Page 21 - PET worldwide issue 01/2023

pet owners had invested in new proof and extremely resilient with Manufacturers and retailers
scratching posts, dog beds and regard to external influences. would do well not to bury their
leashes during the years of the The situation in the bird, small heads in the sand, but should in-
pandemic and thus a satura- animal, aquarium and reptile stead rekindle the impetus and in-
tion effect had appeared in the segments has proved more dif- spire passion in hobbyists once
market. Another factor to con- ficult, however. After these prob- more.
sider was that consumers were lem-prone segments of the pet
much less reluctant to purchase product business received a We meet again
pet food than pet accessories. marked boost in the pandemic 2022 was also the long-awaited
Retail groups reported unani- years of 2020 and 2021, it was year of a new edition of the
mously that pet owners who had here that a decline was recorded world-leading fair Interzoo. Fol-
been feeding their pets on high- primarily in the second half of the lowing the forced interlude for
value premium food hitherto year. Please don’t get the wrong the pandemic, it was just good to
had stuck with this habit, and so impression that the significant meet market players once more
far no move had been detected rise in inflation rates has sud- in the Nuremberg exhibition
away from the super-premium denly scared off the aquarium halls. Anido in the Belgian city
and premium ranges to the mid- and reptile enthusiasts and the of Kortrijk further reinforced the
price segment. Customers were owners of birds and small ani- upbeat mood. The same goes for
economising only on treats, with mals. During the coronavirus the International Pet Conference
rewards being given to dogs and years, for instance, plenty of new in Bologna, attracting delegates
cats a little less frequently. aquariums were purchased, to- from across the globe. In particu-
gether with equipment. Now lar, the presentations by the two
Great hobbies, tough times? there has been a year’s break, speakers from war-torn Ukraine
To sum up once again, the cat which we hope will come to an stayed long in the memory here
and dog segments are crisis- end this year. and awakened a response in
many members of the audience.
As regards awakenings, a
number of consumer fairs were
also staged once again. Not all
of them returned; some were
cancelled – perhaps prematurely
– over concerns about a loom-
ing winter of coronavirus. But
the ones that were held proved
to be popular meeting places for
pet owners and suppliers, which
should ultimately have a positive
impact on the development of
the pet sector as a whole.
These elements all helped to
ensure that 2022 ended on a
more positive note – so let us look
ahead with optimism to 2023! n

Philipp Gardemin, editor of
PET worldwide, has a positive,
optimistic outlook with regard
to the new year.

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