The First Ever National Pet Industry Show: Virtual Edition… A Huge Success!
Trade shows have been anything but ordinary in 2020. With the COVID-19 pandemic changing the world and how businesses operate, PIJAC Canada had to quickly come up with a way to maintain business opportunities for their members, despite in-person events being cancelled. Safety being one of the associations priorities during this unprecedented time, the virtual edition of the National Pet Industry Show came to be!
Being a first in the pet industry, this event was the first of its kind in North America. Pet industry exhibitors from coast to coast set up their booths to showcase their products to visitors from not only Canada, but all over the world! This virtual format allowed for industry professionals from Andorra, Australia, Belgium, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Cayman Islands, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Fiji, France, India, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Nigeria, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovenia, Sweden, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United-States to visit the show without any travel required. During the two live show days, 1,394 individuals logged into the show platform to discover the nearly 200 booths in the show. Of these 200 booths, 178 companies were represented, giving visitors lots to discover. These visitors viewed documents 61,881 times, watched 5,947 videos, and visited booths 103,135 times! Visitors will continue to be able to make discoveries over the next month, as the platform is still accessible until the 14th of October. Yes! Booths, webinars and the new product section! Click HERE to access the show!
The show was a one stop shop for everything pet, with products like pet food, treats, fish supplies, bird seed, grooming tools, watering stations, pet washes and more. Buyers are looking to offer new and exciting products for their clients, as well as offer diversity on their shelves. Canadian offerings are completely on trend with the global movement towards sustainable packaging, tech-enhanced toys and different dietary options like raw food and meal toppers. The new product section, sponsored by StreetDog Marketing, was the place to go to browse different exhibiting companies featured new products. When it came to bringing something new to the stores, that was the place to be!
In addition to the main exhibition, this virtual show offered the opportunity for both visitors and exhibitors to take the time to learn more on interesting and relevant topics. From marketing for your pet business, to preventative oral care for pets, there were a variety of topics to discover. Check out the full list on our website HERE. As you can tell, the wide variety of topics meant that there was something to peak anyone’s curiosity. These webinars are still accessible until October 14th, giving you ample time to check them out!
This virtual show was also the opportunity to host the awards ceremony for the Canadian Pet Community Awards for Quebec, Ontario and the Maritimes. In lieu of a in person ceremony, viewers were on the edge of their seats as the winners were announced by video, with the sound of the classic Rocky soundtrack playing to set the mood. With the video cheering sounds, it was like we were all there in person! Congratulations to all the winners and to the finalists. Click HERE to find out who were this years winners!
Thank you to our amazing 2020 sponsors! The main show sponsor was BüD’z, a fun Quebec maker of toy and accessory for dogs and cats. Thank you to our other sponsors Nutram, Kane Pet Supplies, the American Pet Products Association, and of course, as previously mentioned, StreetDog Marketing, who sponsored the new product section.
Although the 2020 National Pet Industry Show was vastly different, members rejoiced in the opportunity to conduct business during this uncertain time. Many new connections were made, discussions were had, and orders were placed. Being the first edition of this show, this virtual format is considered to be an exceptional success by the PIJAC Canada team and board of directors. On behalf of our exhibiting members, Directors and staff, we want to thank everyone who chose to attend the National Pet Industry Show – Virtual Edition this year. Supporting Canadian shows helps to safeguard access to products, making sure you can supply the products your clients want.
We hope to see our exhibitors and visitors at in-person shows as soon as possible. These shows are not only important to PIJAC Canada as an association, but also to our exhibiting members and visitors. Until then, we wish you well and hope you and your loved ones stay safe. It’s going to be okay.
