Gardenex and PetQuip rounded off 2025 with a series of highly effective Meet the Buyer events, reaffirming their long-standing value to member companies across the garden and pet sectors.
A fixture in the trade calendar, the Meet the Buyer programme once again delivered tangible results at the end of 2025, with two carefully curated events organised by the federation’s team last month.
Footprint Products Canada
Footprint Products is an importer and distributor specialising in innovative products for the lawn and garden, outdoor living, electrical and hardware sectors.
Headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, the company supplies and services customers across Canada, working with major DIY and home improvement chains including Canadian Tire, Rona and Home Depot Canada, as well as garden centre retailers such as Botanix and Sheridan Nurseries.
Over two days of online meetings hosted by Gardenex and PetQuip, representatives from Home to Garden, Strata Products, SoilWorx, Pet Rebellion, Buddycare, DotDotPet, Group 55 (Animology) and Scruffs held extremely productive discussions with Footprint Products’ CEO.
“A big thank you to Gardenex who were extremely helpful in matching my new supplier needs and arranging the meetings. Overall, it was a brilliant success and we will be introducing many new UK products into Canada as a result of their work”, commented Richard Goba, CEO Footprint Products.
Joybuy/JD.com
New to the UK, JD.com is a leading retail and technology company, listed on NASDAQ and HKEx, and is China’s largest retailer by value. Joybuy is JD.com’s new European online retail business, bringing trusted brands, high quality products and value to customers across the UK and Europe.
For consumers, Joybuy provides a one-stop shopping experience with same-day and next-day delivery. For suppliers, it offers a traditional retailer model with fast onboarding and no involvement in after-sales service or returns, allowing brands to focus on growth and expansion across European markets.
Currently in the beta/testing phase, Joybuy will formally launch in early 2026.
Last month, Gardenex and PetQuip hosted an in-person Meet the Buyer event at Joybuy’s offices in Central London. Seven meetings were held with the buyers, with VegTrug, ALM Manufacturing and SBM participating from the garden sector and Petface, Lily’s Kitchen, Ancol and Buddycare taking part from the pet industry.
“The launch of Joybuy into the UK is very exciting and we were delighted to be the first trade association to facilitate meetings with their buying team. The meetings are on course to have very positive outcomes and we look forward to offering more opportunities as Joybuy moves into its launch stage” commented Joe Denham, Director General, Gardenex and PetQuip.
Meet the Buyer opportunities in 2026
Planning is already underway for a comprehensive programme of Meet the Buyer events in 2026, featuring a mix of online and in-person opportunities, as well as hosted buyer meetings at the UK’s key trade shows.
Online meetings are currently being arranged with leading Dutch/Belgian marketplace Bol on 4 February (pet) and 5 February (garden) and with US importer/distributor Arett (garden) on 11 February. Please contact eleanor@gardenex.com for more information and to apply for a place.
“We are putting together a regular calendar of Meet the Buyer events for the year ahead, which will give our members significant potential for business with some of the brightest and best companies in the UK and international markets” explained Joe Denham.
Suppliers, retailers and distributors who are interested in participating in the Gardenex and PetQuip series of events in 2026 should contact eleanor@gardenex.com
For details of Gardenex membership, please email info@gardenex.com or visit www.gardenex.com
For details of PetQuip membership, please email info@petquip.com or visit www.petquip.com
