The Federation of Garden and Leisure Manufacturers has announced its new Patron Programme, an enhanced membership category which has been created for companies who wish to contribute to wider support of the pet and garden sectors, to help raise their profile to government, the trade and aligned industry sectors.

The two trade associations under the Federation of Garden and Leisure Manufacturers umbrella, PetQuip and Gardenex, exist to help British businesses to export and to grow, for which there is no longer any government funding. 

The Patrons are leading lights who are willing to help fund the Federation’s work to encourage and support smaller businesses within the pet and garden sectors.

Patron membership offers enhanced benefits, including prominent branding in PetQuip and Gardenex assets and collateral, highlighting their commitment to supporting British businesses as they develop their export strategies.

Additional benefits include: 

• High profile content on the Federation website and Gardenex and PetQuip News
• Product showcases at Meet the Buyer events
• Promotion within the British pavilion at international trade shows
• Opportunity to take part in the Federation’s webinar series
• Invitation to the annual Patron’s dinner

New patron members

The Federation has announced the first three Patron members Canagan, AutoPot and VegTrug.

Canagan

Canagan is part of the Symply Group, which is 100% family owned, with a mission to produce the very best natural products, with sustainability and animal health at the forefront. The five brands that will be included in their membership are: Canagan, McAdams, Symply, Yora and Tribal.

Canagan and its sister companies have been regular participants at PetQuip’s UK pavilions at Interzoo and Zoomark.

Charlie Williams Joint Managing Director, Canagan (Symply Pet Foods Ltd) said: “We greatly appreciate the support PetQuip has provided as we’ve developed our export strategy, driven by trade shows around the world. Their team has been with us every step of the way, offering technical advice on exporting pet food and helping us turn challenges into opportunities. We look forward to continuing to strengthen our global brand through our partnership with PetQuip.”

AutoPot

AutoPot is a complete irrigation system requiring no power, pumps, mains water pressure or timers, relying on gravity from a reservoir or water barrel, making them an incredibly energy efficient means of automatic plant watering, so much so that it is the only automatic watering system endorsed by the Royal Horticultural Society.

Jason Ralph-Smith CEO, AutoPot commented: “We are longstanding members of Gardenex and over the years have benefited hugely from one to one technical advice, as well as the wealth of other opportunities our membership has given us. We can track our export success directly with our membership and look forward to working closely with the team to highlight our brand, alongside supporting other businesses as they grow their export strategies.”

VegTrug

Born from a simple idea of a raised planter, this kitchen table business has since grown into VegTrug - a brand whose planters have become design icons and some of the most recognisable garden products now sold across the globe. The business has a US subsidiary in Pennsylvania and second subsidiary in Germany.

“We have navigated our export expansion across the globe with the guidance of the team at Gardenex, at international shows, through Meet the Buyer events and the advice of the team, we have built it together. We are delighted to have the opportunity to take patronage of the Federation as we would like to mentor and guide others who are at an earlier stage of their export planning. We know the pitfalls and insider secrets and would love to share them!” explained Paul Owen, Managing Director, VegTrug

Joe Denham, Director General, commented: “By going the extra mile, these companies will enjoy exclusive benefits and work closely with us to champion change, influence government policy and help drive the sectors forward. We are grateful for the support of our Patrons who have confirmed their participation and would like to invite other companies who would like to work with us to get in touch.”

For all enquiries about membership and Patron membership, contact Joe@gardenex.com

For further details on PetQuip please visit www.petquip.com