To thrive in the pet food market in 2025, companies need to adopt emerging trends and update their business practices. Petfood Forum is the premier event for discovering these trends and learning how to integrate them successfully.
Petfood Forum will take place April 28-30, 2025, at the Kansas City Convention Center in Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. After an opening reception the evening of April 28, the conference will kick off on April 29 with an opening keynote by Ernie Tedeschi, director of economics with Budget Lab at Yale Law School, focused on the macro-economic outlook. Tedeschi will provide a forecast for upcoming changes and events with the economy, inflation, consumer spending, the labor force, the financial markets and other key indicators.
On April 30, Michael Allison, CEO of the Adversity Academy Leadership Development Co., U.S. Marine Corps veteran and Purple Heart recipient, will deliver a message designed to help leaders, entrepreneurs and professionals break through the self-imposed barriers that hold them back during his eye-opener session highlighting leadership under pressure.
"Given ongoing economic uncertainty and other pressing challenges, we felt it was vital to offer the Petfood Forum audience insights from a macroeconomist to provide a broader perspective. What changes and forces will most impact business over the next few months and years, and how can companies prepare?" said Debbie Phillips-Donaldson, editor-in-chief of Petfood Industry. “At the same time, all the changes and disruptions call for strong leadership, even if that just means taking charge of your own career and life. So, we also chose a leadership expert to help people identify the self-barriers they might inadvertently create and ways to overcome them."
Learning opportunities around every corner
In between keynote presentations, this year’s five concurrent education tracks will zero in on the pet food market, technology, nutrition, ingredients, and career development and leadership. The latter is inspired by the Women in Petfood Leadership initiative.
Participants can also obtain additional information and learning from the Student Program research presentations and supplier-led Tech Talks. Petfood Forum also will offer access to leading pet food industry suppliers in the large exhibit hall, plus myriad opportunities to network with them and other industry professionals.
The conference portion of Petfood Forum 2025 will close the afternoon of April 30 with a panel discussion on the state of the U.S. pet food ingredient approval process. Representatives from Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Pet Food Institute (PFI) will discuss the current state of approvals and other regulatory and legal matters as well as answer your questions.
Petfood Essentials tackles sustainability
On April 28, Petfood Forum’s interactive lead-in seminar, Petfood Essentials, will provide the latest trends, research and information on 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.
“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. Partnering with the Pet Sustainability Coalition (PSC) to develop some of the program, Petfood Essentials will delve into the sustainability journey and environmental footprints, plus sustainability in pet food ingredients and packaging.
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.
