The Global Pet Expo, the pet product industry’s annual trade show, wrapped up the largest show in its seven-year history on Friday at the Orange County Convention Center. For the first time, the show ran Wednesday through Friday instead of Thursday through Saturday, and organizers believe that change helped boost attendance by 8 percent, to nearly 12,000 buyers and exhibitors.
“From our surveys last year, we heard from our larger buyers from the superstores and the large supermarket chains that they prefer a pure weekday format. And we definitely had a much stronger day three than we’ve had in the past, [when] the bigger buyers weren’t sticking around for Saturday,” said Andrew Darmohraj, senior vice president of the American Pet Products Association, which produces the show with the Pet Industry Distributors Association.
This year’s show included nearly 2,400 booths, a 9 percent increase over 2010. In addition to the schedule change, organizers also credit the growth to overall improvement in the pet industry.
“Exhibitors are increasing their space, more new exhibitors are coming in, and we are seeing a lot more small companies launching,” Darmohraj said.
In response to trends in the industry, the show added specialty sections in recent years, such as "Everything Aquatic," "The Natural Pet," "The Boutique," and an international pavilion, to make it easier for buyers to navigate the show floor. Organizers said booths in these areas sold out months before the show began.
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For the past five years, EHEIM aquatics company has parked an executive coach bus at its trade show booth to attract attention and also to give its sales staff private space for meetings and catered luncheons.
Photo: Brandon Dowling for BizBash
EHEIM staff use the bus as a hospitality suite and a quiet place to conduct business on the show floor.
Photo: Brandon Dowling for BizBash
Catty Stacks incorporated its product—cardboard boxes that create custom play areas for cats—into the design of its booth.
Photo: Brandon Dowling for BizBash
Organizers used a pink carpet to designate the Boutique, a section of the floor featuring products for pampered pets.
Photo: Brandon Dowling for BizBash
Nestlé Purina PetCare found a surefire way to attract attendees to its booth: half a dozen puppies available to pet.
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Many of the exhibitors included meeting areas in their booths so buyers could place orders on site.
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Bayer HealthCare placed more than a dozen white lounge chairs at its booth to invite attendees to sit and relax.
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Hagen, a Canadian pet product company, set up a coffee lounge at its booth with seven bar stools and five café tables.
Photo: Brandon Dowling for BizBash
This year's Global Pet Expo was the largest in its seven-year history, with more than 2,300 booths on the show floor.
Photo: Brandon Dowling for BizBash
The Aquatics Lounge included a six-sided display of tanks filled with fish from various exhibitors.
Photo: Brandon Dowling for BizBash
A handful of exhibitors included live animals in their exhibits, including a military macaw at the All Pet Supply booth.
Photo: Brandon Dowling for BizBash
Jarden Animal Solutions used a large poodle to demonstrate its Oster line of pet grooming products.
Photo: Brandon Dowling for BizBash
The international pavilion featured more than two dozen exhibitors from around the world.
Photo: Brandon Dowling for BizBash
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