Trendy despite crisis

“We weren’t entirely sure whether it was a good idea to organise an event of this kind in the current economic situation,” says Lenka Karafit of Tommi. “We were apprehensive that many companies would prefer to wait rather than investing in new products now.” But the “Trendy” house fair staged by the Czech supplier for the speciality trade proved the opposite: a large number of firms came to Kladno and Olomouc to present new products and also to discuss how to tackle the financial crisis, which has affected parts of the pet sector, in a sensible manner. Participant numbers held up reasonably compared with the last fair in 2008, according to Tommi. “It was noticeable above all that many pet product retailers have been seeking ways to promote the sale of their products and get more customers into their stores.” Presentations by foreign companies Among other items, Tommi presented its new “Dr Jag” range for dogs at the fair. The chews have a low fat content and are intended to improve canine oral hygiene as well as eliminating bad breath. Another product that was popular with the visitors was the range of “Tommi Dog Sham-poos”, a line of shampoos containing natural ingredients and enriched with natural organic substances. According to Tommi, they contain no parabens or animal oils and have been developed with the assistance of veterinarians and dermatologists. “Puppy Field”, a training pad for puppies, and “sanitary pads” for medical purposes and household use were also on show. To tempt visitors into making purchases, Tommi offered a 20 per cent fair discount on its entire product range. The company also ran a lottery competition offering the winners price reductions of 35 and 40 per cent. The invitation to “Trendy” was also accepted by representatives of foreign companies, which Tommi represents on the Czech market. Gianlucca Baldi, the export manager of the Italian company Morando, recounted the history of his company as well as presenting some of its products. Caroline Saelen, the business manager of Moderna Products from Belgium, presented novelties from the company that were first unveiled at the Interzoo exhibition in Nuremberg and shortly after at “Trendy”. Nicolas Lefebvre from Dog ’n’ Cat International, the producer of “Mastery” pet food, gave a detailed presentation on the production process and all the advantages of “Mastery” in comparison with other brands of super-premium pet foods on the market. Download: Trendy despite crisis (PDF file)