Global sales of petfood topped US$69 billion in 2013, according to Euromonitor, with some market segments growing more than 5%. Petfood professionals can help their companies lead that growth by learning the latest research and industry information at Petfood Forum and Petfood Workshop 2014. As the one place the global petfood industry comes together each year, these conferences also offer a prime opportunity to network with peers and leading industry suppliers.
New to Petfood Forum, which takes place March 31-April 2 at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel near Chicago, Illinois, USA, are three concurrent discussion sessions. Held on Wednesday, April 2, the sessions will focus on important issues facing our industry: nutritional sustainability of petfoods, how distributor consolidation is affecting petfood retailing, and potential new petfood specifications and approvals from the Food and Drug Administration.
The conference portion of Petfood Forum 2014 will start on April 1 with an opening keynote by Steve Dale, a leading pet journalist, on how he embarked on his career and what he has learned throughout it from pet owners. On April 2 during lunch, Petfood Forum will conclude with a closing keynote by Wells Jones, CEO of America's VetDogs, an organization that provides guide and service dogs to US military veterans. A few veterans and their dogs will accompany Jones; on April 1, pets from Tree House Humane Society, on whose board Dale sits, will visit Petfood Forum.
Besides the discussion sessions, 21 additional concurrent sessions will address petfood ingredients; the US, Russian and Argentinean petfood markets; new ways and technologies for handling meat ingredients; new products and processes for controlling Salmonella in petfood plants; the new preventive control rule for feed under the Food Safety Modernization Act; and much more.
Petfood Workshop: Marketing to Today's Consumers follows on April 2-3, also at the Renaissance Schaumburg. This hands-on seminar features industry experts explaining how pet owners shop, their perspectives on petfood, how to build trust and credibility with them, connecting with them through social media, reaching emerging pet owner groups and much more. For more information, visit http://petfoodforum.petfoodindustry.com/PetfoodWorkshop.
Petfood Forum schedule
For full descriptions of topics and speakers, please visit http://petfoodforum.petfoodindustry.com/PetfoodForum/Topics_and_speakers.html.
Monday, March 31
12:00-7:30 pm Registration/check in
1:00-7:30 pm Exhibitor setup
5:30-7:30 pm Opening reception
Tuesday, April 1
7:00-8:00 am Breakfast
8:00-9:00 am Keynote : Steve Dale, pet journalist, relates what he has learned from pet owners, including their perceptions (and misperceptions) about petfood and pet nutrition.
9:00-9:40 am General session: Petfood market update and projections -Maria Lange, senior product manager of pet nutrition for GfK Retail and Technology USA, provides an overview of the US petfood market in the pet specialty channel.
9:40 am Grand opening of Exhibit Hall and Networking Lounge
9:45-10:30 am Coffee break in Exhibit Hall
9:45-11:30 am Visit with pets from Tree House Humane Society
9:45-11:30 am Visit Exhibit Hall
11:30 am-1:00 pm Lunch
1:00-1:40 pm
Nutrition : Role of fiber and carbohydrates in obesity and diabetes mellitus-Jennifer A. Larsen, DVM, PhD, DACVN, University of California-Davis
Marketing/retail/packaging : Online marketing A to Z: websites, social media, video marketing and more-Andrea Fischetti, Chicago Pet Video
Safety/processing : FSMA preventive control rule for feed: The petfood industry's response-Jason Vickers, Procter & Gamble Pet Care
1:45-2:25 pm
Nutrition : Effect of baking, extruding and raw ingredient selection on petfood sensory and odor properties-Kadri Koppel, PhD, Kansas State University
Marketing/retail/packaging : Using primary research to drive product innovation-Beth Vann, CEI
Safety/processing : Innovations in petfood extrusion processes-Ed Beecher, Coperion Corp.
2:25-3:00 pm Coffee break in Exhibit Hall
3:00-3:40 pm
Nutrition : Nutrition and the working canine: new work, new nutrition-Joseph J. Wakshlag, DVM, PhD, DACVN, DACVSMR, Cornell University
Marketing/retail/packaging : US petfood spending patterns-David Sprinkle, Packaged Facts
Safety/processing : Effect of petfood formulation in thermal process validation studies against Salmonella-Mary L. Bandu, PhD, Chestnut Labs
3:45-4:25 pm
Nutrition : Protein oxidation and petfood-Sara Cutler, PhD, and Ben Bowen, Kemin Industries
Marketing/retail/packaging : The Russian petfood market behind the statistics-Henriette Bylling, Aller Petfood Group
Safety/processing : Creating a paradigm shift in handling meat ingredients-Dave L. Flick, Champ Pet Care
4:30-5:10 pm
Nutrition : Phytochemicals: using plant nutrients to fight aging diseases in pets-Elizabeth Jeffery, PhD, University of Illinois, Urbana
Marketing/retail/packaging : New product development and the Argentinean petfood market-Carlos Crosetti, DVM, PhD, Gepsa Grupo Pilar
Safety/processing : Leveraging lean and just-in-time principles to save energy in petfood processing-Michael Overturf, ZF Energy Development
5:10-6:30 pm Reception in Exhibit Hall
5:45-6:30 pm Poster reception in Exhibit Hall
Wednesday, April 2
7:00-8:00 am Breakfast
8:00 am-12:00 pm Exhibit Hall and Networking Lounge open
8:00-8:40 am
Nutrition : Novel ingredient for safe, effective, natural detoxification of pets-Robert Stezinar, DVM, Nexus Outsourcing and Consulting
Marketing/retail/packaging : Opportunities with secondary packaging of petfood products-Jarlath Harkin, EDL Packaging Engineers
Safety/processing : Case study: Cooking meat slurry using inline direct steam injection-Matt Gordon and Dave Mardon, Hydro-Thermal
8:45-9:25 am
Nutrition : Common dry beans as a novel ingredient in extruded diets for canine weight loss-Genevieve M. Forster, Colorado State University
Marketing/retail/packaging : Selling natural petfood to today's discerning pet owners-Brad Kriser, Kriser's
Safety/processing : New technology: Controlling Salmonella past the primary critical control point-Richard B. Smittle, PhD, Micro-Nature
9:25-10:15 am Coffee break in Exhibit Hall, visit with US military veterans and their dogs from America's VetDogs
10:15 am-12:00 pm Discussion sessions (also see www.petfoodindustry.com/49727.html):
Nutritional sustainability of petfoods: can we create a more sustainable system? -led by Kelly Swanson, PhD, associate professor, Department of Animal Sciences/Division of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Illinois
How distributor consolidation is affecting petfood retailing -led by Mark Kalaygian, editor in chief of Pet Business magazine
Petfood ingredient specifications and approvals: Time for the industry to step up to the plate -led by George Burdock, PhD, president of the Burdock Group
12:00-1:15 pm Lunch/closing keynote: Wells Jones, CEO of America's VetDogs, explains how his organization selects, trains, feeds, cares for and provides service dogs to military veterans
12:00-10:00 pm Exhibitor teardown
Petfood Workshop schedule
For full descriptions of topics and speakers, visit http://petfoodforum.petfoodindustry.com/PetfoodWorkshop/Topics_and_speakers.html.
Wednesday, April 2
12:00-2:00 pm Registration/check-in
2:00-3:00 pm Opening keynote : How to integrate your brand with programs, sponsorships and incentives
3:00-3:20 pm Coffee break
3:20-4:35 pm First round of breakout sessions (each an interactive workshop; attendees rotate among the four rooms):
- Gen X, Y & Z: How to market to today's (and tomorrow's) pet parents
- Using social media to connect with consumers
- The art of re-packaging: How design, strong branding and smart investment can completely revamp your brand
- Getting your product on store shelves: What retailers want, what they need to know and how to partner with the right people
4:40-5:55 pm Second round of breakout sessions
6:00-7:00 pm Reception
Thursday, April 3
7:00-8:00 am Breakfast
8:00-9:15 am General session: Ask the experts panel -here's your chance to ask anything and everything you've ever wanted to know about petfood marketing.
9:15-9:45 am Coffee break
9:45-11:00 am Third round of breakout sessions
11:05 am-12:20 pm Fourth round of breakout sessions
