"A must-visit event"

Who markets the most environmentally friendly, most naturally produced dog food in the country? Which food contains the healthiest ingredients? The UK pet food industry is fully behind the eco-trend and is showing that it can keep up with the global competition to produce increasingly carefully and sustainably manufactured dog and cat food products. The raw materials and their provenance are being subjected to ever closer scrutiny.

"We simply take whole British free range chickens, minus their heads, feet and offal, and blend them with the finest natural ingredients to create our delicious food." This is how British pet food manufacturer McAdams advertises its dog food brand of the same name. Another British company, Beco Pets, pledges that its dog food, which was shown for the first time at PATS, is the first British brand on the market "to use sustainably caught fish, carrying the MSC mark, the official certification of sustainable seafood from the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)". And Symply Pet Foods took the PATS Sandown New Products Award in the dog food segment for its new Piccolo range of dog food.
Natural, grain-free dog food is in fashion - so much so that stands not exhibiting natural pet food products tended to be a rare sight at the show. As well as the leading British manufacturers and wholesalers, it was noticeable that even some German companies, or at least their subsidiaries, had their own stands at PATS Sandown. Schulze Heimtier­bedarf, Terra Canis, Hunter, Flexi, Trixie and Happy Dog were all present, to name but a few, demonstrating that the UK market has a strong appeal even for foreign companies. 

PATS Sandown attracted not only many independent pet retailers, but also a large number of buyers from pet retail chains like Pets at home, e-commerce companies like Zooplus and pet departments of garden centres. In total 1 861 visitors attended this year's show - a similar figure to last year (1 859). In their final report the organisers cite Ben Williams, pet buyer at Dobbies Garden Centres: "PATS Sandown is a must-visit event for me. It's an opportunity to see all the new launches under one roof and talk to important people in the industry."

The New Product…