The Pet Industry Federation has announced Don’t Bug Me by The Holistic Hound as the winner of its Innovation of the Year Award in front of attendees gathered at its Business of Pets conference at Cranfield Management Development Centre.
Jo Arbon, who runs the Irish company, The Holistic Hound which had developed Don’t Bug Me, fought off competition from a finalist pool of nine other innovative products and services, all of whom had to deliver a presentation about their innovation to those attending the event.
During her presentation, Jo explained that Don’t Bug Me is a natural and effective geraniol based tick and flea repellent. It was one of the few essential oils that's safe to use with dogs, cats and all other pets and had been demonstrated to have antimicrobial properties.
The announcement of the winner rounded off a fantastic two-day conference, sponsored by Worldpay, aimed at pet businesses that wanted to learn about scaling up their business, taking on coaching or mentoring, improving their pitching, discovering market statistics and picking up marketing tips.
Nigel Baker, PIF CEO, who presented the award to Jo, said: “Our finalists delivered fantastic presentations over the course of yesterday and today to persuade conference attendees that their product/service was the most innovative. It was a nerve-wracking experience delivering in front of and taking questions from their fellow delegates, and they handled it with aplomb. The final outcome proved to be a close-run result in the end, but delegates clearly felt that Don’t Bug Me carried the edge over the other finalists.
“The presentations provided an excellent backdrop and context for the engaging talks which took place over two days and the feedback we have received so far has been excellent. We are grateful to our sponsor, Worldpay, who engaged with delegates and supported the event throughout.”
The winner beat off opposition from finalists:
- Boil and Broth Ltd - Dehydrated pork bone broth
- Doggi – Doggi Fly & Float
- DotDotPet - Conditioning Dog Shampoos
- EasyEat Feeder
- Hemp Heros Calming dental sticks
- MorePaws - A community platform for dog owners
- Muddy Paws Express Dog Wash & Grooming Service – QuickClawz
- PAWD DRINKS
- Pawer Water
- Pettle Pets - PettBrush3 Pro
- Poorly Paws – Dog First Aid Kit
- Wonderful World of Treats
- Xparkles Collars
Pictures courtesy of Rowan from Pooch & Pineapple www.poochandpineapple.com
