The Hunter-Gatherers’ Guide to EBACE Give-Aways

04 Jun 2024

Humanity’s transition from a nomadic, hunter-gatherer lifestyle to settled agriculture and livestock breeding occurred at different times in various parts of the world. While it’s challenging to pinpoint an exact date for when it began, it is generally assumed that this transition started some 10,000 to 12,000 years ago.

The transition from hunter to farmer still has major effects on our behaviour, even in a business environment. For example, people tend to go to events like EBACE not least to plant the seeds for new promising and fruitful relationships, but to also nurture and grow existing relationships to make them blossom and flourish.

Even though several millennia have passed since humanity began to settle down, some of us still bear the hunter-gatherer gene which can manifest itself in various forms. Some may hunt for collectables, some make pilgrimages to visit sacred places or events around the globe, some search for certain data and information, others may gather contacts or scout for trends.

I hereby publicly confess that I, Tobias Heining, am a hunter and gatherer and my mission today is to provide you with the result of my search for the most interesting and valuable give-aways I found at EBACE 2024 exhibitors’ stands.

As there are so many of them, I tried to categorise the give-aways to give a (purely subjective) assessment on design or look and feel, workmanship and quality, as well as on the practical benefits of the respective give-aways. I don’t want to deliberately ignore or even offend anybody, so to my defence please consider the following; EBACE is a really vast event and I don’t claim to have visited every stand or seen every potential give-away.

Without further ado, here’s my very personal list of the ultimately top-ranked give-aways from this year’s EBACE:

Give-Away Categories

• Confectionary: chocolate aeroplane cluster from Biggin Hill Airport
• Aircraft art: 1:1200 Global Express model from FAI Aviation
• Technology: Power bank from Cessna/Beechcraft
• Office: Magnetic refrigerator note clip from StandardAero
• Kitchenware: Yeti Mug set from Textron Aviation
• Accessories: Sunglasses from the Registry of Aruba
• Socks: While there were many different business branded socks available, GoGo were my personal favourite (this did cause much internal debate and Duncan Aviation and Global Jet Capital must also get mentions)
• Toys: Lobster cuddly toy from PCA
• Bags: Linen bag from Hadid (you need one to carry away all the stuff…)

Of all the give-aways I had the pleasure to get hold of, my personal favourite and thereby the “EBACE Give-Away of the Year” is the power bank from Cessna/Beechcraft because they provided me with one when I desperately needed to power my iPad and thereby proved its superior quality and practicality as a give-away.

Apart from my highly successful and rewarding hunt for give-aways, I also had the chance to work my way through the various offerings of free food and drinks (not sweets) presented by some exhibitors at their stands. Of those who seemingly have spared no expense or effort to make interlocutors and passers-by happy, my choice for the “EBACE Free Food & Drinks of the Year” is Avfuel because they provided us with a couple of great Expresso Martinis to keep us motivated.

Just to re-iterate, my list is not exhaustive in any respect and purely subjective. Hence, should anyone wish to make further submissions to one of the above of even additional categories, please feel free to send me a message to or (even better) provide me with the giveaway in question 😉.

And please let me also know who – apart from Martyn Fiddler – ran the best EBACE party this year?!

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