TRADE SHOW NEWS
BARK YOUR BIZ UNVEILS WINNER OF COMPETITION AT PET CONNECTIONS EXPO
Bark Your Biz, a three-minute elevator pitch entrepreneur competition for the pet products industry, presented a live program at the Pet Connections Expo, which was held
in Oaks, Pa., Oct. 2-3.
The hour-long program featured four entrepreneurs pitching their brands and products for the hosts and a panel of industry experts.
Based on the criteria of presentation, product and market potential, the hosts and
panelists scored the pitches. The Best Barker Award honors went to Anne Carlson, the
founder and CEO of Jiminy’s, which makes a line of dog treats made with crickets as
the core protein. Carlson presented the nutritional benefits of crickets for carnivores as
well as the eco-friendly advantages of utilizing crickets instead of traditional protein
such as beef, chicken and lamb. The victory gives Jiminy’s bragging rights as well as a
$500 voucher toward a booth at next year’s Pet Connections Expo and three hours of
consulting with the expert panelists.
Three other companies, which received $100 booth discounts and one hour of fol-
low-up consults with the expert panelists, presented to the competition’s panel of pet
industry experts:
• 1-Toletta: The company makes an Io T (internet of things) high-tech cat litterbox
that measures urine output to monitor feline health.
• TeloMore Pet: Telomere science is a new area of genetic health research that sug-
gests that the length of telomeres at the end of DNA strands determines life expec-
tancy and genetic versus
chronological age. Telo-
More has created an en-
zyme supplement to help
maintain the length of
healthy telomeres.
• The Original Dog
Hook: This device aims
to make it easy to anchor dogs in any location simply by looping
a leash over the hook,
which must be installed
in a wall.
Bark Your Biz was created by Bennie & the Pets Podcast hosts Anthony and Amanda
Bennie, the co-founders of Cape Coral, Fla.-base Clear Conscience Pet.
The Bark Your Biz industry expert panelists for the event were: Phil Chang, founder
of Retail Phil, a consultancy that helps consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands and
retailers to grow their businesses; Taz Latifi, founder of Petropolis NYC, a pet food and
supply retail store in New York; and B.C. Henschen, founder of Platinum Paws, an
independent pet store in Carmel, Ind.
MANUFACTURER REPS CONNECT WITH RETAILERS AT LADS 2018 OPEN HOUSE
More than 200 people joined LADS Pet Supplies, a division of distributor Animal Supply Co., at its
annual open house, which was held in Ellicottville, N. Y., in August.
On the first day, retailers and manufacturer reps were encouraged to join activities including
a golf tournament, horseback riding, skeet and clay shooting, and a self-guided tour through the
village of Ellicottville. A welcome reception was held that night for retailers and manufacturer
representatives to mingle and discuss the latest industry news over dinner and drinks.
LADS’ newly acquired brands were presented to retailers at the show. LADS closed the show
with an outdoor dinner and DJ so the retailers and manufacturer reps could dance the night away.
“LADS Pet Supplies would like to thank all of our retailers and vendors who attended this
year’s open house and made it a successful event,” said Jim Corbett, general manager of LADS Pet
Supplies. “We look forward to seeing everyone again at next year’s show.”
Fromm representative
Paul Rayes (left) with
Bob and Gretchen
Bonadio of Nickel Plate
Mills in Erie, Pa.
PET SUSTAINABILITY COALITION REPORTS
ATTENDANCE INCREASE AT IMPACT UNLEASHED
The Pet Sustainability Coalition (PSC) welcomed more than 90 people to Denver for its second annual Impact Unleashed event, which
aims to inspire the next wave of innovation in the pet industry that
drives shared prosperity for pets, people and the planet, according
to the event’s organizers.
The event attracted 55 percent more industry leaders this year
and, like last year, attendees reported incredibly high value from the
two-day event, which featured three speakers from outside of the
industry and three presentations from well-known industry leaders,
organizers said.
The event’s keynote presentation was delivered by Margaret
Morey-Reuner, director of strategic partnerships and business development at Stratham, N.H.-based Timberland. Morey-Reuner
showcased the company’s collaborative supply chain efforts that
have empowered communities in Haiti to produce sustainable cotton. PSC also celebrated its five-year anniversary and honored PSC’s
first member companies.
In 2018, PSC’s membership increased by 58 percent. Through
membership expansion into Europe, and increased awareness of
PSC’s work through its partnerships with the World Pet Association
(WPA) and Pet Food Experts (PFE), the coalition has experienced
double-digit growth in the past year.
During the event, PSC members identified collaboration as the
No. 1 way to drive impact for their businesses and the industry. In a
relatively fierce competitive landscape, PSC’s members are creating
a new pre-competitive community of business leaders that understand not only the necessity of collaboration to drive scalable impact,
but also an appetite to connect with other values-led leaders for a
better industry overall, according to PSC officials.
