From Interzoo 2024 to Petfood Forum 2025: A unique opportunity for petfood companies to expand business

Wiesbaden – The renewed cooperation of two major events, Interzoo and Petfood Forum, enables businesses in the petfood industry to connect with key decision-makers across the entire supply chain. After a successful Interzoo 2024 with lots of petfood innovations, the Interzoo Pavilion at Petfood Forum 2025 (28-30 April 2025, Kansas City, Missouri) offers the next big opportunity to foster growth and expand the network in the global petfood market – facilitated by a turnkey solution and comprehensive networking features.

Abstract: 
The partnership between Interzoo and Watt Global Media, which has been in place since 2021, gives petfood companies a comprehensive insight into current topics along the entire value chain. Key events of the cooperation include Petfood Forum Europe in Nuremberg as part of Interzoo and the Interzoo Pavilion at Petfood Forum in Kansas City.
At Interzoo 2024, the petfood sector showed an enormous presence with more than 1,500 out of the 2,150 exhibitors showcasing petfood products and innovations. The strong participation in Petfood Forum Europe 2024, organized by WATT Global Media and collocated with Interzoo one day prior to the trade fair, further highlighted the importance of the Interzoo-week for the global petfood industry.

In 2023, the first Interzoo Pavilion at Petfood Forum offered Interzoo exhibitors the opportunity to join the event in Kansas City with a special service package. Going into its second edition, the Pavilion provides petfood companies with a unique opportunity to expand in global markets and meet decision-makers of the entire petfood supply chain at the Kansas City-based Petfood Forum 2025 (28-30 April 2025). The Pavilion’s turnkey solution contains booth space as well as marketing assets and exclusive networking possibilities, making it an essential platform for companies seeking to grow their international presence.

Long version:

Interzoo 2024, the latest event of the world’s leading trade fair for pet supplies, underscored yet again its reputation as a key meeting place for the international petfood industry with much in store for petfood manufacturers and buyers. On a broad scale Interzoo 2024 highlighted the importance of petfood within the global market showcasing numerous petfood innovations for all kind of animals. “Interzoo offers a multitude of approaches towards current petfood trends: New and innovative ideas presented at the Fresh Ideas Stage, established companies seeking new opportunities in petfood, and an expert discussion of opportunities in packaging, manufacturing and overall sustainability at the Petfood Forum Europe – it’s all wrapped up in one week of the year", says Dr Rowena Arzt, Head of Exhibition at Interzoo organizer WZF.

 

Petfood innovations at Interzoo

At the opening day of Interzoo 2024, a German brand presented a dog treat made of cultivated protein. The vegan air-dried snack, developed with a cellular agriculture company from California, is destined to contribute to sustainability while preserving nutritional benefits such as amino acids and postbiotic properties that are important for pet health. A plant-based alternative to petfood made from animal proteins attracted attention as part of the Fresh Ideas Contest, held at Interzoo’s Start-up Area on the closing day of Interzoo 2024: A Dutch start-up company was among the winners for its regionally produced, purely plant-based dry dog food.

Another testament to Interzoo’s role in the pet food sector is Petfood Forum Europe, held just one day prior to Interzoo 2024 and collocated for the second time with WATT Global Media. The one-day conference brought together 300 international attendees from across the entire pet food supply chain. Keynote speakers and innovators provided valuable insights into the latest trends, research, and innovations driving the industry forward.

In total, more than 1,500 exhibitors at Interzoo 2024 showcased products and innovations within the petfood segment, marking a notable increase from the previous event. The highest number of petfood-related products was shown in the segment of food, snacks and treats for cats and dogs while the highest increase compared to previous events could be found in the segment of petfood technology. Petfood also captured substantial visitor attraction, with 28 percent of the 37,000 trade visitors expressing a particular interest in the petfood technology sector.

 

Interzoo Pavilion at Petfood Forum 2025: The Next Step in Global Expansion

Building on the successful collaboration with WATT Global Media, Interzoo is happy to announce the Interzoo Pavilion at Petfood Forum 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri. As one of the world’s premier B2B events for the pet food industry, Petfood Forum 2025 will gather almost 4,000 industry professionals and over 400 exhibitors. “As the pet food market continues to evolve, additional research, education and technology advances are crucial for meeting consumer demands,” said Steve Akins, executive vice president, global petfood and events, with WATT Global Media. “Petfood Forum helps the industry stay up to date on the latest consumer trends and industry developments while allowing pet food professionals to connect and collaborate.”

For the second time since its successful launch in 2023, the Interzoo Pavilion at Petfood Forum supports companies from the pet supplies industry in initiating or expanding their internationalization projects. "The Interzoo Pavilion provides an invaluable opportunity for companies to strengthen their business relationships and enter key global markets. Whether you're launching a new product or expanding your international presence, this all-in-one package offers tailored support to help you reach your growth goals and gain access to nearly 4,000 attendees specialized in pet food ingredients, technology, packaging and services", says Dr Rowena Arzt, Head of Exhibition at Interzoo organizer WZF. ”We are more than happy to welcome the Interzoo Pavilion to Petfood Forum for the second time in a row and enable its participants to make contact with important buyers from around the world”, adds Akins.

With the Interzoo Pavilion, companies gain access to a turnkey exhibition solution that includes booth space, attendee badges, and valuable exposure through official Petfood Forum channels. The Pavilion is tailored for companies that are either new to Petfood Forum or have not participated since 2021, offering a highly competitive package to help them stand out and make meaningful industry connections.

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Information about the organizer

Pet Industry Services – WZF (Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft Zoologischer Fachbetriebe GmbH) organizes Interzoo in Nuremberg in partnership with ZZF (Zentralverband Zoologischer Fachbetriebe Deutschlands e.V) as honorary sponsor and supporting organisation. WZF is the founder, owner and organiser of the world’s largest international trade fair for the pet supplies industry.

With 2,150 exhibitors and about 37,000 trade visitors from 140 countries Interzoo is the undisputed leading international fair for pet supplies. WZF has commissioned NürnbergMesse GmbH to organize the trade fair since 1988. Since summer 2020, WZF has offered online specialist lectures on pet industry topics with the Interzoo Academy.

WZF is a 100 percent subsidiary of ZZF. It makes a major contribution to the economic development and communications strategy of the pet industry through its business segments Trade Fairs & Events, Media Relations & Industry-specific PR and Training & Professional Development, and through its animal ID agency. 

^{Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft Zoologischer Fachbetriebe GmbH (WZF) 
Mainzer Straße 10 
65185 Wiesbaden – Germany  
Geschäftsführer: Gordon Bonnet  
Handelsregister-Nr.: HRB 23138 Amtsgericht Wiesbaden 
Umsatzsteueridentifikationsnummer: DE 113595781}

interzoo@zzf.de