Pet Age Staff //September 11, 2019//
Press release: World Pet Association
SuperZoo, produced by World Pet Association (WPA), opened its doors to host the pet product community, August 20-22, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The largest North American pet product marketplace welcomed over 21,000 participants and unveiled new show features including the SuperZoo Investor Hub and the freshly enhanced New Product Showcase as the pet sector continues to soar financially with intense investor interest.
Amidst a thriving trade show floor, WPA president, Jacinthe Moreau, unveiled its new logo to consumer and trade press as part of the association’s larger rebranding efforts ensuring its leadership position within the global pet retail community. “The WPA rebrand goes far beyond a new logo and operational focus. It’s about the association’s leadership evaluating what the industry and our members need in order to grow and thrive in a competitive, ever-changing marketplace,” said Moreau. The brand and association offerings will ensure that retailers are being supported and well served with a focus on business, innovation, technology and experiential marketing. The association will focus its efforts around four key pillars: producing world-class trade and consumer shows and events; providing industry action and leadership; supporting retail with business services and value-added resources; and giving back through community good works.
“It’s always wonderful to reunite with this dynamic, passionate community for a week of celebration, product discovery, learning and networking,” said Moreau. “The health and growth of the industry is apparent as we welcome both new and returning pet retailers, groomers and manufacturers to the show each year. WPA’s mission continues to be focused on growing and supporting our community and serving as a catalyst for meaningful collaboration and advancement of the industry. With this as our guiding principle, we were thrilled to provide attendees with relevant, leading-edge education sessions, an unprecedented opportunity to discover innovative product offerings and value-added peer-to-peer networking.”
With its New Product Showcase and emphasis on cutting-edge innovation and entrepreneurialism, WPA and SuperZoo look to the future as their members push the pet sector to new heights and profitability. Industry analysis shows that it’s a boom time for pets with 50 percent sector growth over the next five years with overall spending expected to reach $100 billion in that time-frame. In recognition of this explosive time for pet care, this year’s SuperZoo introduced the Investor Hub, which served as a gathering place for finance and private equity funds to engage with companies, entrepreneurs, and product developers looking for capital investment. This destination created a pipeline of innovative pet product discovery and development and opened the door to partnerships and acquisition opportunities with leading industry investors including Leap Ventures, Purina Innovation and Factory LLC.
Leap Ventures, a joint collaboration between the Michelson Foundation, Kinship and a Mars Petcare subsidiary, anchored the showcase with a Shark Tank style pitch competition looking for the next great consumer pet care product. The inaugural winner was TEEF! for their innovative dental care product for dogs. They took home a $15,000 prize and keen interest from Leap’s Studio division, which helps incubate start-ups like TEEF! for major growth. Asad Butt, director of business development for Leap, thought SuperZoo was the obvious choice to launch this new effort.
“The mix of industry experts, innovators, investors, and of course, pet retailers, provided the perfect audience for us to help startups showcase how they’re making a better world for pets.”
SuperZoo 2019 show highlights included:
SuperZoo also celebrated several contest winners, including:
Stay connected with the SuperZoo community on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. Look for SuperZoo 2020 registration to open in the fall.