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Global Pet Expo Summary & Highlights

The Global Pet Expo, one of the pet industry’s largest events, recently took place in Orlando, Florida from March 23 to 25. This trade show provides an incredible opportunity for pet product manufacturers and retailers, as well as other pet professionals like veterinarians, to learn and network.

Are you curious about how the show went? Read on for a quick summary and some highlights.

GLOBAL PET EXPO 2022: THE BASICS
The Global Pet Expo is an international trade show produced by the American Pet Products Association (APPA) and the Pet Industry Distributors Association (PIDA). It welcomes professionals from all parts of the pet industry and is known as the place where big ideas come to life.

A HYBRID EVENT
The show was primarily an in-person event — it took place in the South Concourse of the Orange County Convention Center. All buyers and exhibitors also had a chance to log in and participate virtually even after the in-person portion of the show ended. This gave them a chance to make appointments, view products, and easily access educational materials.

GLOBAL PET EXPO 2022 UPDATES
The 2022 show featured some impressive updates to make the event easier and more enjoyable, including these:

  • An easier to navigate floor plan
  • A simplified registration process
  • An enhanced mobile app
  • Improved onsite services


The showrunners also opened the Global Learning Series to all attendees. This decision created new opportunities for everyone to increase their professional development, gain insight into industry trends, and improve their business strategy.

In an interview with Pet Food Processing, APPA’s executive vice president and COO Andy Darmohraj explained that the Global Learning Series is part of what makes the Global Pet Expo different from many other industry shows. This is especially true now that it can be attended without any tickets or participation fees.

GLOBAL PET EXPO HEALTH AND SAFETY
In 2022 (and surely for years to come), a key component of a successful trade show or expo is a thorough health and safety protocol. The folks in charge of the Global Pet Expo took a variety of steps to keep attendees safe during the event, including the following:

  • Working closely with Epistemix, which develops simulations to model the spread of diseases and inform public health policy
  • Encouraging face coverings
  • Requiring health acknowledgments (i.e., asking attendees to verify they were not experiencing symptoms of COVID-19)
  • One of the most noteworthy elements of the 2022 Global Pet Expo is the fact that health and safety decisions were made according to the latest data. With the help of models provided by
  • Epistemix, the show runners could confidently say the event was safe, even without requiring masks or proof of vaccines.

GLOBAL PET EXPO 2023
It doesn’t matter if you sell products for dogs, cats, horses, or other types of animals. Global Pet Expo has something for you. Are you more interested in attending or exhibiting at the 2023 event? If so, you’re in luck! The show has already been booked for March 22-24 at the Orange County Convention Center.