PetQuip Awards 2021 Launch Issue

Welcome to the PetQuip Awards 2021

Rewarding outstanding achievements What it means to win a PetQuip Award

categories How to enter Roll of Honour 2020

PETQUIP AWARDS 2021

PETQUIP AWARDS set to reward outstanding achievements during pandemic The prestigious PetQuip Awards will take on even greater importance in 2021 when it recognises outstanding achievements within the pet industry during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“So many people in the industry have been asking when they can enter this year’s awards that we decided to launch now,” said Pat Flynn, award organiser and PetQuip’s Trade Association Manager.

Two new categories – ‘Innovations in Lockdown’ and ‘Community Projects during a Crisis’ – have been introduced this year to reflect on how well pet companies and individuals have excelled in the face of adversity.

“Winning an accolade for your achievements, especially in times such as this, bolsters morale and gives any business more opportunities to promote their new product developments and successes.”

Winning a PetQuip Award, which is recognised as a prestigious industry honour, could be just the tonic needed by companies which have been operating during the pandemic.

As well as the kudos of being recognised and rewarded for outstanding performance by the pet trade, winning a PetQuip Award will provide a welcome morale boost for pet product suppliers and retailers.

Entries for the 2021 awards are now open.

Judging will take place in August and the plan is to announce the winners the following month at a special event during PATS Telford on the 26th September.

PATS organiser Gordon Thomas, of Impact Exhibitions and Events, said: “It is important to bring the whole trade together after such a challenging period of time, and we’re delighted to be supporting the prestigious PetQuip Awards for 2021. You can sure that we’ll be working even harder this year to make sure PATS Telford and the PetQuip Awards are the BEST in the business.”

The PATS Telford New Product Awards, sponsored by pbwnews, will also be presented during the PetQuip Awards event and party.

The PetQuip Awards event is the pre-eminent pet industry awards event and will take place in a new ‘Oscar-style’ setting with even more

PetQuip Awards 2021 are sponsored by:

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www.petquip.com

PETQUIP AWARDS 2021

Pat Flynn at last year’s PetQuip Awards opportunities for the whole trade to celebrate, network, relax and enjoy each others’ company.

The evening will start with a drinks reception, followed by presentations of the PATS New Product Awards and then the Oscar-style announcement of the winners of the PetQuip Awards will take place. Guests will be able to enjoy socialising during an internationalthemed buffet and informal evening entertainment.

Turn to page 4 for the entry form. PetQuip is happy to receive nominations for retailers and suppliers who in your opinion deserve to be winners. The nomination can be made anonymously, and PetQuip will always contact anyone who has been nominated.

Amanda Sizer Barrett, Director General of PetQuip, confirmed: “The PetQuip Awards, now in their ninth year, have consistently delivered recognition for the winners across the pet product industry, and are announced during a professional, enjoyable and successful networking evening for the whole industry.

The PetQuip team is looking forward to delivering a great new-style event for all the industry during PATS Telford.”

Amanda Sizer Barrett MBE

AWARD CATEGORIES Innovations in Lockdown Community Projects during a Crisis Business Start Up Award Business of the Year - services, manufacturing, wholesale and supply Product of the Year – 3 sections: 4Accessories/Technical 4Food /Treats 4Healthcare/Animal Grooming International Retailer, Wholesaler or Distributor of the Year Exporter of the Year UK Retailer of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award

Right: The plan is to announce the PetQuip Awards 2021 winners in an Oscar-style way in the Auditorium at Telford International Centre during PATS Telford.

www.petquip.com

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wards 2021 PetQuip Awards 2021 PetQuip Awards 2021 PetQu

Sunday 26th September 2021 PetQuip - bringing suppliers, buyers and retailers together, the world over The PetQuip Awards 2021 will take place in association with PATS Telford on Sunday 26th September. Entry for the awards is now open and they are free for all to enter, simply add your details to this form, return it to info@petquip.com and we will acknowledge by giving you entry criteria, guidelines and T&C’s for the categories entered. We are also happy to receive nominations for retailers or suppliers who in your opinion deserve to be winners. The nomination can be made anonymously and we will always contact anyone who has been nominated to progress the entry.

Complete entries need to be sent to pat@petquip.com

by June 30th.

Entries will be put through an initial screening test, finalists will then be named before the independent judging panel sits down to choose the winners at the end of August.

Supplier entries are judged by a panel of retailers; retail entries by a team of independent specialists with retailing and marketing experience.

Entrant’s Details: Name: Company: Address:

Entry categories are:q Innovations in Lockdown q Community Projects during a Crisis q Exporter of the Year q Business Start Up Award

County:

q Business of the Year – services, manufacturing, wholesale and supply

Postcode:

q Product of the Year – 3 sections

Tel No:

q Accessories/Technical

q Food /Treats

q Healthcare/Animal Grooming

q International Retailer, Wholesaler or Distributor of the Year q UK Retailer of the Year q Lifetime Achievement

Email:

If you would like help or advice on entering the categories call Pat Flynn, the PetQuip Trade Association Manager on 07778 313623 or email her on pat@petquip.com

PetQuip, The White House, High Street, Brasted, Kent TN16 1JE T: +44 (0)1959 565 995

E: info@petquip.com

W: www.petquip.com

uip Awards

What it means to win a PetQuip Award “I think the PetQuip awards are the most valid within the pet industry and believe them to be very important as targets to achieve whichever sector you are in”

2020 winners give their verdict “The PetQuip awards are a great way to show the pet industry which companies and brands to look out for, and we are grateful to join the many deserving companies among its winners”

PETQUIP AWARD WINNERS 2020 UK PET RETAILER OF THE YEAR

JOINT GOLD AWARD ginger & Browns What’s it like to win a PetQuip Award?

Winning in such a terrible year was a real ray of hope and sunshine for us.

What does the award mean to you?

When a customer says thank you, or compliments what we’re doing, of course this means a great deal to us and we appreciate the compliments and feedback very much. But when your peers decide that the work and effort that we have put in over the past four to five years since we opened, is worthy of recognition and an award, it’s a different level of recognition.

Our peers know and understand the stress, the decisions, the financial risks etc that we have made, and that’s really humbling.

Josh Beeston and Rachel Spencer have created an award winning store at Ginger & Browns.

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Have you used the award to promote your business?

Of course! It’s plastered all over our emails, social media, website etc! We’re not the best at talking ourselves up, and have a tendency to under-sell and over-perform rather than risk over-selling and under-performing. So it’s been a bit strange suddenly being an award winning business and wanting to maximise the exposure, whilst equally fighting our natural disposition to want to play it down!

How important are the PetQuip Awards as an industry-wide event?

We never set out to win any awards, we do what we believe is right for our ethics and our business.

Having said that, we have of course seen others who we respect and admire, go on to win the same award, and of course strive to be held in the same regard.

The PetQuip Awards tie the industry together and offer that recognition amongst the industry to those who have excelled in their respective areas.

For example, when you see that a product has won an award from PetQuip as Product of the Year, we know the standard will be high before we’ve looked into the product at all! The product wasn’t made to win the award, but the award recognises the achievement, and is recognisable across the industry.

www.petquip.com

UK PET RETAILER OF THE YEAR

JOINT GOLD AWARD scampers What’s it like to win a PetQuip Award?

It is great to be recognised by your industry peers and especially by an independent body like PetQuip which are not sponsored by anyone.

What does the award mean to you?

It means a great deal to Michelle and I but more importantly it is a terrific pat on the back for our brilliant team of people who make Scampers what it is.

Have you used the award to promote your business?

Absolutely, we have used the award within all our publicity whether on our website, newsletter, in store or on all our social media...we totally maxed out on sharing the award with customers and suppliers.

How important are the PetQuip Awards as an industry-wide event?

I think the PetQuip awards are the most valid within the pet industry and believe them to be very important as targets to achieve whichever sector you are in.

Piers Smart celebrates the success of Scampers Natural Pet Store with his pet dogs.

SILVER AWARD Trusty Pet Supplies

www.petquip.com

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Don’t get left in the dark!

stay up to date with the latest news every day www.petbusinessworld.co.uk

the website of pbwnews the UK’s No.1 pet trade magazine

PETQUIP AWARD WINNERS 2020 INTERNATIONAL RETAILER/WHOLESALER/DISTRIBUTOR

GOLD AWARD WANIMO (FRANCE)

Established in 2000, Wanimo is a specialist online pet retailer selling B2C. It is the No.1 wholly French web-shop in the pet sector.

Wanimo’s warehouse is located near Lille in northern France and it is now selling to customers in Belgium via its Belgian website www.wanimo.be. It has around 600,000 unique visitors per month and nearly one million views per month.

Yannick Gerbod, from Wanimo, said: “We are very happy to win this award and to know that Wanimo is also recognised in UK for its offer and veterinary advices is good to hear. We try our best to offer the best experience for customers.”

Wanimo supplies quality products at competitive prices and also offers a free veterinary advice service to its customers.

www.petquip.com

SILVER AWARD IRIS (SLOVENIA) IRIS offers a wide range of products by many leading international and domestic producers. Educating pet shop employees and veterinarians in terms of pet nutrition is of growing importance to the company, whose Tanja Kožuh said: “We were thrilled to see our company among Silver awards. I would like to thank all who recognized our quality.

This award means a lot to us.”

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PETQUIP AWARD WINNERS 2020 SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR

GOLD AWARD goodchap’s What’s it like to win a PetQuip Award?

We are still in shock at winning PetQuip’s Supplier of The Year, not to mention four of our unique products achieving silver awards for Product of the Year. We feel that it’s such an achievement to be recognised by the pet industry, and we wouldn’t have been able to do it if the general public hadn’t supported us in everything we do.

What does the award mean to you?

When we started back in 2018, all we wanted to do was provide dog owners with eco friendly, healthy, natural products. We had no idea Goodchap’s would be received this well, but we are over the moon at the response we have had. We are proud of every member of the Goodchap’s team, and it truly was a team effort in winning these awards.

Have you used the award to promote your business?

We have found that winning these awards has aided us in greatly in getting recognised by more and more businesses within the industry. As a young company the awards have helped us build a respectable reputation and given our brand credibility.

How important are the PetQuip Awards as an industry-wide event?

Awards and recognition within an industry is important for any business, especially when building brand recognition and loyalty. The PetQuip Awards are a great way to show the pet industry which companies and brands to look out for, and we are grateful to join the many deserving companies among its winners.

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SILVER AWARD eden holistic Highly commended Four Paws Country Pet Hotel

www.petquip.com

PETQUIP AWARDS 2021 Martin Hodson, Director of Sales and Marketing, celebrates ChickenGuard’s success in the PetQuip Awards.

EXPORTER OF THE YEAR

GOLD AWARD CHICKENGUARD

What’s it like to win a PetQuip Award?

The PetQuip Awards really are like the Oscars for the pet industry. We were new to the industry, and attended our first PATS show in 2017. It was apparent that winning a PetQuip Award was a big thing, even for brands that have been winning them for years.

What does the award mean to your company?

The pet industry has been very slow to understand that chickens are pets, and not just a source of breakfast eggs, or nice with tikka masala. But independent research, by Toluna in the UK, and by APPA (the American Pet Products Association), has shown that globally chickens are now the fourth most popular pet. Everyone considers rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, canaries as pets, but who knew that chickens were pets too – with names, and personalities. We won the PetQuip Gold Award for Best New Product in 2019 – in the Small Animals Category – and it was a real honour for us. Then we won Best Exporter in 2020 Pet Quip Gold Award after being awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade. Finally, it is to be hoped that the industry realises chickens are pets, and chicken owners want to see a wide range of products for chickens in pet shops, not just chicken feed.

Have you used the award to promote your business?

We use both the PetQuip and Queen’s Award logos on email communication, and it is an important part of our pitch when seeking new trade partners, who are often doubters there will be demand for such a niche product.

It is a niche, but an extremely fast growing one.

SILVER AWARD Natures Menu

Highly commended Eden HOLISTIC

How important are the PetQuip Awards as an industry-wide event?

It provides an opportunity to take time out and see what is happening in the industry, and is always a good source of new non-UK trade partner leads, for export hungry brands such as ChickenGuard. www.petquip.com

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PETQUIP AWARD WINNERS 2020 PET PRODUCT OF THE YEAR Food/Treats

GOLD AWARD Clydach Farm Taste of British Isles Complete Kibbles

Clydach Farm founder Callum Griffiths described winning the Gold Award as amazing. He said: “We’re so pleased to have won this award. I have shared the judges’ feedback to the team, and they’re all really excited by it!”

In 2017 at the age of 17,Callum identified the opportunity to re-establish the fortunes of nutritionally robust/real food kibbles at ‘everyday affordable’ price points. What began as a quest to make naturally healthy/easily digestable/ meat-rich kibbles has resulted in the emergence of a credible voice for an often overlooked rural economy.

With meat being the key constituent within each Clydach recipe, Callum’s ‘Taste of the British Isles’ portfolio takes great pride in the sublime quality of its long-term/ethically sourced partnerships with Suffolk-based Gressingham Duck, Yorkshire Venison, sustainable NW Scottish salmon and Snowdonian National Park, grass-fed lamb. In each instance the chosen meat is gently steamed to lock in as much natural goodness as is feasible.

It’s also worth noting that Clydach only aligns with like-minded operations with reputations for exceptional husbandry and animal welfare.

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SILVER AWARD GOODCHAP’S

(Canine Christmas Cracker, Doggy Bag, Catfish Twirls)

Highly commended DIFFERENT DOG

(HAND-MADE DOG FOOD)

www.petquip.com

PETQUIP AWARDS 2021 PET PRODUCT OF THE YEAR Healthcare/Grooming

SNIFFE & Likkit What’s it like to win a PetQuip Award?

We were thrilled, especially as a start-up business just setting out with big ambitions. We are bringing better quality products to dogs - because we believe they’ll woof it! Being recognised early on was a really big boost when it was needed the most, during a really challenging year.

What does the award mean to you?

It’s an affirmation that we are on the right path.

It’s also a really important endorsement from a respected body with lots of experience, so we are very grateful for the recognition.

Have you used the award to promote your business?

Absolutely. With more choice, our customers are looking for ‘the best’ whether they be a dog owner, a buyer, a shop owner or a wholesaler. So we’ve made the most of the award – it’s on every presentation we give and in every email we send.

How important are the PetQuip Awards as an industry-wide event?

We are very new to the industry and as soon as we heard about PetQuip we knew we had to be part of it and to apply for the awards.

SILVER AWARD Henry & CO

(ear cleaner for dogs) Henry & Co’s Arlene Millar said: “This is excellent news, thank you so much. We were thrilled to win silver and to be in the finals.”

Highly commended WaggleAntics

www.petquip.com

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PETQUIP AWARD WINNERS 2020

rewardING outstanding achievements Winners of the PetQuip Awards 2021 will be announced at a special event during PATS Telford on the 26th September For more information contact Pat Flynn, PetQuip’s Trade Association Manager, by email pat@petquip.com

PET PRODUCT OF THE YEAR Accessories/Technical

SILVER AWARD MEG HEATH DOG LEADS

(CAR BOOT LEAD)

Highly commended THE GREEN POOP BAG

(COMPOSTABLE POOP BAGS) 14 PetQuip Awards 2021

www.petquip.com

PETQUIP AWARDS 2021

MARKETING PROJECT OF THE YEAR

GOLD AWARD JUDGE’s Choice

Privately-owned pet food company and Royal Warrant holders Judge’s Choice, whose brands include Country Pursuit and Nature’s Harvest, embarked on a set of social media campaigns to grow brand awareness, using new media vehicles to communicate with their audience and identify cost effective ways to utilise their advertising spend.

75% (compared to more traditional advertising methods).

This social media campaign enabled Judge’s Choice to utilise analytics and advanced reporting to make more informed digital decisions leading to full social media rebrand and a revival of the Judge’s Choice brands on social media.

Employing the services of Elda Digital Creatives, Judge’s Choice’s aim was to reach 250,000+ individuals per month at a cost saving of over

The judge’s felt that Judge’s Choice had shown it is possible to use social media to target individuals and groups and dramatically reduce marketing spends when compared to traditional advertising methods.

SILVER AWARD Barking Heads Barking Heads took silver for its multichannel marketing campaign to bring onpack characters – Bailey and Byrne – to life to showcase the realities of dog ownership.

Commenting on their Silver Award, Claire Dunford, head of social, content and PR, said: “That’s wonderful news.”

Highly commended PRODOG RAW www.petquip.com

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PETQUIP AWARDS 2021 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD sponsored by

FEED THEM WITH ALL THE KINDNESS OF NATURE

HIGH QUALITY DEBONED MEAT

Contact your regional relationship manager to learn more about the range and special launch deals.

4 PetQuip Awards 2021

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PETQUIP AWARD WINNERS 2020 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

GOLD AWARD EDDIE MILBOURNE THE CANAGAN GROUP Eddie Milbourne, who was given an industry Lifetime Achievement Award by PetQuip, has always supported the independent retailer through his successful Canagan Group. Here he reveals why it’s important that the industry backs individual pet shops.

I started out as a pet shop owner and understand what independents are up against, so that’s why my company has always supported this sector of the industry.

It’s hard for independents but with the right products and great in-house training they can still thrive.

My advice would be: Make your store look the best that you can afford for it to be. Have training in place to ensure your staff are knowledgeable of all the products you sell and engage customers in conversation on every visit.

2020 PetQuip Award winners Eddie Milbourne (left) and Piers Smart, from Scampers Natural Pet Store, share a fishing trip in Madeira. Of his Lifetime Achievement Award, Eddie said: “It was a lovely to receive recognition in such a prestigious event as the PetQuip Awards.”

An individual pet shop should stock specialist products that are different and better than those on sale in grocery or superstore chains. If you try to sell the same things you will lose!

say is we are bigger than several similar food companies who have sold to private equity and we are more profitable. We really are here for the independents.

If it’s in grocery don’t stock it. Find a better one.

Don’t deal with giant multi-nationals. They have no interest in you.

Most of what I used to do is now handled by our excellent senior management team who carry the same banner as we have always done. So independent retailers can be reassured that things are in place to ensure the company’s support for them will continue well after I have fully retired.

I also think it’s preferable for a pet shop to have its own website where possible. There may be occasions when customers shop online and it’s obviously better if they buy from you, otherwise you may lose them to a rival retailer.

I will never know for sure whether my company has benefited or suffered financially as a result of supporting the independent sector. All I can

It was lovely to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. I have some great memories from working in the pet industry, and perhaps my proudest moment for my wife and I was meeting The Queen to receive a Queen’s Award for Export.

www.petquip.com

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PETQUIP AWARDS 2020

Roll of Honour MARKETING PROJECT OF THE YEAR Gold – Judge’s Choice (judgeschoice.com) Silver – Barking Heads (barkingheads.co.uk) Highly Commended – ProDog Raw (prodograw.com) EXPORTER OF THE YEAR Gold – ChickenGuard (chickenguard.co.uk) Silver – Natures Menu (naturesmenu.co.uk) Highly Commended – Eden Holistic (edenpetfoods.com) PET PRODUCT OF THE YEAR Accessories/Technical Silver – Meg Heath Dog Leads, car boot lead (megheathdogleads.co.uk) Highly Commended – The Green Poop Bag , compostable poop bags (greenpoopbag.co.uk)

Food/Treats Gold – Clydach Farm, Taste of British Isles Complete Kibbles (clydachfarmgroup.co.uk) Silver – Goodchap’s, Catfish Twirls, Doggy Goody Bag, Canine Christmas Cracker (goodchaps.co.uk) Highly Commended – Different Dog, hand made dog food range (differentdog.com) Healthcare/Grooming Gold – Sniffe & Likkit, complete grooming range (sniffeandlikkit.com) Silver – Henry & Co, ear cleaner for dogs (henryandcoorganics.co.uk) Highly Commended – WaggleAntics, Tick Defence (waggleantics.co.uk) SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR Gold – Goodchap’s (goodchaps.co.uk) Silver – Eden Holistic (edenpetfoods.com) Highly Commended – Four Paws Country Pet Hotel (fourpawspethotel.co.uk) INTERNATIONAL PET RETAILER/DISTRIBUTOR/WHOLESALER OF THE YEAR Gold – Wanimo, France (wanimo.com) Silver – IRIS, Slovenia (iris.si/en/) UK PET RETAILER OF THE YEAR Joint Gold – Ginger & Browns, Blakemere Village, Cheshire (gingerandbrowns.co.uk) Joint Gold – Scampers Natural Pet Store, Ely, Cambs (scampers.co.uk) Silver – Trusty Pet Supplies, Derby (trustypetsupplies.co.uk) LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT Eddie Milbourne, The Canagan Group (canagangroup.com)

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Finalists OUR WELL-DESERVED FINALISTS IN 2020 MARKETING PROJECT OF THE YEAR Lucky & Prince (luckyandprince.com) Sniffe & Likkit (sniffeandlikkit.com) Waggleantics (waggleantics.co.uk) PET PRODUCT OF THE YEAR Accessories/Technical Adios (adiosplastic.co.uk) Collar Co (collar.com) Goodchap’s (goodchaps.co.uk) Food/Treats Eden Holistic (edenpetfoods.com) Forthglade (forthglade.com) Lucky & Prince luckyandprince.com) Mealberry (mealberry.com) Natural Instinct (naturalinstinct.com) Natures Menu (naturesmenu.co.uk) Pet Munchies (pet-munchies.com) ProDog Raw (prodograw.com) Healthcare/Grooming Allsorts Premier (allsortspremierdoggrooming.com) ProDog Raw (prodograw.com) SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR C&D Foods (cdfoods.com) Different Dog (differentdog.com) GHS Direct (ghs-direct.com) Natures Menu (naturesmenu.co.uk) Pet Munchies (pet-munchies.com) INTERNATIONAL PET RETAILER/DISTRIBUTOR/WHOLESALER OF THE YEAR KIKA Group, Lithuania (kikagroup.lt) TiendAnimal, Spain (tiendanimal.es) Vitafauna, Spain (vitafauna.es) Warmako, the Netherlands (warmako-bv) UK PET RETAILER OF THE YEAR Henry & Co Dog Boutique (henryandcoorganics.co.uk) Redpaw Pet Supplies (redpawpets.co.uk)

www.petquip.com

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www.americanpetproducts.org/survey