PetQuip Awards 2022 Winners' Special

The UK pet industry celebrated in style during the announcement of the PetQuip Awards 2022 on Sunday, 25th September, when companies were honoured for their outstanding performance during the past year.

A packed gathering of retailers and suppliers attended the awards presentations which were held after the first day of PATS Telford.

The event, presented by Pat Flynn, PetQuip trade association manager, and Amanda Sizer Barrett MBE, director general of the PetQuip association, included 12 gold and 10 silver awards, plus six highly commended awards and a special Lifetime Achievement Award for PATS organiser Gordon Thomas.

Two new categories – ‘Celebrating Green & Organic’ and ‘Sustainability Award’ –were introduced this year to reflect on how an increasing number of businesses have embraced ‘eco’ initiatives.

Pat Flynn, who has organised the PetQuip Awards for the past 10 years, said: ‘It was a lovely evening and rewarding to see the delight of the winners, whether Gold, Silver or Highly Commended – they were all thrilled.

“It is always a shame not to be able to award more prizes, all the finalists do a terrific job, particularly this year and everyone should count themselves as winners to have got through to the final.”

welcome to 2022 PETQUIP AWARDS!

KATY WINS TRIP TO zoomark 2023

Pet industry entrepreneur Katy Rehm will get a chance to enjoy ‘la dolce vita’ having won a trip to Italy to attend Zoomark International 2023 in Bologna next May. The prize includes flights, accommodation and attendance at the show.

The founder of The Pawfume Shop won the prize donated by Zoomark International at the PetQuip Awards.

The former veterinary nurse, who also runs a successful dog grooming business, Groomers, in Formby, near Liverpool, was astonished when her name was called out to be presented with the prize by Zoomark’s Pascale Sonvico.

“I was completely shocked. I wasn’t aware of the competition prior to attending the event and did a complete double take when they called out my name. Of course, I am delighted. It will provide me with a great opportunity to further develop export opportunities and meet distributors across Europe for The Pawfume Shop range.”

Pascale Sonvico said she was thrilled to offer the prize and to be working again with PetQuip, which hosts the British Pavilion at Zoomark International.

“We look forward to welcoming Katy to Zoomark 2023 and involving her in the show. We hope that she enjoys everything it has to offer and will support The Pawfume Shop as a supplier to European customers.”

PetQuip Awards 2022 are sponsored by:

EXPORTER OF THE YEAR THERESA SWANN TROPHY

Tailor-Grace

Pet trade trailblazer Tracey Voss, founder of manufacturer Tailor-Grace, Huskaloo cat litter and Oggi’s World home-bake mixes for dogs, was “super proud” after being honoured three times at the PetQuip Awards.

As she celebrated 25 years in the pet trade, Tracey was named winner of the prestigious Theresa Swann Exporter of the Year 2022 Award.

PetQuip Director General Amanda Sizer Barrett MBE praised Tailor-Grace for providing “strong back-up” for their international team.

“The Gold award goes to a small team whose founder believes in prioritising strong back-up and support to overseas distributors and including incentives such as offering a percentage rebate on every sale, funds which can then be used to support their marketing activities, thereby giving a ‘win-win’ for both distributor and manufacturer.”

After collecting her Exporter award, Tracey said: “I am so proud to win the Gold, which is amazing. It means such a lot because it represents everybody’s efforts, not just mine and the

product. I feel very proud for everybody. Theresa Swann was a beautiful, wonderful lady who was taken too soon and we all miss her. It makes this personal for me. This award will be gold dust for the export team, as it will open many more doors, particularly in the States.”

SPONSORED BY GROUP 55

CELEBRATING GREEN AND ORGANIC

BY PBW NEWS

PODIUM PET PRODUCTS

The judges loved the idea that the inspiration for Podium’s natural care range came from an old family recipe book for farmhouse animal husbandry, using hedgerow and nature’s harvest ingredients. Packaging of the products is limited to as little as possible and is completely recyclable.

Carina Evans, CEO of Podium Pet Products, said: “We are over the moon, this is an huge team effort and my sincere thanks go PetQuip. Huge

shout out to all our retailers that voted for us with their feet and who are so knowledgeable about their (and our) end consumer, our ace wholesaler network and most importantly the team at home.

“They totally punch above their weight and are faced by operational challenges on a daily basis in these uncertain times. I am in awe of them and we are blessed to be able to operate as we do, stay sane and have fun along the way. This award is a testament to their skill, ingenuity, and vision.”

Tailor-GRACE

BUTCHER’s PET Care &

Mutneys Professional PET Care

The judges agreed there should be joint Gold winners in this category, celebrating service from a small company trading under £1m in turnover, to a larger one trading over £1m. Both provide exemplary service and customer satisfaction.

Rosie Crowther, of Mutneys, said: “We are delighted to have won the Supplier of the Year award at the 2022 PetQuip Awards. As a manufacturer and supplier of pet grooming equipment, we pride ourselves on our products being developed by professionals, as every product available is tried and tested in working salons before being added to our range. We are passionate about providing first-class customer service to our customers and offering products to suit every breed or coat type. To win the Supplier of the Year award and to be recognised for our hard work and commitment is a privilege.”

Emma Jackson (Pet Specialist Account Manager) and Amy Cowan (Pet Specialist Activation

Manager), of Butcher’s, commented: “We were thrilled to have won one award, and couldn’t quite believe it when our name was called a second time! We recognise that the PetQuip Awards are prominent and well-celebrated within the industry, so to receive this recognition for both Supplier of the Year and Sustainability Award means so much to the pet specialist team and the company.”

PEDIGREE WHOLESALE &

SPONSORED BY PATS TELFORD BRUCE’s Doggy day care

The judges felt that the joint gold winners were passionately driven businesses, based on old family principles and delivered by experienced personnel.

Gerard O’Mahony, managing director of Pedigree Wholesale, said: “We are delighted to have won the PetQuip Gold Award for Business Service of The Year. Our customers are our priority and drive us on our mission to consistently being the pet wholesaler of choice for the UK. Winning this prestigious award is a testament to all the hard work and effort our teams put in to support our customers and suppliers.”

Bruce Casalis, of Bruce’s Doggy Day Care, also expressed delight at winning a Gold award. The pet care business, founded in 2008, provides day care for over 800 dogs across eight sites, and operates like a children’s nursery but for dogs!

TUFT

SHROPSHIRE CANINE

SUSTAINABILITY

BUTCHER’s PET Care

The judges described the Gold winner Butchers Pet Care as a family business doing things its way and getting it right. The company specialises in no-waste farming to bring naturally nourishing dog food to the market. It uses natural ingredients, British and Irish in origin, to reduce the carbon footprint, and all packaging is recyclable.

SPONSORED BY PETFACE

National Pet Owners Survey

INNOVATION STARTS WITH

What’s inside?

Understanding your pet product consumer

by Anne Ferrante, Senior Vice President of APPA

Truly understanding your consumer is essential to innovation-fuelled business success. Market research provides the validation you need to develop your ideas into viable and successful products. Although vital, conducting market research on your own can be costly as it requires significant expertise, manpower and technology to yield high quality data and insights. For the past 30 years, APPA’s commitment to ensuring the vibrancy of the pet care community has included a growing suite of affordable, comprehensive data products that help you better understand pet ownership, pet care practices and preferences in product and services consumption of America’s pet owners.

Over three decades of trusted data

The APPA National Pet Owners Survey monitors consumer habits on an ongoing basis to identify trends in data on pet ownership, pinpointing preferences on specific services, retail outlets, dollar amounts spent, and online shopping. It also includes behavioral information, motivators for pet ownership and lifestyle and media habits that help you examine pet owners in easily understood consumer segments and build profiles on your customer. For those of us who are less ‘textbook’ and more ‘tech savvy’, the current Survey can also be accessed in digital format. With just a ‘click here’ and a ‘tap there’ you’ll have over 633 pages of digital data conveniently at your fingertips. APPA members have received their complimentary Survey. If you’re not yet an APPA member, this data is one of the best reasons to join.

The current Survey reveals that pet ownership is at an all-time high with 70% of U.S. households owning some type of pet, up from 67% in the previous Survey.

In fact, COVID-19 drove pet acquisition, as 14% of respondents obtained a new pet during the pandemic and at least one in four new pet owners said their recent pet acquisition was influenced by the pandemic.

Pet spending stays strong with 35% of current pet owners in the current Survey saying they spent more on their pets in the last year. That percentage jumps to 50% among Millennial and Gen Z pet owners. With Millennials being the largest U.S. demographic cohort and also the largest cohort of pet owners at 32%, and with Gen Z pet ownership on the rise, we can be hopeful for similar levels of ownership and spending to continue, though these generations also show caution with their response to economic pressures. Overall, we expect that there could be some modest settling to these ownership and spending numbers as emerging economic conditions influence spending and other pet care practices.

Pet owners shopping online increased by almost 20% from the prior Survey to 86% of responses in the current study. Technology natives are using a wider variety of online sources to learn about pet products and Millennials have a much higher percentage, at 70%, than the other generational cohorts who purchase pet products via subscription.

Sixty-two percent of Millennial pet owners increased the number of online pet product purchases that they made in the last year and almost half of Millennial pet owners say that they plan to increase their online purchases with home delivery in the next year.

www.petquip.com

INSIGHTS

WINNERS OF PET OWNERS SURVEY

At the PetQuip Awards dinner after the presentations, Anne Ferrante gave three prizes of the digital edition of the APPA Pet Owners Survey in honour of the PetQuip Awards 10th Anniversary. The winners were:

John James of James & Steel Julie Butcher of Group 55 Martin Hodson of ChickenGuard.

Gemma Connolly, of Scoff Paper, won a bottle of champagne, also from APPA.

To watch a video overview of The APPA National Pet Owners Survey visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpRxGTAuBWw

Accompaniments to the Survey

The National Pet Owners Survey Data Portal is APPA’s newest companion to The Survey and is a fantastic tool for companies that wish to share Survey data among multiple employees. This tool becomes even more valuable in the remote working environment, allowing your whole team to collaborate around the data. The Portal offers quick, customized access to all the consumer insights data found in The Survey. Just a few clicks are all it takes to get to know U.S. pet product consumers. You can customize your data analysis and remove the guesswork.

APPA is dedicated to providing quality research tools

Still need more data or other customized U.S. Market Research Solutions? APPA’s Market Research Department is here to help. APPA’s experienced analysts can offer customized analytics and reports to help you address all your

market research needs. Also, APPA is poised to launch their new Global Insights data set this year, offering affordably priced reports on 14 key world markets. Global Insights is available exclusively for APPA members and is positioned to give APPA members the data tools they need to successfully access the global marketplace.

How to get your copy of the Survey and other APPA market research

The good news is that you don’t need to be a member of APPA to utilize this incredible data set, though it will cost you a little more. APPA membership affords complimentary access to the Survey and deep discounts on other research products.

For more information on APPA’s market research and to order your copy of the APPA National Pet Owners Survey, go to americanpetproducts. org/survey or call +1 (203) 532-0000 ext. 521.

www.petquip.com

Anne Ferrante gave exhibitors at PATS Telford a talk on market information and understanding your US customers.

CONCEPT RETAIL

PEST CONTROLLER

The judges awarded Gold to a UK-manufactured product which deters mice in an humane way. It’s a cost effective and excellent alternative to poisons.

Chris Blackburn, sales manager of Concept Research, said: “I am very pleased that we have been recognised by the UK pet industry, and awarded Product of the Year 2022 in the technology category.

“There is a humane alternative to the use of poisons and traps when deterring rodents from your home. We are all animal lovers here at Concept Research, and we are proud of our team and all our British-made products that deter, without harm.”

SPONSORED BY

FURR BOOST

The judges felt the Gold award winner deserved recognition with an idea based upon a dog which had bladder problems, refusing to drink enough water in the summer months.

Through research and product development a totally new idea has been brought to market, not seen before – smoothies for dogs.

Furr Boost owner Louise Toal said: “Our ultimate aim is to be a global business and a household brand that people can trust. Using Furr Boost as part of a dog’s daily nutrition and diet can help to keep the vets bills down for unnecessary health issues associated with food and lack of hydration, which was exactly where I started with my first dog. We haven’t come down from cloud nine since winning the Gold award and we are delighted to be recognised by the pet trade.”

SMOOTHIE DRINKS

PRODUCT OF THE YEAR (Healthcare & Grooming)

watermans

PH balanced formulated pet wash

In the words of the judges, the Gold award winner has formulated a product that looks different and smells amazing.

Gail and Matt Waterman, of Watermans, said:” We are excited to have won Gold in the PetQuip Awards 2022. We have only just launched our pet shampoo, so to win this award is a high achievement for our brand. Thank you to everyone at PetQuip for voting for our dog shampoo, we are truly honoured.”

Pictured right: Emma Brazier, of PetQuip (centre), collected the Gold award on behalf of Watermans.

BY

EYE4PETS (THE NETHERLANDS)

The judges were impressed by the fact this Dutch business is always on the look-out for equipment and accessories that are truly different and of excellent quality. The company likes to work with family businesses that understand it takes time to establish a brand in a new market.

Pictured right: Eleanor Wigram, Research Manager of PetQuip (centre), collected the Gold award on behalf of Eye4Pets, having worked closely with the company for a number of years.

Wanimo (FRANCE)

The Silver award winner is a leading specialist online retailer, looking for products and accessories that are not sold on Amazon or Zooplus.

SPONSORED BY ZOOMARK INTERNATIONAL

UK RETAILER OF THE YEAR

THE ARK (DEVON)

Devon-based The Ark Pet Stores was named UK Pet Retailer of the Year. The Gold award winner was praised for its fantastic and colourful displays, friendly and knowledgeable staff, the efficiency of service plus excellent and innovative new ideas such as its Kids Club Dog Wash.

Director Emma Smith gives her reaction...

What does this award mean?

It’s clear that our stores are loved for their atmosphere and the way they are presented. To be recognised in this way gives our hard-working team a real boost. Whilst we praise and reward, when it comes from an outside source it has a real positive impact on morale.

Who works in the business?

I am a director along with my colleague Sarah Passmore. My daughter Lilly Burgess is head of sales, and she looks after all of our team members,

especially their training and well-being. We have a company ethos of ‘Our Stores, Our Pets and Our People’, and following a recent restructure we now have four senior managers covering these principles – Karl Howells and Kim Fortune Hill for the stores, Luke Elliott for the pets, and Lilly for the people.

Do you hold special events and initiatives?

We have instore pets across our group and hold birthday parties for them – Charlie, our resident micro pig, is the most popular by far! We attend local fairs and schools where possible and hold awareness events to help and advise customers on specific issues.

What makes your store so special?

I believe we offer an experience rather than just being a standard store. We are big advocates for animal welfare and our stores have received 5-stars in recent licencing inspections.

SPONSORED BY CANAGAN

We are always striving to ‘do better’ and this is reflected in sales and feedback from our customers. We have a specific ‘parrot room’ for our hand reared birds with a walk-in aviary for the larger birds such as Macaws and Cockatoos which is also used for enriching. We have a consultation room for customers wishing to buy a parrot so they can really consider the purchase. This enables us to discuss their lifestyle etc to ensure they are matched with the right bird. It is important to us that our animals are in their homes for their lifetime entirety. If a customer doesn’t buy the full set up from us, we ask for photos of the enclosure they have at home so we can be sure the environment they’re moving to is right.

We are an ethical company and believe we are responsible for every animal we sell; therefore, we offer a return service which enables the customer to return any animal to us during its lifetime if they can no longer care for it. Sometimes they are rehomed to other customers, team members or they become shop pets and live in one of our stores. This means we are not burdening rehoming centres who (in our area specifically) already have very negative views of ‘pet shops.

All of our animal food prep is done on the shop floor in a kitchen-style area, complete with microwave, blender and an array of fresh fruit and vegetables. We have displayed menus so our customers can see the thought and work that goes into looking after our animals before they are sold. Saturday mornings is porridge and Sundays are roast days! All of this encourages our customers to try things to enrich their own animals with things they haven’t tried before.

We offer education to our younger customers in the way of our very popular kid’s club dog wash – they come in with their dogs and with a team member will learn what to look for when washing their pets. We are very passionate about instilling the importance of being kind to animals at a very young age. We offer a school support service where we go out to schools, check enclosures, equipment (UV/Filters if they have reptiles and aquatics) and do a broad health check on the animals and advise as necessary.

Our self-serve and service wash dog wash is very popular, hosting four baths including a floor-based one for extra-large dogs or customers who have mobility issues so they can wash their dogs with ease.

Do you offer a delivery service?

We try to make our stores accessible for everyone but for those who can’t visit, we go to them, seven days a week with four local vans on the road covering Exeter, Torbay, Plymouth and the surrounding areas. Online, we have a live chat so customers can speak to us and get advice before making a purchase if needed.

What training do you give your staff?

Our team members are trained to a very high standard to be able to offer the very best service to our customers and are encouraged to progress and learn more wherever they can. PIF courses are readily available and many of our team members have completed these, along with external courses such as Reptile Diplomas, Parrot Studies & Behaviour Diplomas, SQPs, Dog/Cat nutrition - I could go on!

Our people are the backbone of our business, and it is important to us that they are happy not only at work but at home too so we offer a full employee assistance programme so they can get support for free if they are having personal struggles.

All of our managers are trained in aspects of mental health to support them if needed or they are guided to the EAP if not. We are a very diverse team and have an age range of employees from 16-79 and this means we can relate to all of our customers regardless of age.

My colleagues Sarah and Lilly and myself are in stores regularly to ensure our policies of a ‘safe place’ environment is always at the forefront of everyone’s minds so every team member and customer can be themselves in our stores without fear of judgement or discrimination.

What sets you apart from the rest?

We’re so much more than just a pet shop – I think we are traditional (still selling pets) but with a modern twist!

How do you keep your regulars happy?

By ensuring we stay on trend, changing displays and stock seasonally and offering a service that they wouldn’t get anywhere else. Knowing our customers, their pets and their needs is fundamental and so they keep visiting. They know we genuinely care.

DIRECT RETAILER PROGRAMME

Unlike other brands we deliver direct to you, the independent pet channel. This ensures our products are not available in supermarkets, national superstore chains or online only retailers.

WE OFFER

Minimum order only 24kg Free next working day delivery High margins / staff training / POS Customers that return to your store!

WWW. CANAGANGROUP. COM

GORDON THOMAS

Gordon Thomas, show director of PATS Telford, was presented with a prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2022 PetQuip Industry Awards.

He received the award from Steve Brown, Chief Executive Officer of Pedigree Wholesale, who gave a glowing account of Gordon’s distinguished career in event management.

Steve said that Gordon deserved this high accolade for his outstanding service to the pet industry, organising the successful PATS and AQUA exhibitions.

After an illustrious career of working on international exhibitions like Glee, Gordon launched his own business, Impact Exhibitions & Events, with friend and colleague Annie Foord.

The first PATS show took place at Sandown Park in 2009 and was swiftly followed by a second event in Harrogate the same year. The move from Harrogate to Telford came in 2015.

Gordon and his team also launched the biennial AQUA show in association with OATA, and this year took on the organisation of BETA International equestrian exhibition.

Described as being hard-working, incredibly fair and a fun person to be with, Steve added that Gordon was a worthy recipient of the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award.

Gordon said: “It’s a great honour to be recognised in this way. The success of PATS has been very much a team effort. It’s wonderful to be a part of the UK pet industry.”

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

SPONSORED BY PEDIGREE WHOLESALE

Product finalists

ACCESSORIES/TECHNICAL

Barking Bags – Diddy Bag and the Original Collarways – Toppl Concept Research – Pest Controller

Dog Fender – Dog defence system and everyday collar

Fetch.It – Compostable poo bags

Green Poop Bag – Compostable poop bags (new and improved)

HayPigs – Timothy Hay

James & Steel – Sotnos Earth Aware collars and leads/Recycled Rope Toys/Natural Rubber Toys/ Bam catnip toys

Kompact 9 – Ball launcher

Pedigree Wholesale – Chuck it/GiGwi Push to Mute Owl/Ai flashing Bandana

PetSafe – Kibble Chase roaming treat dispenser/ ScoopFree self-cleaning litter box/Ricochet electronic dog toys/Drinkwell Butterfly pet fountain

Red Dingo – Durables soft fabric toys

Scoff Paper – Edible greetings cards (new and wider range)

Scruffs – Flat faced pet bowls

Tailor-Grace – Huskaloo

WHM Pet Group – Recyclable packaging (new range)

FOOD/TREATS

Aardvaak – Insect based food for cats and dogs

ADM – Naturalis LifeBites

Akela Pet Foods – Free Range Chicken complete working dog/puppy dry food

Clydach Farm – Daily Dentals and Grain Free Treats

Doggy Doggy Yum Yum – Frozen Treat for Dogs (new and improved)

Eden Holistics – Gourmet Range Forthglade – Dental Sticks

Furr Boost – Smoothie Drinks

HayPigs – Timothy Hay

James & Steel – Veggie Bites and Zero Hide Chews

Mr Bug – Bug Bites

Mealberry – Tasty Maze Tunnels Park LiFE – Bix Range and Milk Bones

Pawfect Foods – Yoghurt Melties

Pedigree Wholesale – Natures Deli Crunchy Biscuits, Earth Animal Venison Chews and Petello Yak Coconut Chews

ProDog – Protect gut health and allergy support supplement/Exotics range

Rawgeous – New frozen food

Tailor-Grace

Oggi Tiana

The

HEALTHCARE/ANIMAL GROOMING

ADM

For

and

GHS

GWF

Dogkind

and

Yeast range, Flea range and Dry

Herbal Dog Co

range Karnlea (LK Pets) – Bone Broth

Pedigree Wholesale

Tropiclean Enticers, Tropiclean OxyMed, and Flea & Tick Bite Relief Pipkin & Bella – Protect My Dog Shampoo

Podium Pet Products – Be:Soft paw and nose balm

ProDog – Protect gut health and allergy support supplement/Exotics range

The Dog Doctors – Healthcare range Watermans – Pet Wash Wrapsio – Calming blanket for cats