Winning awards can help to put pet companies on the map and boost business, confirm three of the winning firms in the 2013 PetQuip Awards.
Gold medal winner in the Supplier of the Year category, Natures Menu, recognises the importance the accolade has made in the growth of its business over the past nine months.
Natures Menu business development director, Pet Roy commented: “We were hugely delighted to add the PetQuip Award to our portfolio. It has given Natures Menu credibility within its business sector and helped to raise the profile of raw feeding. Winning an award can be beneficial in so many ways to promote a company and a brand.
"In addition to the press coverage received via the PetQuip association, we have gained additional editorial prominence in our local East Anglian media. We have also added the award logo to our company website and it will also be used in our advertising campaigns in 2014 to further raise the profile of our company. The added value that the awards have given to the company’s image has been significant, and we will certainly be entering again in 2014."
PetQuip Pet Product Exporter of the Year, Doogie Stuff, also recognises the value of the award in promoting the company’s products to a wider audience. Director Jo Lapidge said: “We have had a great export year with the Litter Kwitter cat toilet training system and Pet Diner range of automated feeders. A combination of the award win, participation with PetQuip at key international trade shows, together with market visits has resulted in a whole raft of new export business.
“We have secured listings in a range of Europe’s leading pet store chains, including France’s Animalis, with more than 40 stores; The Netherlands’ Ranzijn and Intratuin chains; Must Ja Mirri in Finland; Grizzly Zoo in Sweden; AniGConfort in Switzerland; and retailers in Lithuania, Denmark and Ireland," she added.
“In addition, orders from Pet Pacific in Australia and Petware in New Zealand have made Doogie Stuff’s export achievements truly global. We are now looking forward to Interzoo in Nuremberg at the end of May where we will be exhibiting again as part of the PetQuip organised group”, explained Jo. “For a small business like ours, exports are vital and Europe holds many possibilities.”
A third company, Not Just Pets, was voted a UK Pet Retailer of the Year in the 2013 PetQuip Awards and has since used the recognition to elevate the business to a much wider platform. Owner Janine Tozer reveals what the award has done for her pet store.
She said: “We have used the award to promote the business in local news media, on social media such as Twitter and Facebook, on our blog and in our email salutation. We also created a banner on our website to publicise the fact. As you can see, we wanted to shout about it. Winning the award gained us recognition among others in the industry and especially with suppliers too, some of whom had not heard of us before. It has helped raise our profile locally among businesses as well."
Companies wishing to follow the example of these award-winning companies should enter the 2014 PetQuip Awards.
Further information on these prestigious awards, details of how to enter and the booking form to secure Early Bird Discount tickets for the awards ceremony and party night are available from PetQuip’s Trade Association manager, Pat Flynn on telephone (+44) 07778 313623 or email: pat@petquip.com; or from the PetQuip secretariat on 01959 565995 or email: info@petquip.com. To explore the commercial and publicity opportunities available in sponsoring an award, further information is available from Pat Flynn.
PetQuip is a division of the Federation of Garden and Leisure Manufacturers Ltd, the trade association that works on behalf of British companies to help its members increase sales worldwide.
