A Stroll Through a Pet Trade Show Can Be Eye Opening
By Kerri Erb

Can you believe I love going to a trade show? At least when it comes to the H.H. Backer Annual Pet Industry Christmas Trade Show and Educational Conference in Chicago. It’s a trade show I look forward to every year, because as a pet parent I am passionate about my beagles, Frankie and Flora, and pretty weak when it comes to spoiling  them with toys and treats.

I’m apparently not the only one, since the pet industry is still growing and set to generate $51.6 billion in sales this year according to a recent report in Petage.

Just When You Think You’ve Seen it All

The show is also a bit of sensory overload, with booth after booth of everything and anything you can think of that could be made for pets: pet food, dog leashes, dog collars, pet beds, pet supplements, pet clothes and even pet shoes! With that also comes the issue of sameness. I kept thinking to myself, how can any pet product stand out among all of these exhibitors? But when it comes to pet accessories I suppose it’s all a matter of finding something that fits with your lifestyle like an eco-friendly dog collar, or cool performance gear for dogs on the go, or even the fashion forward options that are available too.

Paws Down, My Pick for ‘Best in Show’

There’s a new company that stands out to me as my favorite pick of the show, called Yep Yup. It’s a combination of home décor for pets and pet parents so your house doesn’t have to be filled with paw print covered pet beds and dog bowls. I think the founder, Sepi Banibashar, is brilliant for coming up with fun designs that stylishly incorporate your pet’s stuff into your home. I can’t say that I’ve seen something so beautifully designed, so her business really stood out at the show, which is not easy to do.

Photos courtesy of Yep Yup

Some of the pet food and pet treats companies also have a presence at the show too, and that’s where the sameness can make things pretty confusing. It’s one thing for pet leashes to be very similar, because then it’s just a difference in taste and style. When it comes to pet food, it gets more complicated. How are pet food brands supposed to be distinctive when everyone seems to be saying the same thing?

My Nutrition and Ingredients are Better Than Yours

In speaking with the pet food brands at the show, they even agreed that there’s quite a bit of sameness, from similar sounding ingredient stories, to packaging, it’s clear why there’s so much consumer confusion about pet food brands. Not to mention, pet food brands are letting the decision-making process on which food to buy happen at the retail shelf. So when pet parents stand in front of the rows of pet food, they see what seems like the exact same story about the best quality ingredients and countless glossy bags with images of real chicken and fresh vegetables displayed.

There’s a HUGE opportunity to reach consumers and gain their loyalty BEFORE they get to the shelf. I want the best for my beagles, like most pet parents. That means doing my research before I even walk out of my house to make a pet food purchase – that’s when you want the decision to be already made, before a consumer gets confused by the sameness at the shelf. For pet parents like me who are savvy about ingredients, it’s so much more than just the packaging. In fact, it’s long before a pet parent steps into a store that your brand can make a move to become the leader of the pack.

Let me know your thoughts or if you’re a pet food brand looking for some answers on how to break away from the pack, drop me an email at kerb@wheatleytimmons.com or twitter.com/KerriAErb.