PATS - Day 3 +1

So, it’s all over for another year! I didn’t get the chance to do a video on the final day of the show. In fact, I didn’t get to venture into Hall 1 and the Aquatics Zone at all as Tuesday was so busy for us on the Tillymint Stand.

However, now that the dust is starting to settle, I thought I would document my key take aways from the event.

First of all, the event itself was bigger than ever before – more exhibitors and with an extra day.

I understand that registrations were up and it will be interesting to learn what actual attendance numbers were like as the weather was pretty atrocious for the three days that we were at the Telford International Centre. I did wonder if that may have put some people off making the journey.

Tuesday was the ‘unknown’ for us all. Traditionally, Sunday has been predominantly retailer led while Monday sees more corporate representation…who would attend on Tuesday?

One of the pluses of extending the duration of the show, was that more visitors stayed over – supported by the PetQuip Awards staged on Monday night

Footfall on Tuesday did seem lighter than on the other two days, but this allowed exhibitors to have those all-important conversations with each other and allowed for more in-depth conversations. We had interested parties coming to our stand even as we started breaking it down at 4pm.

The news has been announced that PATS - Pet & Aquatics Trade Show 2025 will move to Hall 1 of the NEC in Birmingham. With so many potential exhibitors on the waiting list, I can completely understand why. There is space to allow the event to grow and become even bigger. Although it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to Telford– it’s a great venue, they have looked after us all very well and visitors will certainly miss the free parking!

But back to the 2024 show…here’s some bullet points

• There was definitely a different vibe to this year’s show. It seemed that there were more international exhibitors. That must have been interesting from a buyer’s perspective and will hopefully lead to greater consumer choice at different price points for UK pet owners.
• Supplements are the new raw! I say this because raw was 'de rigueur' with lots of emerging brands at the show over recent years. Of course, leading raw brands and some new entrants were present but the increase in the supplements side of the industry was? interesting to note: from tablets and powders through to ambient liquid products and added ingredients into complete foods.
• European exports from the UK are still a painful process. Brexit regulations are stifling growth and manufacturers and distributors are having to be ever more resourceful to maintain markets within central Europe.
• On the flip side, there was evidence of many more buyers from the Middle East placing big orders at the show – keen to acquire quality products.
• Innovation and creativity is still evident and the New Starter Zone was definitely worth checking out. New businesses have always been key to producing problem-solving products and services and it is good that this remains so.
• However, those businesses need to carefully consider their marketing mix – particularly the P for price and where they position themselves in the market on the luxury-economy scale. In order to scale up and grow, their pricing structure needs to include appropriate margins for potential wholesalers and retailers to make money, and this needs to be taken into consideration alongside manufacturing costs and when setting a direct-to-consumer price. It is such a fundamental thing because pricing can be the difference between a launch success or fail.
• At the other end of the spectrum is the acquisition of established brands by multi-national FMCG corporations or venture capitalist companies. There are a couple of brands that have been bought over the past year that made an appearance at PATS. On the positive site, this can bring an influx of investment to further grow those brands and gain greater market share. That being said parent companies will want to see rapid return on investment and greater profitability. I hope that brand leaders stay true to the values and ethos for which their brands became known and maintain their differential, continue to include quality ingredient composition, nutrition and environmental and social governance for longevity - appealing to new generations of pet owners who are both better informed and have a social conscience.

So that’s about it from PATS for another year. For those of you who I got to meet personally, it was a pleasure – both existing and prospective clients, associates and exhibition stand neighbours. I love the camaraderie and how we all help each other out, so a special shout out to our near neighbours, TRM Pet , Storeys and Tails and Luvial (Lumi-Noble).

I also want to say a big thank you to Robert from Porta-Bowl. I took one of my dogs, Monty, to the show for the first time and felt like a very bad pawrent because I forgot to take his water bowl!!! Robert chivalrously donated one of his fabulous products which I also intend to use for outings with the rest of our tribe. Thanks also to the lovely ladies at Olympia and The Barking Bakery for all the lovely treats and Pip's Boutique for Didi's new snood.

In turn, I hope that you enjoyed the mocktail ice pops!

It was lovely to meet you all and hope to see you next year at the NEC.

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