Pampering pets is big business at SuperZoo trade show

There’s enough to dress, house, feed and pamper a pet with a luxury lifestyle at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.

Businesses buying and selling all things pet-related packed onto the center’s floor this week, as the SuperZoo convention and trade show returned to Las Vegas.

The business-to-business pet product trade show organized by the World Pet Association has taken its event to the resort-casino every year since 2005, Mike Karsting, senior vice president of events, said. It runs through Thursday.

Last year’s event was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, but the pet industry stayed strong. The pandemic brought a wave of new pet owners and the sales to prove it. The industry reached a high of $103.6 billion in sales in 2020, according to an industry report by American Pet Products Association. It projects even more growth for 2021.

Those sales drove retailers to the trade show, Karsting said. The convention floor was filled with items that will reach stores by the end of the year.

“Retailers are here to find new products to stock their shelves because there’s a whole new generation of pets and pet owners,” he said.

Products on the convention floor were sure to catch Fido’s eye. Nail polish for pets with paws, CBD-infused treats, app-controlled water bowls and feeders, catnip-stuffed toys all got shoppers’ and pets’ attention. Is your pooch hungry? Try one of a dozen bones. Does he need exercise? Try out a combination leash-ball launcher. Do fireworks make him anxious? Perhaps doggy ear plugs could make New Year’s Eve more relaxed.

SuperZoo normally brings about 20,000 attendees and more than 1,000 exhibit booths as the largest trade show of its industry in North America. This year’s tallies have not been finalized yet, Karsting said, but the pet association estimates attendance is about 80 percent and booths are 75 percent of pre-pandemic levels.

Hagen Group, a pet products manufacturer and distributor based in Massachusetts, brought 30 employees to the convention, Chief Operating Officer Thomas Marshall said. Leaders were conscious that the delta variant’s growing impact could affect business, but Marshall said the sales team has kept busy.

“We were a little concerned, but the proof is in the attendance,” Marshall said.

Event organizers attribute that to a need to keep business going. Karsting conceded some exhibitors dropped out and possibly some attendees as well due to Clark County’s mask mandate, but most felt the mandate was a small price to pay to keep business humming.

“It feels great to be on site again and to be face-to-face with people,” he said. “These items are the type of items that you have to see, feel and touch to buy. If you’re going to buy an order of 1,000 collars for your pet stores, you want to know the quality. You can’t do that online. These are the kinds of things that trade shows were made for.”

Shannon Ross, CEO of Springer, agreed. Her company’s product is a water bottle with an attached bowl that operates by squeezing the bottle to fill the bowl, then releasing to allow excess water to drain back into the bottle. She demonstrated with her 2-year-old Goldendoodle, Rishi, who energetically lapped water from the Springer and accepted pets every time an attendee asked.

“Honestly it’s amazing (to be back),” Ross said. “Talking to our customers one-on-one is a better experience. It’s great to be back after the last couple years (because) when you’re selling online you just don’t get that community.”

McKenna Ross is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Contact her at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on Twitter.