Accessories becoming more important

Moving the fair to adjacent halls 5 and 6 at the Kortrijk Xpo reduced the distance that visitors had to walk this year to get from one end of the show to the other. At the same time, the quality of the halls was better compared with the 2008 show. Two years ago, the fair was staged in two smaller halls and part of a third hall, making it somewhat confusing for both exhibitors and visitors. Another advantage of the move to the new halls was the increase in net exhibition floor space to 6 106 m2 compared with the last show. This resulted in a slight increase in the average stand size compared with 2008. As in previous years, a large number of French and Dutch visitors were in attendance to find out about the latest trends in the pet supplies sector. On the Sunday especially, which saw an increase in visitor numbers of 15 per cent over the last show, the halls were buzzing with activity until late afternoon. With regard to the product offering, Anido confirmed a trend that can currently be observed at other trade fairs: the area taken up by aquatics is shrinking, while pet food and accessory products for dogs and cats dominate. The reptile segment also expanded significantly compared with Anido 2008. This is attributable to an expansion in the range of some suppliers to include articles from this product group. Anido awards Once again, the three most interesting new products in the categories of pet food and accessories respectively received awards. In the accessories segment, 29 companies competed for the awards, compared with 21 firms in the pet food segment. First place in the pet food category went to the company Made for Dogs with its treat product “Klik & Beloon”. The runners-up were Benelux with the new premium pet food line “Dado Premium Dogfood” and Royal Canin Benelux with its cat food “Exigent 33”. In the accessories segment, the Dutch firm Dog or Don’t won with its “Tick Key” tick remover, followed by Schulze Heimtier-bedarf with the “Drinkwell” dog and cat drinking bowl and “Mite-Killer”, a new environmentally friendly mite remover for hens from Versele Laga.Download: Accessories becoming more important (PDF file)