Global Pet Expo Takeaways: Litter

Global Pet Expo was a highly successful event for several leading litter manufacturers. Exhibitors within the litter space noted different aspects of their experiences during Global and they took away several key takeaways and strategies including relationship building that involved deepening existing partnerships and engaging with new retailers, drawing focus to new products, gathering insights to help improve existing product lines and packaging, and the consistently high booth traffic reassured litter exhibitors the industry is health and thriving. Exhibitors and attendees both seem to have renewed focus, cautious excitement for what’s to come and confidence in their capabilities, particularly within the litter category, after skillfully and graciously tackling the challenges hurled at them in recent years. 

“Pet health and safety was a prominent trend in the litter category this year,” said Mat Brost, Dr. Elsey’s’ VP of Marketing and Product. “At Dr. Elsey’s, one of our main initiatives this year is educating people on the harmful side effects of scented litter. Many cat litters contain added fragrances, but we’ve seen how scented litter can cause litter box avoidance and house soiling, leading to cats being abused, abandoned and ultimately placed in shelters. For that reason, we’ve made the decision to discontinue all production of scented litter to align with our mission to help keep cats in loving homes by providing veterinarian formulated solutions that put feline health first.”

“Boxie had a strong showing at Global and successfully met several of our key goals,” said Founder Josh Wiesenfeld. “We deepened relationships with our customers, generated promising leads from retailers and distributors and increased brand awareness—especially around our newer product, Glo. The booth drew consistent engagement and we gathered valuable industry insights that will inform future strategy. Overall, it was a productive and energizing event that aligned well with our objectives.”

The Next Gen Pet team deemed this year’s show was a success. “This year’s show was much more active than the recent shows,” said Director of Marketing Janice Yamamoto. “We had lots of activity in our booth and were able to connect with a few new faces! Looking forward to seeing how our post show activity develops.”

“With the excitement of launching our new Boosters litter additives line, it was great to have our customers stop by to learn more about our new offerings,” said World’s Best Cat Litter’s Director of Marketing Jean Broders. “It was great to have team members from innovation and category management, to help answer more technical questions about our product or the category. We want to be a resource for our customers.”

Oil-Dri had strong booth traffic and successfully engaged with both existing strategic partners and potential new customers. 

“We had a very successful presence at this year’s Global, with strong booth traffic from both domestic and international customers,” said Trent Bergren, Western Region and Pet Specialty Sales Manager. “Global provided us with the opportunity to meet many of our strategic partners and introduce them to our new product lines, as well as discuss ways to grow their business. Additionally, the event allowed us to attract new customers who are interested in our innovative product portfolio.”

“The structure of Global does a great job of creating a high-energy, concentrated environment for brand visibility and product discovery,” Wiesenfeld said. “The layout encourages steady foot traffic and the mix of scheduled meetings and organic booth visits makes it easy to connect with a wide range of attendees. One area for improvement could be more dedicated, facilitated networking opportunities—smaller, themed meetups or roundtables could help brands like Boxie connect more intentionally with key segments, like veterinary professionals or international distributors.”

The improved design of the show floor contributed to a more constructive experiencee, Yamamoto reflected. 

“The organization on the floor seemed to make for a more productive show,” she said. “The floor felt active rather than empty and the space felt very full. We were in a slightly different place than usual, more towards the edge of the show so that might have helped.”

“I feel the format of the show is conducive to growth—more companies joining and bringing new products to the industry,” Broders said. “It’s great to see major brands that historically haven’t been in the pet category, but are now expanding into the market.”

“The current structure of the Global works well for Oil-Dri, as it provides a great platform for showcasing our products and engaging with both domestic and international customers,” Bergren said. “The layout of the exhibition hall allows for easy access to various sections and the high volume of foot traffic allows us to interact with a diverse range of attendees.”

“We connected with new and existing channels for our go-to-market strategy and hope this face time will help accelerate our sales and expand our reach,” Yamamoto said.