MEETING THE NEEDS OF PETS, THEIR OWNERS
The trend was observed at Pet Fair Asia, a five-day trade show in Shanghai which concluded on Sunday (Aug 25).
The event, where fur kids were the stars and the focus was on meeting their needs, was touted by organisers as the largest expo of its kind in the Asia Pacific.
“A lot of indicators are saying that the industry itself is growing at 8 to 15 per cent,” said Mr Edwin Tan, CEO of events management firm Globus Events, the organiser of Pet Fair Asia.
“Our show itself is growing about 10 to 12 per cent this year, and more importantly, if you look around us, a lot of our exhibitors have increased their investment in the show. They have also come up with … a lot of new products.”
Exhibitors took up all 17 permanent halls of the Shanghai New International Expo Centre, and even spilled into seven semi-permanent halls. Organisers also resorted to providing buggies to ferry visitors from hall to hall.
“I’m here to source for pet products, mainly cat litter and organic cat food for my clients in Southeast Asia,” said Mr Paul Liu, sales director at pet supplies firm Floofs & Fluff.
“Because in China, there are many factories and they are able to source excellent-quality raw materials at a relatively much cheaper cost,” he added.
