Backer's Total Pet Expo 2014 attendance down, show still strong

Backer's Total Pet Expo 2014 show attendance was down, but the event still drew a quality audience and retains its importance to the industry, according to show organizers.

The show, which took place Sept. 19–21 in Rosemont, Illinois, saw more than 5,600 registered pet industry buyers and 468 exhibitor booths. Highlights of the show included educational opportunities, a pet retail store mock-up and product innovation awards.
2013 numbers were slightly higher: 6,500 registered attendees and 693 booths. However, "With such varied sectors as our New Exhibitor Area and All-Natural Area—along with features like the Smart Zone Education Stations and the Pet Store on the Floor—the show remains a vital part of the pet industry calendar, both in terms of order-writing events and networking opportunities,” said Patty Backer, president of H.H. Backer Associates.

Pet Food Experts celebrates two successful trade shows

Pet Food Experts is celebrating the success of two recent trade shows.

The first "official" annual Mid-West Customer Appreciation Trade Show took place on Aug. 22, 2014. The event was relocated to a larger venue at the Renaissance Convention Center in Schaumburg, Illinois, due to the increased number of new vendors offered to the Mid-West customers. There were 60+ vendor booths and 300+ buyers at the show.
The seventh annual East Coast Customer Appreciation Trade Show occurred September 16–17, 2014. The event was held for the fourth year at the Mohegan Sun Casino and Resort in Uncasville, Connecticut. The show had 110+ vendors and 600+ buyers.
2015’s East Coast Customer Appreciation Trade Show will again be held at the Mohegan Sun Casino and Resort on Sept. 10–11, and the Mid-West show will be in late August (date to be determined) at the Schaumburg Convention Center location.

Backer's Total Pet Expo adds new features for 2014

H.H. Backer Associates is adding more features to its annual Backer’s Total Pet Expo, including a smartphone app, a Secret Shopper contest and other attractions. The changes to the 2014 pet products trade show, which will be held September 19 to 21 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in suburban Chicago, follow a revamped 2013 exhibition.

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The app, available from iTunes and Google Play, is designed for smartphones and tablet computers. It locates exhibitors, displays schedules, speaker bios and maps, and offers a QR scanner, photo gallery and social media links. The Secret Shopper contest will reward exhibitors through the use of mystery shoppers who will visit booths to assess vendors’ knowledge and service.
Also planned are the Top Ten All-Natural Product Lounge within the All-Natural Area on Level 1, which will showcase products voted on by retailers before the show; and US$10,000 in prizes for exhibitors who pitch "an interesting and innovative pet product." In addition, a preshow seminar, "The Nuts and Bolts of Bigger Retail Profits,” will be hosted by business professional Chris Beykirch on September 18.

Animal Nutrition Insights, SupplySide launch Petfood 2.0 expo

Virgo's Animal Nutrition Insights and SupplySide are expanding their platforms to include a new tradeshow, Petfood 2.0, on September 23 and 24, 2014, at the Hilton Chicago. Petfood 2.0 is about the science of formulation, packaging and distribution around the innovation of products for the new petfood industry. Online registration opens April 29, 2014, and early bird pricing is $299.

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Petfood 2.0 is all about the science, according to show organizers. The expo will delve into the science of packaging and the issues surrounding food safety, shelf life, technologies, marketing and sustainability. It will also examine the supply chain, sourcing and how products are taken to the marketplace.

J. Rettenmaier & Söhne to host dietary fiber in petfood seminar

J. Rettenmaier & Sohne (JRS) will host a fiber seminar for the needs of petfood and pet treat manufacturers at its headquarters in Rosenberg, Germany, on May 16, 2014.

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The company will feature industry experts and petfood specialists sharing knowledge on the latest trials in pet nutrition and new EU labeling practice for petfoods. A free shuttle bus service will be available on May 16 from the Congress Hotel Mercure Nürnberg, Germany, at Interzoo to JRS headquarters and back.
Registration is open until April 6.

Merrick Pet Care focuses on grain-free petfood in 2014

Merrick Pet Care Inc. has its eye on the grain-free petfood market in 2014, and is planning to launch more than 60 innovations at the upcoming Global Pet Expo in order to expand its hold on the growing industry segment.

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The company has seen an 83% uptick in growth since launching its Real Whole Food Revolution initiative. The plan focuses on high-quality petfood formulas that produce the best possible product, according to the company. "That's what the Revolution was about: How do we reinvent all of our formulas, reinvent all our products, to make the very best product we can make, put it in the marketplace and win with superiority," said Greg Shearson, who took over as Merrick's CEO in 2011. "And that has had a tremendous first two-year impact on our company."
More specifically, Merrick has seen 212% growth in the company's grain-free category. "We've always had a very strong grain-free business, but now 40% of the category is being bought in grain-free," said Shearson. "Our brand is growing at seven times the rest of the category in the grain-free segment, so we've got a lot of momentum to drive in this area." It follows, then, that the company wants to further grow its presence in the segment. At the expo, Merrick plans to release new products in both the wet and dry petfood categories under the Merrick and Castor & Pollux brands, and will also release three new lines in the treats category.
New Products
Merrick's wet food category will gain grain-free chunky formulas and grain-free seasonal formulas under the Merrick brand, and Organix and Natural Ultramix formulas under the Castor & Pollux brand's natural dog and cat food line. The dry food category will be expanded with new Merrick-brand grain-free dry dog food recipes focusing on salmon and lamb, as well as puppy and healthy weight formulas. New treats will include all-natural, grain-free and gluten-free biscuit, chewy training treats and dental chews formulas under the Merrick brand, as well as new treats under Castor & Pollux's Organix and Good Buddy lines.
"The mission here is to become the leader in this natural/organic premium petfood space," said Shearson. "We as a company believe that we're very well positioned to make that stated objective possible, and we're committed to going after it every day, in all that we do."
Whole Earth Farms
Merrick re-launched its value brand Whole Earth Farms in January 2014 to take further advantage of that premium space. The brand aims to serve as a gateway to help convert more pet parent households from mass petfood brands to the natural category. "We've created an entry-point brand that we think will really help retailers with offering a trade-up option to mainstream users," said Shearson.
According to Merrick, Whole Earth Farms is a line of naturally nutritious dog food that offers an affordable choice for pet parents interested in exploring natural petfood. The brand features high-quality proteins in nutritionally complete, grain-free diets.
"One of the fundamental truths that drives us as a company is that pet parents really take the responsibility of the relationship and the nutritional decision-making [for their pets] to heart," said Shearson. "We all care passionately about our pets. The people who are in this premium petfood specialty space don't enter into these choices lightly. They really feel passionate about doing the absolute best. And it's helping them make better decisions, and helping them to better provide for the pets they love so much, that really drives the choices we're making in how we're running the company."
Global Pet Expo 2014 will take place March 12-14, 2014, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.

Pre-registration opens for 2014 International Production & Processing Expo

Attendee and exhibitor pre-registration and hotel registration for the 2014 International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) is now open. The show will be held Tuesday-Thursday, January 28-30, 2014, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
IPPE is expected to attract more than 26,000 attendees and is a collaboration of three shows - International Poultry Expo, International Feed Expo and International Meat Expo. The event is sponsored by U.S. Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY), the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) and the American Meat Institute (AMI).
Those interested can pre-register for a discounted price of US$50 through December 31. After December 31, the registration fee is US$70. IPPE's website provides information on registration for exhibitors and attendees, hotel registration and a schedule of 2014 educational seminars. New educational programs will be offered, including sessions on food safety, consumer trends and international trade.  
The 2014 show will again offer the "Members to Atlanta" program, which  waives the pre-registration fee through December 31 for attendees from member firms of all three associations engaged in the production of poultry, eggs and meat for consumption, and feed and petfood manufacturers.  

Petcurean unveils interactive 'WonderWall' at SuperZoo

Petcurean's WonderWall displays photos to engage SuperZoo attendees.

At SuperZoo 2012, premium brand dog and cat food maker Petcurean unveiled the "WonderWall," an interactive photo mosaic designed to engage the pet tradeshow's attendees.
Designed by Subplot Design Inc., the 12-food high WonderWall was comprised of two 80-inch LCD screens and a 16-foot product shelf that simulated an in-store planogram. The WonderWall included teaser postcards for pet retailers and distributors, large advertisements, attendee and fan-emailed photos.
"The WonderWall is an interactive, live, generative photo mosaic that engaged tradeshow attendees and received over a hundred photo contributions on site as well as from our loyal Facebook community," said Jaimie Turkington, Petcurean marketing manager.

Victam International 2011 to include Petfood Forum Europe among events

The first Victam International show since 2007 will be held this year and will include such events as an opening speech by the president of the European Feed Manufacturers Federation, several technical seminars and Petfood Forum Europe 2011.
“It has been four years since the last Victam International exhibition and a lot has happened in the industries that this world famous exhibition serves," said Henk van de Bunt, general manager at Victam. "This will be reflected in this new event. There will now be three trade shows within the exhibition hall and seven different conferences for the international delegates to attend." The event, which will be held in Cologne, Germany, will have 300 exhibitors from 28 countries and will focus on everything from the manufacturing of petfood and aqua feeds to equipment for production plants and distribution systems.
Petfood Forum Europe will take place on May 4, the second day of Victam International.

Victam Asia 2010 coincides with other feed, petfood events

Victam Asia, to be held March 3-5, 2010, at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in Bangkok, Thailand, will host at least 150 international feed manufacturing companies. The pet industry trade show will be accompanied by three additional events, including Petfood Industry’s Petfood Forum Asia.
FIAAP Asia and Grapas Asia, will also be part of Victam Asia 2010.
“Objectives for this event are to enhance the level of productivity and potential in trading pertaining to feed industry,” said Henk van de Bunt, general manager for Victam International, in a news article.

CIPS to be bigger than 2008’s show

The 13th China International Pet Show is predicted to attract an even bigger international audience than in previous years, as a record 500 exhibitors have already signed up for the November event.
Helping the increased interest in the show is CIPS’ relaunched Web site, which features a search engine for products and allows visitors to hire interpreters.
For more information, visit www.cipscom.com.

Victam announces new events

Victam recently announced two events—Victam Asia 2010 & FIAAP Asia 2010 and GRAPAS Asia 2010, according to FeedLink .
The former will be held March 3-5 at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in Bangkok, Thailand, with a greater emphasis on biomass and bio-energy.
GRAPAS Asia 2010 will include suppliers of equipment, technology and ingredients for flour milling and grain and rice processing.
Petfood Forum Asia 2010, a WATT-sponsored conference, will be included in both of the above events.