Export sales of British pet products are set for a major boost as UK exhibitors return from the Zoomark international pet trade show held in Bologna, Italy last week. 

Since 2007, when the PetQuip export association started organising the British pavilion at the biennial event, the pavilion has more than doubled in size and over 70 British firms have seen their export sales grow. 

The majority of UK exhibitors received cash grants towards the cost of exhibiting, secured for the companies by PetQuip by bidding for the event to be supported under UK Trade & Investment’s Tradeshow Access Programme. 

 This year, exhibitors returning to the UK have reported that sales and potential business from worldwide markets secured at the exhibition are above and beyond their expectations.  As with any exhibition, it will take time for the full benefits to be known, but 2015 looks like being another record year for Britain’s pet product exporters.  

At the end of four busy days for the PetQuip group exhibitors, a number of valuable orders were announced. Among them was Micro-ID which announced that it had taken an order from Dubai for 5,000 of its new implanter syringes that allow a micro-chip to be inserted into a pet in a more pleasant way for the animal. A contract was also signed with Aruba. 

Tastybone also secured the biggest order the company had ever received at a show from a new Greek customer and another from Spain. 

The Company of Animals reported lots of pre-orders for their new interactive dog toy, the Foobler, particularly from new German customers at the show. 

Pet Rebellion was also one of the success stories, securing a large order for its product range from a chain of 430 stores. 

The Canny Company has secured major orders for the Canny Maglok through the Italian company Wonderfood, the company’s largest distributor.  The firm also attracted strong interest from Spain, Turkey, Macedonia and Poland, the latter three being countries where the company has had no previous distribution.  Canny Company asserted that its success this year was due to the company exhibiting within the PetQuip group rather than independently at the show. 

Activity in securing new distributors was also at a high level with White Python claiming to have the potential to work with distributors in around 15 new countries, including Spain, Italy and France.  The company exhibited its innovative and modern reptile products that include a full range of modular LED lighting systems. 

Animology is also expecting to appoint new overseas distributors as a result of exhibiting at the show, together with sales leads to pass on to its existing distributors.  In addition to its multi-award winning British pet care ranges, Animology launched a brand new range comprising three high quality equine grooming products, together with new cat grooming products at the show.

Many other British exhibitors were anticipating growth in export business following the exhibition.  

• Profleece received enquiries from Estonia, Latvia, Romania and Russia. 
• Devoted Pet Foods was a first time exhibitor but attracted interest from countries as diverse as Israel and Finland plus many enquiries from Italy. 
• ProtectaPet is now following up numerous leads from countries in the Northern Hemisphere. 
• Forthglade launched its grain-free range for the first time at a European show and received significant interest from around 1,000 visitors to the company’s stand. 
• Vitalin took its rebranded Super Premium Life Stage range to Zoomark and stated that it is now very enthusiastic about the future of Vitalin Natural internationally.

Ken Seymour, of Tastybone, summed up the mood of the British contingent when he said: "Zoomark was once again a tremendous show for Tastybone.  We attended the show with a wish list and we are happy to say we exceeded our target.  We took several large orders at the show, and on the day we arrived home we received orders from a number of new distributors acquired at the show."

The PetQuip industry information stand was no less busy, reported director general Amanda Sizer Barrett.

“Once, again the show has proved to be a resounding success for the British exhibitors, and the PetQuip team manning the information stand also welcomed buyers from all over Europe, including many central and eastern European countries," said Amanda.

"Also, we were pleased to meet with representatives from Australia, Japan and the USA. Buyers included pet chains, independent pet shops, importers/distributors/wholesalers and web stores. 

"A number of buyers who had taken part in PetQuip-organised ‘Meet the Buyer’ events in the UK in the past also visited the stand to meet with their UK suppliers and to source more products from Britain. These buyers included the Dutch pet chain Ranzijn Tuin & Dier, the Swiss pet chain Meiko Heimtierbedarf, the Dutch importers/distributors Eye4Pets and Warmako and the Romanian importers/distributors and retailer Animax.  

"We will continue to work with exhibitors after the event to ensure that we help them to convert their business leads into new export sales."

To contact PetQuip cal 01959 565995, email info@petquip.com or visit www.petquip.com