Reasons to be Excited

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As 2017 draws to a close and a new year begins, the Pet Age office has been buzzing with excitement. We’ve recently finished hosting our third seminar that brings manufacturers together with retailers and distributors in a roundtable setting to discuss topics affecting both pet owners and the pet industry. And the inaugural issue of our consumer publication, Pet Age 2.0, featuring a cover story on actor/director David Arquette’s work with homeless pets and service animals, will have gone live by the time you read this.

In addition, the nominees for our 2018 Women of Influence Awards have been sent to our team of judges: DHA Lifestyle PR President Jo Hunt, Jones Naturals CEO Michelle Higdon and Sheryl Maher, former CMO of Phillips Pet Food & Supplies. The results of this prestigious award will be announced in our March issue.

We have been planning Pet Age’s first trade show, the Food And Treat Festival for Pets, which is scheduled for February 6 at the NJ Convention & Exposition Center in Edison, New Jersey. The one-day event with a Mardi Gras theme will be packed with speakers and vendors, and we expect there to be quite a few surprises, including appearances by a few social media pet celebrities.

Pet Age always delivers strong content on the topic of food, and this issue is no different. Sandy Robins covers food in both of her Trends & Products articles for dogs and cats, and this month’s Back Story profiles Answers Pet Food, one of the rising stars in the raw pet food category.

Phillips Pet Food & Supplies made big news last year when it introduced Endless Aisles, which allows independent retailers to sell items through the distributor’s online platform. It was one of the topics we asked Phillips CEO Todd Shelton about in this issue’s Five Questions profile.

We take pride in our feature articles, which provide valuable information on important pet trends, and this month we spotlight pet anxiety, thanks to our second informational seminar that took place last October and was led by Phil Blizzard, founder of ThunderWorks. Also new for 2018 is our Pet of the Month profile. With our cover story being dedicated to the popularity of reptiles, we selected the strikingly beautiful red-eyed tree frog to be the first entry.

As always, enjoy!