A fair with a future

The four-day trade show, organised in cooperation with the National Association of Producers of Pet Food and Pet Care Products (ASSALCO) and the National Association of Italian Veterinary Doctors (ANMVI), attracted 757 exhibitors, including foreign exhibitors from 45 different countries. The presence of six national collectives highlighted the growing internationalisation of the event. New features this year were the collaborations with different associations and with coordinators of foreign collectives, and the organisation of focus sessions for in-depth examination of different markets and business opportunities relating to the USA, Canada, Russia, the UK, China, India and the Czech Republic.
"The pet market is one that has evolved over the years," explained Antonio Bruzzone, general manager of BolognaFiere, "The growing attention to care and wellbeing of our pets finds a detailed and thorough response in the offer from businesses that exhibited at Zoomark International this year, a very wide spectrum of the very best the international pet industry has to offer."

Detailed attendance figures, the spread of visitors according to country and their feelings about the decision of the organisers to stage Zoomark exclusively during the week are not yet available to the editorial team. Nevertheless, the impression gained from discussions with exhibitors and trade visitors was that the new midweek format went down very well with most.
The organisers also received praise for their decision to stage Zoomark International in halls 25, 26, 28, 29 and 30. This shortened the routes and offered greater clarity compared with previous years, while the attractive design of the modern halls additionally enhanced the atmosphere of the show. Entering the fair through the north entrance brought visitors to a spacious foyer leading to halls 28, 29 and 30. The Product Showcase was also located in this foyer and featured around 400 of the new products exhibited at the fair. It was pleasing that the dominance of the pet food segment, which is common at other trade shows, was not quite as pronounced in Bologna and left room for new products from other product categories. According to the exhibition company, pet food products accounted for roughly 40 per cent of the new products. New formulas are ever more finely calibrated to meet animals' nutritional requirements, with ingredients selected for their organoleptic characteristics, high quality and to cater to animals…