BolognaFiere’s decision to hold the event in the autumn of 2021 was made together with the exhibitors and operators to respond to the need for an international assembly after a year in which the pandemic put a stop to all in-person events.
With five months remaining until the event, the number of exhibitors requesting to participate, as well as the interest from international operators, has been substantial. All are keen to attend following a long period in which the pandemic emergency has severely tested the global economy and modified people’s established lifestyle habits. It has also been a year in which our pets have assumed an even more central role in our day-to-day lives.
The presentation of ZOOMARK INTERNATIONAL to the international media was held on Friday 4 June at 11am with a digital press conference incorporated into the event schedule of Interzoo.digital 2021. This high profile opportunity recognizes and consolidates the role of the event – organized by BolognaFiere in collaboration with ASSALCO (the Italian Association of Pet Food and Pet Care Companies) and ANMVI (the National Association of Italian Veterinarians) – as the reference event for the pet industry during odd numbered years.
The participation of the heads of Interzoo, Gordon Bonnet, Managing Director of ZZF and Rowena Arzt, Director of Exhibitions at WZF GmbH at the ZOOMARK INTERNATIONAL press conference – alongside Italian speakers Antonio Bruzzone, General Manager of BolognaFiere, Domenico Lunghi, Head of the Private Label Business Unit, Food & Pet Industry at BolognaFiere and Pascale Sonvico, Show Office Manager for Promopet – served to illustrate to the international media the current partnership between the two trade fair organizers that has been created to help businesses in the sector plan their international activities effectively. Interzoo and ZOOMARK INTERNATIONAL will promote and participate reciprocally at each other’s events to make them increasingly useful for European companies in this sector.
The press conference was the closing event of ZOOMARK INTERNATIONAL’s involvement at Interzoo.digital: over the previous days a series of meetings (organized in partnership with the organizers of the German event) had been held to promote the role of the Italian market and the opportunities within it. The current scenario was the topic of the meeting on 3 June dedicated to the Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic: Developments and trends in the Italian and German Pet Care Market and, for the duration of Interzoo.digital, as part of the Zoomark Café, operators were able to interact with the ZOOMARK INTERNATIONAL team to obtain further information to help plan their participation at the event in November.
ZOOMARK INTERNATIONAL 2021, discover the event
ZOOMARK INTERNATIONAL 2021 will have a new layout that will include halls 25, 26 and the brand new hall 37 of the Bologna Exhibition Centre. The event will be held in person and in full safety, ensured by protocols and the experience of BolognFiere that already in September 2020, at the height of the pandemic, managed to host some fair events (link to video on safety https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hDEIRKSnAY).
Now, with the progress of vaccination campaigns worldwide and the gradual easing of travel restrictions, the improving conditions suggest that the fair will be successful and will enjoy the substantial attendance of operators from all over the world.
More than 300 companies from 34 countries have already signed up for ZOOMARK INTERNATIONAL and they will be offering a broad panorama of the most significant trends and new developments set to characterize the market and consumption in the coming months. Innovation will be the connecting theme of the event, and as traditionally occurs, this will culminate with a series of in-depth focus sessions.
Internationalization
Internationalization has always been one of the strategic goals of ZOOMARK INTERNATIONAL which, at its most recent edition in 2019 counted the presence of 757 exhibitors, of which 67% were from outside Italy, and more than 29,000 professional operators, more than 38% of whom were from abroad.
The coming edition of the event will further reinforce the actions to ensure an ever-closer dialogue with the international markets: this aspect has been boosted by agreements signed with the large e-commerce platforms that will extend the business reach of the companies exhibiting at the events in Bologna by opening them up to the world. BolognaFiere and Alibaba.comhave signed a unique agreement that will also enable the exhibitors at ZOOMARK INTERNATIONAL to benefit from the opportunities offered by the largest B2B e-commerce platform, which counts on more than 30 million operators all over the world and is present in 149 countries. This represents a huge opportunity for companies to boost their profile and launchmultichannel commercial strategies.
The activities to incentivize the attendance of foreign exhibitors and operators can also count on a vast network of agents who promote the event in: Africa (Francophone countries), Austria, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, France, Great Britain, Greece, India, Iran, Korea, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Mexico, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, Turkey and the USA.
Finally, in collaboration with ITA, the Italian Trade Agency, the 2021 edition of ZOOMARK INTERNATIONAL will offer an in-depth focus on business opportunities with countries in Eastern Europe that will be illustrated during the event.
A fair that reflects a growing market
ZOOMARK INTERNATIONAL is a successful fair that reflects a dynamic market, characterized by positive progress. The initial previews of the 14thedition of the Assalco- Zoomark Report, compiled by Assalco (the Italian Association of Pet Food and Pet Care Businesses), which will be presented in Bologna in November, have highlighted total sales volumes for the pet food sector that exceed 2 billion euros, growth in value of 4.2% and growth in volume of 2% compared with 2019.
Driving the market for pet food are products for cats and dogs that IRI estimates, based on the sales data from the main distribution channels (grocery retail, traditional pet shops and pet shop chains)[1] amount to 2,257 million euros for a total of 626.600 tonnes of pet food sold. The market share for foods for smaller pets (mainly birds and rodents) in 2020 saw revenues of just over 12 million euros (at hypermarkets, supermarkets and convenience stores).
During the year of the pandemic, IRI highlighted growth in the compartment of accessories for pet care and day-to-day pet needs, which includes hygiene products, toys, leashes, beds, bowls and bird cages, aquaria, reptile tanks and other accessories. In the grocery retail channel in 2020 this market was worth72.8 million euros, an increase of 2.3% in value and 6.7% in volume compared with 2019.
A steering committee for an increasingly high-performance trade fair
The decision to set up a Steering Committee for ZOOMARK INTERNATIONALwas born from the desire to plan an edition of the event that is tailored to the needs of the market and its key players, becoming increasingly effective and innovative in its content. The Steering Committee 2021 is composed of Befood srl, Camon spa, Dorado srl, Ferribiella spa, Gheda Mangimi srl, Iv San Bernard srl, Monge & C. spa, Pet Village srl, Prodac International srl, Rinaldo Franco spa, Sicce Italia srl, Trixie Italia spa and Wonderfood spa.
Numerous opportunities for dialogue in the run-up
Over the last year ZOOMARK INTERNATIONAL has maintained an active dialogue between businesses and operators also with a series of webinars dedicated to some of the themes of major interest for the market: on 20 April, atan event organized in collaboration with Pet Trend, the topic was Digitalization and innovation; on 18 May at the event organized in collaboration with Pet B2B the discussion centred on The specialist channel after the pandemic; the third appointment, scheduled to take place before the summer break, on 8 July, and organized in collaboration with Zampotta Pet Business will be dedicated to How communication in the pet industry has changed over the last year. Other initiatives, both in-depth sessions and meetings with the international business community are in the pipeline and will be announced shortly. The expert content and enthusiastic participation in the events confirm ZOOMARK INTERNATIONAL as a reference point for the in-depth analysis of trends and scenarios that characterize the pet industry market.
On the website of ZOOMARK INTERNATIONAL recordings of the press conference and the webinars are available for those who were unable to participate in the events.
