Team Canada: Impossible to Miss at ZOOMARK 2019

A dopo, Zoomark! See you later, Zoomark! PIJAC Canada and Canadian members flew over the Atlantic Ocean to set up shop at the Canadian Pavilion at Zoomark, in Bologna, Italy. The four-day exhibition is a powerful networking platform that attracts qualified buyers from all over the world. In fact, 26 000 visitors from all parts of the globe passed through Zoomark over the four days, giving Canadian companies lots of opportunity to discover new connections and make valuable trade deals. According to Zoomark International, 757 foreign exhibitors from 45 different countries were on site to meet with these visitors, all grasping at the opportunity for business growth, exchange, confrontation, professional upgrade and innovative discoveries. Visitors particularly enjoyed the reputable Canadian hospitality at the Canadian Pavilion Lounge in Hall 25. The lounge was the perfect place to rest, hold meetings and network, all while enjoying delicious Canadian maple cookies and Italian gourmet products.

Tradeshows like Zoomark are a valuable opportunity for Canadian companies to expand their sales reach beyond our borders. New deals were made with countries from across Italy and Europe and Asia. Our members learned many new ways to say “hello”, meeting with visitors from Germany, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Spain, France, Russia, Greece, Romania, Israel, Jordan and the Netherlands…. Just to name a few. PIJAC Canada, along with Karima Jivraj from Bosley’s and Jason Leung from Petcurean, had the opportunity to give a presentation to the attending business community, discussing the scope and innate benefits the Canadian pet industry has to offer. Thank you to both Karima and Jason for taking part in our presentation!

PIJAC Canada, President and CEO, Stephanie Girard met with our pet trade association colleagues from Europe and the US.  “Events like Zoomark allow us to truly see the realm of pet issues on a global scale.  Combining that perspective while connecting with our counterparts to discuss trade, legislative and welfare issues is the most efficient way to help one another through the share knowledge and resources.” PIJAC Canada will be packing up their bags once again to participate in their very first China International Pet Show, taking place in Shanghai in November 2019.

The 2019 ASSALCO-Zoomark Report outlined that in 2018, the market for cat and dog food products reached a business volume of 2,082 million euros. The opportunities in Europe are enormous! If you are ready to expand your business, let us know and we can help bring you onto the world stage in 2020.

To conclude, we wish to extend a special thank you to Agriculture and Agrifood Canada’s AgriMarketing Program which make our member’s participation in Zoomark and other international events possible.  The program helps small to medium Canadian businesses using Canadian produced materials reach new markets. We also wish to thank our valuable board members for all that they do. The participation in events like Zoomark would be impossible without your continuous support.

Check out our PIJAC Canada Facebook page for Zoomark 2019 photos!