user-controlled mechanical buttons, we included interchangeable info graphics to assist in educating the customer about the products.
Our final example is a simple bamboo card holder display we designed for Jade Yoga. This small sign holder was designed to complement the yoga mat display we’ve been making for them which is also constructed of bamboo. We made the card holder out of ¾” carbonized bamboo. After cutting the pieces to size, we cut an angled channel in the top for a removable sign and then laser engraved the company’s logo on the front edge and their tag line on the top. We finished the card holders with a clear coat. These sign holders portrayed a very natural, simple, and down-to-earth image that fit well with the company’s product line.
Jim Hollen is the owner and President of RICH LTD. (www.richltd.com), a 35+ year-old California-based point-of-purchase display, retail store fixture, and merchandising solutions firm which has been named among the Top 50 U.S. POP display companies for 9 consecutive years. A former management consultant with McKinsey & Co. and graduate of Stanford Business School, Jim Hollen has served more than 3000 brands and retailers over more than 20 years and has authored nearly 500 blogs and e-Books on a wide range of topics related to POP displays, store fixtures, and retail merchandising.
Jim has been to China more than 50 times and has worked directly with more than 30 factories in Asia across a broad range of material categories, including metal, wood, acrylic, injection molded and vacuum formed plastic, corrugated, glass, LED lighting, digital media player, and more. Jim Hollen also oversees RICH LTD.’s domestic manufacturing operation and has experience manufacturing, sourcing, and importing from numerous Asian countries as well as Vietnam and Mexico.
His experience working with brands and retailers spans more than 25 industries such as food and beverage, apparel, consumer electronics, cosmetics/beauty, sporting goods, automotive, pet, gifts and souvenirs, toys, wine and spirits, home improvement, jewelry, eyewear, footwear, consumer products, mass market retail, specialty retail, convenience stores, and numerous other product/retailer categories.