I just got back from spending three days in Las Vegas at the largest pet industry trade show in North America. SuperZoo had over 14,000 attendees and over 900 pet product exhibitors with just about everything you need for your life with pets.
I was invited to speak on a panel about Influencer marketing in the pet industry alongside Dr. Adam Christman (he has over 900K TikTok followers!). After the talk, I walked about 6 miles a day in the Mandalay Bay convention center looking for trends to report back to you!
In this episode, I’ll share dog food and treats trends, hot ingredients to keep an eye out for, what was happening in terms of canine enrichment, something called palatability testing plus my personal favorite part of SuperZoo!
While I had a great time and met lots of wonderful people at this event, it’s clear that we need to keep working to amplify and support women in this industry. So it couldn’t be a better time to open up membership in Wear Wag Repeat Society! I love this community of women in the pet business and how well we’ve gotten to know each other. Get on the waitlist now so you know when membership opens in early September.
Dog Treats, Ingredients and More that Are Trending at SuperZoo
Super Zoo is a wonderful place to look for trends around pet nutrition and other products because there are over 900 exhibitors. My favorite areas to browse were the health and wellness area, the emerging brands zone and the new product showcase.
For dog treats and food, air dried is a hot marketing term I saw a lot of. Listen to this episode to learn why it might not be healthier than freeze-dried food. I also saw a ton of beneficial herbal and botanical ingredients being used like turmeric, CBD and marjoram (a dog-safe essential oil).
Although there weren’t a ton of canine enrichment toyr or innovations that I saw at SuperZoo, one of the enrichment trends I heard over and over is back jaw chewing.
According to Johnna Devereaux, clinical pet nutritionist and director of nutrition and wellness for Bow Wow Labs: “Chewing naturally increases a dog’s overall well-being. The repetitive action of chewing releases serotonin and dopamine, two important neurotransmitters in the brain that support mental health, and a feel-good vibe.” You can learn more about Johnna back on episode 97.
Other than these trends and more that I discuss in the episode… I also want to point out my personal highlight of the show. I loved the creative grooming competition! It was so much more of a multi-media show than I imagined and I’m in awe of the creativity and talent of those groomers. I’m so happy I got to see how this facet of the pet care industry!
I hope this recap gives you a good idea of what it’s like to attend SuperZoo. If you’ve never been, I highly recommend you plan to go next year! Registration is free if your business meets the requirements (for example, if you’re a manufacturer, you would not be able to go for free, but retailers could).
The dates for SuperZoo 2023 are August 16 – 18, 2023.
OVERVIEW OF THIS EPISODE:
- Dog treat and food trends at SuperZoo
- Why air dried dog food may be more processed than freeze dried
- New single-ingredient treats, including shark cartilage
- General ingredients that are trending in a variety of products
- The latest trends in dog toothpaste
- The lack of canine enrichment at SuperZoo
- What the heck is palatability testing?
- Tori’s favorite thing found at SuperZoo
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
- SuperZoo
- Adam Christman on Tiktok
- Wear Wag Repeat Society
- Bow Wow Labs
- Podcast Episode 97 with Johnna Devereaux
- WAG Australia Shark Cartilage
- Pride + Groom
- Super Snouts Hemp Company
- Yak9 Chews
- Stashios
- Summit Ridge Farms
- Believe in Dog Podcast
- Bella B’s BARK-ery
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