Petfood Forum 2027 is seeking abstracts for noncommercial oral presentations and research posters. The deadline to submit is October 16, 2026.
The conference is scheduled for April 26-28, 2027, at the Kansas City Convention Center in Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. Please do not submit an abstract, especially for an oral presentation, if you are not sure you will be able to attend Petfood Forum in Kansas City during those dates.
Also, please limit submissions to no more than two per company or organization.
Finally, we are accepting abstracts for 2027 on a limited number of topics. Please do not submit an abstract that does not fall under one of those topics.
Topics for submission
Potential speakers are invited to submit noncommercial abstracts on these topics only:
- Nutrition and ingredients (new research on companion animal nutrition or novel ingredients and their potential applications in pet food or treat formulations)
- Market and marketing (new information or trends and predictions for the pet food market, either global or focusing on a specific market; macro-economic factors and outlook, and what they mean for pet food; new information or ideas for marketing pet food)
- Processing and operations (new research, technologies or production techniques, especially aimed at efficiency and cost efficacy)
- Safety and regulatory (update on regulatory information relevant to pet food in the U.S. or other markets, new and specific information on focused aspects of pet food safety)
An advisory board of pet food industry experts will evaluate all submissions for:
- Relevance of topic
- Technical or scientific level
- Presence of new or innovative information, concepts or research. Originality is key, so please be sure your abstract gives a clear idea of how your topic is unique and/or based on new research findings or work not found elsewhere
- Proposed speaker's experience or background with the topic
- Lack of commercialization or promotion — it is crucial that the paper/presentation does not come across as a sales pitch, seeking to promote your organization or product(s)
- Evidence of previous speaking experience
Each submission is evaluated on its own merits against these criteria but also in relation to other papers received — for example, it is highly unlikely two papers on the same exact subject or a very similar subject would be selected for presentations — and to how many sessions are scheduled for a given topic area.
No abstract will be considered if it seems commercial or if it has been published or presented prior to Petfood Forum 2027. Abstracts similar in title or content to previously presented material should include significant new information.
Submission guidelines
- Abstracts must be written in English.
- The abstract should sufficiently explain the topic, especially how it is unique or based on new information — but please do not submit a full paper.
- The potential speaker's expertise in or knowledge of the topic should also be clear.
- For oral presentations, public speaking experience must be included.
- Please do not submit more than two abstracts per company/organization.
- Please submit abstracts only for the four topic areas listed above.
Abstracts must be received no later than October 16. After this deadline, the abstract submission system will no longer accept submissions. Any requests for late submissions will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
After review of submissions
All submissions will be reviewed within six to eight weeks after the October 16 deadline; you will receive an email about whether your submission has been accepted.
If your abstract is chosen for an oral presentation, you will receive a PowerPoint template to use to create your presentation, including a set range of number of slides and amount of information or bullet points to include on each slide. Please use and follow this template.
Authors will be required to sign a copyright release to permit publication of the abstract and the use or reuse of other materials. For oral presentations, you will also be required to provide a photo (head shot) by a specified date, as well as other files.
Failure to provide required files and information by the specified deadlines could result in your being replaced as a speaker or poster presenter for Petfood Forum 2027.
Petfood Forum and Petfood Essentials show dates are April 26-28, 2027, in Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. To register or stay informed on the latest event developments, go to PetfoodForumEvents.com.
