Awards at the International Pet Conference in Bologna

The Personality of the Year Award went to Dr Rowena Arzt, Head of Exhibitions at Interzoo organiser WZF. The prize for Best Newcomer of the Year, which was awarded for the first time, went to the German company Strayz. Both awards were presented at the International Pet Conference in Bologna by the trade magazine PET worldwide.

The trade magazine PET worldwide recognised Dr Rowena Arzt with the award for her outstanding contribution to the successful staging of the world-leading Interzoo fair under extremely challenging conditions. Taking place in May this year after an interlude of four years due to the coronavirus pandemic, the trade show met with an enthusiastic response from exhibitors and visitors alike and brought a perceptible uplift in mood to the international pet supplies sector. The presentation to Dr Rowena Arzt is the first time since 2006 that the award has been given to a female recipient. Another first at the International Pet Conference in Bologna was the presentation of PET worldwide’s Best Newcomer Award. The award, created to support start-up and other newcomer companies in the pet industry, went to German company Strayz, which aims to improve the lives of street dogs and cats by selling its organic species-appropriate pet food brand.

The conference was entitled “The new normal in the pet sector: perspectives, trends and challenges for the future”. Speakers at the event included high-level representatives of the sector such as Hubert Wieser (Nestlé Purina Petcare), Caitlyn Dudas (The Pet Sustainability Coalition), Rolf Hagen Jr. (Hagen Group), Dušan Plaček (Plaček Group) and Heiko Bücker (Fressnapf).

The International Pet Conference is a biennial event held in alternate years to the German Pet Conference. It is organised by the international trade magazine PET worldwide and Management Forum of the Handelsblatt Media Group.