by Nancy Hassel, American Pet Professionals
Earlier this month, I attended my 5th Pet Connect USA Summit held in Los Angeles, CA. It was another incredible event hosted by the UK team at Kisacoresearch. When this event first came about back in 2018 in Austin, Texas – it was then called the Pets & Money Summit – I was intrigued by the concept and idea of this new type of event for our industry.
American Pet Professionals has been a proud media sponsor of this event every year since, and for their sister event, Animal Health Nutrition and Technology Summit held in Boston.
Close to 400 attendees flocked to Los Angeles for one of the last industry events of the year, and many that came as strangers left as colleagues and friends. I was happy to finally meet a few of our members in person after many years and many online events hosted on Zoom, like Dr. Nelva Bryant, DVM of When Pets Fly of Altanta, GA, and Liz Murdoch, of With the Dogs! Local to LA.
If you know me, you know I love pet events, having traveled all over the USA to attend and speak at many pet industry conferences and trade shows over the past 16 years – this event is different in the way it is facilitated. It is not a massive trade show – so there is no walking 25,000 steps and being side-tracked by the coolest new pet product, and then being late to your next booth or meeting. Anyone else?
Pet Connect is just different in the way that you have the opportunity to have dedicated one-on-one meetings with several opportunities to do so, on both days of the event, and you can schedule ahead of time on the portal.
There are many panel sessions on various topics that are important to many types of pet businesses, whether you’re a start-up with a product, talking about growth in the veterinary world, or if you’re an investor looking to invest in a pet company. In addition, there are smaller round table events, in which I was happy to lead the table on the topic: A Masterclass in Identifying Strategic Alliances, in which we had a great discussion – thank you to those who attended my session.
The Best In Show Pitch competition is always a hit among attendees, as you are learning about many new pet products, apps, and services either just hitting the market or having proved themselves in the past couple of years. You will be inspired, and may even think, “Oh, that is such a great idea – wish I thought of that!” Or, “Wow, I definitely want to learn more and work with that start-up.” 10 different businesses are given time on stage to pitch to the audience about their product, service or app.
Working closely with the team each year, I was so happy to finally meet Poppy Howard-Wall and the hard-working team in person. “I was proud to bring together the brightest minds and innovators in pet care for Pet Connect USA in Hollywood. The conference served as a vibrant hub for collaboration, innovation, and networking, solidifying its reputation as a cornerstone of the global pet ecosystem. We cannot wait for next year,” stated Poppy Howard-Wall the Conference Producer of Pet Connect, and Kisaco Research.
The name Pet Connect is perfect for this event, as you will make so many connections that your inbox will be flooded the week after the show!
The summit returns next December 2025 back in Los Angeles, so if you are local to the area and in the industry, I would mark your calendars to attend. There were however attendees from all over the USA and the world!