The Pet Industry Federation has announced the 10 pet business finalists in the inaugural Innovation of the Year Award, taking place as part of its Business of Pets conference. 

This new award was open to all businesses in the pet sector, including product, service or tech and the ten finalists now have the opportunity to present their innovation at the Business of Pets conference on 7-8 June at the Cranfield Management Development Centre, near Bedford, giving them unprecedented access to potential investors. The winner will be chosen on the final day of the conference.

The finalists are:

• Caboodle
• CompanionPass
• Furr Boost
• HayPigs: Pig 'n' Mix™ Treats Range
• Hemp Heros: Super Pet Powder - Joint & movement
• Mr Bug
• Poocher
• Tailor Grace: Huskaloo Coconut Cat Litter
• The Dog G8 Company
• Twiggy Tags: TrailFinder Multi-Way Lead

Nigel Baker, CEO of PIF commented: “We were delighted with the quantity and calibre of the entries we received into our Innovation Award. Our shortlisting panel certainly had their work cut out to score the entries we received. We will look forward to listening to the finalists’ presentations at our conference next month and very much hope that the experience will open new doors for them. The Business of Pets conference has a fantastic roster of speakers who will be able to inspire attendees to grow their business profitably. These two days of learning and networking will prove invaluable for the business owners, directors and decision-makers who attend.”

The Business of Pets conference is open to all pet businesses and has a packed itinerary of inspirational and insightful speakers; from angel investors to key distributors, from IP experts to legal advisors and mentors who have been there and are happy to share the lessons learned on the way. The Cranfield Management Development Centre provides the perfect backdrop for the event with accommodation conveniently located on-site and all the technical equipment needed to enable attendees to work remotely whilst they are away from their businesses. 

Tickets to the conference are currently on sale. For full details, please visit www.petfederation.co.uk