Petfood Essentials' interactive nature is aimed at people who might be newer to the pet food industry or needing to know more about the topic.
Paul Ward Photography
Petfood Essentials is an interactive, informal educational preconference seminar held the day prior to the opening of Petfood Forum, and in 2025 it’s going to tackle the hottest topic in the pet food space: sustainability.
“Petfood Essentials is one of the very few — possibly the only — pet food seminars that focuses on a specific theme, allowing for a deep dive into various aspects of that subject,” said Debbie Phillips-Donaldson, editor-in-chief of Petfood Industry. “The program is aimed at people who might be newer to the pet food industry or needing to know more about the topic.”
“Sustainability” is a diverse topic, and in focusing on it during this one-day seminar, Phillips-Donaldson hopes to give guidance to pet food professionals.
“As with most industries and categories, sustainability in pet food is becoming increasingly essential to business success,” she said. “Not only are pet owners and other entities in the pet food supply chain expecting and demanding more environmentally responsible practices and results, but companies are also finding that following such practices often results in cost savings.”
Because of that growing interest and necessity, people in the pet food industry need more actionable information, which is what the Petfood Essentials program will provide.
Petfood Essentials will be partnering with the Pet Sustainability Coalition (PSC) to develop at least part of the Essentials program in 2025.Paul Ward Photography
Sustainability topics covered during Petfood Essentials
Petfood Essentials will delve into consumer trends and demands for sustainability, plus sustainability in pet food ingredients, packaging and processing, said Phillips-Donaldson noting that the team is in the early planning stages of the seminar.
“These may be separate sessions or may be woven into overview sessions that help attendees understand the basic concepts and how to get started on the sustainability journey – sort of a ‘pet food sustainability 101’ – or what the different phases of the journey might look like and how to best navigate each one, including for those who’s already started,” she said.
Why should people attend this seminar on sustainability?
“To arm themselves with information to contribute to their companies’/organizations’ sustainability programs and journeys,” said Phillips-Donaldson. “And to understand how to make the case for those programs in the first place.”
Phillips-Donaldson noted the Petfood Essentials team will be partnering with the Pet Sustainability Coalition (PSC) to develop at least part of the Essentials program. This will happen in addition to the Petfood Forum Sustainability Program started in 2024, which also includes collaboration with PSC. (See “Petfood Forum Sustainability Program” box for more information.)
Petfood Forum and Petfood Essentials show dates are April 28-30, 2025, in Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. To stay informed on the latest event developments, go to PetfoodForumEvents.com.
Trade shows generate a significant amount of waste, and by implementing sustainability practices, Petfood Forum can reduce the environmental footprint of the event.anncapictures | Pixabay.com
Petfood Forum commits to sustainability
Petfood Forum is committed to sustainability so much so that in 2024, it launched an initiative designed to minimize the environmental impact of the event.
“Our mission is to contribute to a cleaner and healthier future for pets and our planet,” said Dirk Ebener, trade show manager of Petfood Forum. “Trade shows generate a significant amount of waste, and by implementing sustainability practices, we can reduce the environmental footprint of the event, conserving resources, minimize waste, and promoting these steps to industry leaders.”
Some highlights of the sustainability initiative include:
Reducing waste: Implement high-impact recycling, add more clearly marked bins, and use paper badges instead of plastic sleeves.
Sustainable materials: Use recycled lanyards and bags, set up water stations to reduce plastic use, and opt for sustainable plates and silverware.
Food recovery: Donate unused pet food samples to local shelters and excess food to community organizations like Pete’s Garden and Pawsperity.
Reduce paper usage: Print signage on recyclable materials, reuse signs when possible, and rely on a mobile app to reduce printed materials.
Sustainability partnerships: Work with partners who share a commitment to sustainability, including the Kansas City Convention Center and show hotels.
“The initiative had a good start in 2024,” said Ebener. “Exhibitors and attendees valued the initiative and transparency that Petfood Forum presented in this very important industry movement.”
For 2025’s event, Ebener said Petfood Forum will continue offering the sustainability bins, encourage innovations, and meet the expectation of younger generations. “We are taking this very seriously and plan to continue increasing our efforts for 2025,” he added.
Stay tuned to see how sustainability and its impact to the pet food industry will be covered at Petfood Forum 2025.
Petfood Essentials will be partnering with the Pet Sustainability Coalition (PSC) to develop at least part of the Essentials program in 2025.Paul Ward Photography
Trade shows generate a significant amount of waste, and by implementing sustainability practices, Petfood Forum can reduce the environmental footprint of the event.anncapictures | Pixabay.com
Trade shows generate a significant amount of waste, and by implementing sustainability practices, Petfood Forum can reduce the environmental footprint of the event.anncapictures | Pixabay.com
