As it celebrates its 30th anniversary, Petfood Forum continues its history of focusing on the most important opportunities and challenges facing the pet food industry and market, such as labor shortages and supply chain disruptions.
Scheduled for May 2-4 at the Kansas City Convention Center in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, Petfood Forum 2022 kicks off its conference portion on May 3 with an opening keynote on leadership by Coach Ken Carter. On May 4, a panel discussion about the pet food workforce includes presentations on attracting and retaining frontline employees, and how to increase employee engagement through an improved leadership culture.
Other key topics covered during Petfood Forum include safety and supply chain management, sustainability and insect protein. Concurrent tracks and general sessions provide the latest updates on the market, consumer trends, nutrition and ingredient research, processing technologies, safety and pet food regulations.
In addition, students in pet food academic programs share their latest research as part of the Petfood Forum student program, and leading industry suppliers present their solutions via Tech Talks. Petfood Forum also includes a full exhibitor hall with more than 275 industry suppliers, plus several networking opportunities.
For people unable to travel to Kansas City, an on-demand version of Petfood Forum sessions will be available after the conference. Registration for that and the in-person event is available at www.PetfoodForumEvents.com.
Petfood Forum 2022 agenda (as of press time)
Monday, May 2
10:00 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Registration
10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Exhibitor move-in
5:00-7:00 p.m. Petfood Forum and Petfood Essentials opening reception, Kansas City Power & Light District
Tuesday, May 3
7:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Registration
7:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. Cash coffee bar
7:00-8:00 a.m. Breakfast
8:00-8:50 a.m. Welcome and opening keynote: Coach Carter on teamwork and leadership
8:50-9:30 a.m. General session: Pet food spending: Which pet owners spend more, on which brands and why?—David Sprinkle, Packaged Facts
9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Exhibit hall open
9 a.m.-6:00 p.m Visiting pet charities
9:30-10:15 a.m. Coffee break
9:45 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Petfood Forum Student Program research presentations
10:05 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Pet Food Tech Talks
12:00-1:30 p.m. Lunch
12:15-12:35 p.m. AAFCO lunch n’ learn
12:45-1:05 p.m. AAFCO lunch n’ learn
1:30-4:10 p.m. Concurrent sessions:
Ingredient and nutrition research update
Cricket protein: Novel results from canine and feline maintenance trials—Jennifer Maclean, Ph.D., and Mohammed Ashour, MD-CM, Aspire Food Group
Specialty pet food formulations: Bridging the gap between emotions and science—Michelle Sandau, Ph.D., AFB International
Through pet parent eyes: Validating postbiotic efficacy with an in-home concept and usage method—Sharon Norton, Ph.D., Diamond V/Cargill
Protein hydrolysate innovations for pet food—Bill Schoenherr and Sue Lancaster, Prairie AquaTech
Pet food market and consumer influence
Consumer marketing: The good and not so good—Michael Johnson, Finn Cady
North American consumer acceptance of insect feed ingredients in pet food—Bruce Jowett, Enterra
Soy as the next alternative pet food protein: Survey says … —Gary Davenport, Ph.D., ADM
Human factors that influence cat food purchasing—Jill Villaareal, Ph.D., University of Washington
Pet food processing technologies
Top 7 strategies for aseptic pet food processing—Pablo Coronel, Ph.D., CRB
Breaking the mold: Extending pet chews times with extrusion—Will Henry, Extru-Tech
Challenges, research advances of high-pressure processing for fresh pet food—Vinicio Serment-Moreno, Ph.D., Hiperbaric, and Nicole Lindsley, Steve’s Real Food
Consumer transparency drives automation and traceability trend in pet food manufacturing—Steve Minnich, ADF Engineering
Ensuring safety in supply chains, novel ingredients
Pet food safety starts with supply chain management—David Rosenblatt, DVM, Sher Consulting
Pet food regulatory hurdles and upcoming developments—Emily Lyons, Husch Blackwell
Essentials of hazard analysis and assigning risk for new, novel ingredients—Jeff Lucas, Merieux NutriSciences
Mycotoxin risk mitigation planning: Applying practical knowledge, techniques to new, emerging protein sources—Jenny Rodgers, Trilogy Analytical Laboratory
2:35-3:05 p.m. Coffee break
4:15-6:00 p.m. Networking reception
4:30-5:45 p.m. Student Program/industry poster researchers meet-and-greet
Wednesday, May 4
7:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Registration
7:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. Cash coffee bar
7:00-8:00 a.m. Breakfast
8:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Exhibit hall open
8:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m Visiting pet charities
8:00-9:15 a.m. Roundtable: Pet food workforce issues: How to attract and retain employees
- How to design, measure and improve your leadership culture to increase employee engagement and productivity—Donte Vaughn, DM, CultureWorx
- Attracting and retaining pet food frontline employees, increasing productivity during the Age of Resignation—Claudine Bianchi, Redzone Software
9:15-10:00 a.m. Coffee break
10:00-11:45 a.m. Petfood Forum Student Program presentations
10:15-11:45 a.m. Pet Food Tech Talks
11:45 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Lunch
12:00-12:20 p.m. AAFCO lunch n’ learn
1:00-2:15 p.m. Roundtable sessions
Open science: The state and future of pet food industry research
- Assessing research needs for informing pet food industry decisions—Lonnie Hobbs, Kansas State University
- Collaborating to support the pet food industry: The need for transparent discourse and a path forward—Anna Kate Shoveller, Ph.D., and Adronie Verbrugghe, Ph.D., University of Guelph; Daniel Schulof, Dogs, Dog Food and Dogma
Sustainable pet food and its many facets
- The post-pandemic pet food consumer: New realities and evolving demands—Larine Urbina and Pedro Goncalves, Tetra Pak
- Recovering human-grade food to produce pet food ingredients—Dan Morash, California Safe Soil, and Jean Francois Herve, Birdstone Consulting
- New method to assess marine biodiversity impact in relation to more commonly studied environmental impacts—Henk Bosch, Ph.D., Bosch Sustainability Consultants, and Jeff Alix, Veramaris VOF
- Understanding shifting consumer perceptions and their impact on sustainable pet food packaging innovation—Nicole Skaugen and Brant Wunderlich, Nova Chemicals
2:15-3:00 p.m. Closing session: Pet charity focus: How to give back to the greater pet community
Petfood Forum 2022 registration, updates
Petfood Essentials: Path to product development success
On May 2, Petfood Essentials, an interactive seminar, will help participants understand the many aspects of pet food product development. Participants will get to practice their learnings during group exercises and a friendly competition throughout the day.
Petfood Essentials 2022 agenda (as of press time)
7:45-8:30 a.m. Registration/check-in with coffee and light breakfast
8:30-9:15 a.m. Welcome and opening session: How to spur innovation and generate new product ideas in your company—Steven Lerch, Story Arc Consulting
9:15-10:15 a.m. Setting the new product strategy—Renee Streeter, DVM, DACVN, BSM Partners
10:15-11:15 a.m. Managing expectations, timelines and competing priorities—Leah Lambrakis, Simmons Pet Food
11:15-11:45 a.m. Coffee break
11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. Ingredient, processing and packaging considerations—Amanda Dainton, Ph.D., Freshpet
12:45-1:45 p.m. Lunch
1:45-2:45 p.m. Pet food product testing: Don't buy it—Tim Schuster, Popup Think Tank
2:45-3:45 p.m. Going to market: Developing a marketing and distribution plan—Billy Frey, Champion Petfoods
3:45-4:15 p.m. Wrap-up: Groups’ new product presentations and judging of the ideas
4:15-5:00 p.m. Petfood Essentials mixer
To learn more and register, visit www.PetfoodForumEvents.com/Petfood-Essentials/.
Petfood Forum Europe 2022 co-located at Interzoo
Petfood Forum Europe returns as an in-person event on May 23 in Nuremberg, Germany, and, for the first time, is co-located with Interzoo, taking place May 24-27.
Petfood Forum Europe will offer several networking opportunities for pet food professionals, including with leading industry suppliers. Registration include access to Interzoo, the world’s biggest marketing platform for the international pet industry, featuring manufacturers, wholesalers and service providers from more than 60 countries.
Petfood Forum Europe 2022 agenda (as of press time)
8:30-9:30 Registration and check-in
9:30-10:15 Welcome and opening session: Global and European pet food market and trends update—Kate Vlietstra, Mintel Food and Drink
10:15-10:45 Advancing in-home test protocols to assess digestibility of dog and cat foods—Evelien Bos, MSc, Wageningen University & Research
10:45-11:15 Coffee break
11:15-11:45 Mealworm protein hydrolysates as a novel ingredient for pet food—Lorena Sanchez, Ph.D., Ynsect
11:45-12:15 Application of black soldier fly fat in pet food formulations—Gautam B. Patekar, Protix
12:15-12:45 Novel ingredients in pet food: Challenges and opportunities—Cristina Murcia García, Ph.D., and Elena Fraccaroli, DVM, Kemin Nutrisurance Europe
12:45-14:00 Lunch
14:00-14:30 Using circular economy model for environmental improvement of a wet pet food plant—Francois Duquesne, La Normandise Petfood
14:30-15:00 New technique to assess omega-3 status in cell membranes of pets—Tonje Dominguez, Aker BioMarine Antarctic, and Hanna Lindqvist, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
15:00-15:30 Coffee break
15:30-16:00 Potato fiber: Unique mix of soluble, insoluble fibers for improving pet intestinal health, addressing obesity—Alice Rime, Roquette Freres
16:00-16:30 How pet food mix packs and multi packs fit with sustainability—Dieter Mössner, Gerhard Schubert
16:30-18:00 Reception
To learn more and register, visit www.PetfoodForumEvents.com/Europe.
