"We want to promote innovation by the sector"

"DeZooFa has an important function in the German and central European pet supplies business. No other regional pet product fair is pursuing the objective of promoting innovation by the sector and recognising the commitment of the pet supplies industry to catering for the requirements of individual species to the same extent," explains Herbert Bollhöfer, managing director of the fair organising company, the Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft Zoologischer Fachbetriebe GmbH (WZF).Its innovation competition is one example of this. 2007 will be the fourth time that the WZF has invited all DeZooFa exhibitors to enter their animal welfare products in the competition. The innovation competition has become a successful marketing instrument, according to Herbert Bollhöfer. He has observed that the products showcased in the competition elicit great interest and a good response both in the trade press and in popular magazines. Each exhibitor can enter up to four new products that are technically innovative, simplify the cohabitation of man and pet or represent an advance in the well-being of pets. The decision as to which products are truly forward-looking and adapted to the needs of a particular species is down to the trade visitors: on the exhibition stand dedicated to the competition, each visitor can choose a winner for each product group, and once the fair has ended the winners receive a certificate that they can use to advertise their product.Another example is the design competition. WZF GmbH and Germany's Zentralverband Zoologischer Fachbetriebe (ZZF) have contracted out a product design competition to the Fachhochschule Hannover (University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Hanover) for the second time. After focusing on enclosures for small mammals and birds at the competition's premiere, the students are now concentrating on designing new types of terrariums. The promising ideas will be presented to the public for the first time and recognised at the show. Manufacturers have an opportunity to talk to the students and acquire concepts.Rodents and small mammals are at the heart of the ZZF's pet exhibition in Hall 4 this year: "In a darkened rodent house, visitors have the opportunity to observe the behaviour of sugar gliders and Persian Jirds. Outside the house we will be presenting small mammals that are active during the daytime," says ZZF president Klaus Oechsner.The organisers consider their fair concept to be fully endorsed by the current level of registrations for…