Over 5 600 buyers at Total Pet Expo

More than 5 600 registered buyers from 1 742 firms attended the Backer’s Total Pet Expo Fall Trade Show in Chicago, according to the show organisers. A total of 288 companies occupied 468 booths on the floor, offering an interesting variety of products and services. Debuting at the show was an app for mobile devices, designed to enable attendees to navigate the show floor more easily and find exhibitors and products of interest. Other show features were a pet store located on the trade show floor and the Idea Wall, a forum for attendees to share and read retail tips. New to the show was the Pet Product Showdown, in which exhibitors had the opportunity to deliver two-minute pitches about their new products to a panel of pet industry judges. The winning company was Innovation Pet Inc. for its Kitty Connection Cat Play System.