P3 Pet Trade Show Debuted with Industry Awards, Educational Opportunities and New Products

Listen to this article

P3 Pet Trade Show’s inaugural edition was held August 24-25, 2016 at Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois. With 190 companies represented on the show floor, P3 offered Midwestern pet retailers and service-related businesses an opportunity to find new products, visit with existing suppliers, attend free educational programs and networking events during the two day event.

“Based on feedback we’ve received for retailers and vendors, we think the debut edition of P3 has definitely laid the groundwork to become a strong and viable resource for the Midwest market,” said Stacey Barrett-Brooks, Show Director of P3. “We’re already working on plans to fine-tune and enhance our offerings for our 2017 edition. We are using the valuable input we’ve received from our customers to secure the best possible date pattern and will announce our plans in upcoming weeks.”

Attracting more than 1,000 retailers throughout the Midwestern states with strong concentration in Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana as well as other areas of the country, the launch event received positive reviews from attendees, according to show organizers.

“P3 is off to a great start for its first year,” said Lisa Senafe, Bentley’s Pet Stuff in Chicago, Illinois. “I love having a local show in Chicago to shop for unique items as well as new products that are also on trend. Finding unique regional resources at a local show is a benefit for us because we get to be one of the first to carry it in our store and introduce it to our customers.”

“I made some nice connections at the show and discovered product and visited with booths I had not seen at other events,” added Billy Dellipoali of Choice Pet in Danbury, Connecticut. ” I also took some time to sit in on a few of the seminars and found the sessions helpful. P3 was a productive event for its first year, and I look forward to returning in 2017.”

P3 Pet Trade Show gave retailers the opportunity to balance buying and learning with complimentary educational sessions, including keynote speakers as well as the pop up conference sessions on the show floor offered by the Independent Retailer Conference. Chicago entrepreneur, best-selling author and season one winner of NBC’s The Apprentice Bill Rancic kicked off the show on Wednesday morning with proven advice and winning business strategies to inspire independent and specialty pet retail businesses to identify opportunities and position their business for future growth. On Thursday, Jeff Fromm, the Millennial Marketing Guy, president of FutureCast and contributing writer for Forbes, attuned pet business owners to the customer service levels and expectations of the millennial pet parent.

To conclude the first day of the show and celebrate the launch of P3, Urban Expositions, owners and producers of P3 Progressive Pet Products, co-hosted a show social along with co-sponsors American Pet Professionals and Women in the Pet Industry Network at the Navy Pier Beer Garden, where they awarded its first Industry Excellence Award to Steve Dale, Chicago’s nationally syndicated radio and TV host, published author, columnist, editor, founder of the CATalyst Council, recipient of the AVMA Humane Award.

Urban Expositions and the P3 show team also recognized show exhibitors in the categories of “Best Booth,” “Best Incubator Feature Area Exhibitor” and “Best New Product Showcase.” The exhibitor awards of “Best Booth” and “Best Incubator Feature Area Exhibitor” were juried awards decided by the editors of industry publications, including Pet Age. The editors awarded “Best Booth” to Pura Natural Pet, and “Best Incubator Exhibitor” to Your Perfect Puppy. The New Product Showcase award, which was voted on by attending retailers, was presented to ONO, manufacturers of The Good Bowl, an all-in-one placemat and bowls made from high quality silicone that suction directly to surfaces, making it difficult for paws to tip them over.

For information on the 2017 edition of P3 Progressive Pet Products, visit www.p3petshow.com.