Global Pet Expo Takeaways: Grooming

Companies within the grooming category were able to utilize the platform Global Pet Expo provides and highlight their latest product offerings alongside their tried-and-true product lines. Companies within the space educated attendees on the importance of maintaining a healthy grooming regimen while putting emphasis on their product solutions and company values. 

“Global was a strong showing for us. We accomplished what we set out to do—drive traffic, generate meaningful conversations with retail and distribution partners and showcase what makes Skout’s Honor different,” said Will Schneider, Director of Marketing at Skout’s Honor. “Our ‘Infinity +1’ campaign was a standout success. It took aim at the over-promised, under-delivered trend in the pet industry—poking fun at 9-in-1, 5-in-1, do-it-all products—and positioned our solutions as the real deal: science-backed, results-driven and purposefully made. The campaign brought a lot of people to our booth, and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. At Skout’s Honor, clever marketing might grab your attention, but exceptional products keep it. We don’t do gimmicks; we do better results, better products and real solutions that improve the lives of pets and their people. And with every bottle sold, we help feed an animal in need. We’ve now donated more than 33 million meals through our Paw Pledge.”

“Coastal Pet Products had an outstanding show this year, filled with high energy and excitement for new innovations,” said President Kim Stout. “We successfully introduced the PetKORE brand toys and grooming products, which were a big hit. PetKORE founder Joe Markham showcased the durability and quality of these new products with live demonstrations in our booth. His demonstration tool and sidekick, ‘Snarly McChew,’ generated a lot of intrigue not only for his wild looks, but for how the PetKORE toys held up against his impressive bite force. Overall, we are pleased with how this year’s show aligned with our goals, making it a memorable and successful event.”

“earthbath had a strong showing at Global,” said Carla Ng-Garrett, VP Sales, Western Territory and E-commerce. “Our team remained consistently busy, engaging with key accounts, retail partners, influencers and industry peers, allowing us to strengthen relationships and reinforce our brand presence across the pet care space. We successfully met our primary goals of deepening partner connections and increasing visibility, especially with the added momentum of celebrating our 30th anniversary, which brought extra excitement and attention to the booth. Overall, it was a productive and rewarding event.”

“At Global, grooming trends centered on natural, nontoxic ingredients, skin and coat health, sustainability and functional solutions. There’s growing demand for gentle, allergy-friendly products and sustainable packaging that meet both pet parents and professional needs. In response, earthbath has launched our new Paw Wash, made with natural, non-toxic ingredients like shea butter, aloe, avocado and calendula, at the same time providing an effective cleaning solution for pups’ paws. It’s a perfect reflection of where the category is headed—safe, effective and mindful pet care,” said Ng-Garrett.

Global has become a chance for leaders in the industry to use as an educational platform. Companies like Bass Brushes have remained an essential part of ensuring pet owners do not latch onto any misconceptions circulating the category. “For our segment of grooming, it’s the amazing benefits of natural boar bristle brushes for conditioning the coat. They are surprisingly underrepresented,” said Joel Weinstein, President of Bass Brushes in a previous interview. “Natural boar bristle is the only filament that effectively captures and redistributes natural oil—sebum—from the sebaceous glands in the skin. Sebum is an incredibly potent natural conditioning agent that has a nearly instant silken effect on the coat. ”

Grooming leaders continue to use Global as a chance to showcase and educate regardless of the changes within the show. “Global is always well-organized and easy to navigate, which we appreciate. However, this year felt smaller overall. One change that stood out was the influx of influencers granted free access. In theory, it’s great to include content creators, but in practice, many of the ‘influencers’ we spoke with had very limited reach and were mainly looking for free products. It diverted time and energy away from our primary goals. We’d recommend tightening those qualifications or creating a more curated process for influencer participation,” said Schneider.

“Global Pet Expo plays a key role in supporting earthbath’s immediate business goals by strengthening relationships with existing partners, opening doors to new retail opportunities and increasing visibility for our latest innovations—like the launch of our new Paw Wash. The show helps us gather real-time feedback, align with industry trends and build momentum for upcoming initiatives,” said Ng-Garrett.