The Pet Industry Federation (PIF) released details of its 2026 Business of Pets Conference.
The two-day programme is themed on ‘Building Resilience’ and will take place on Thursday and Friday, June 3-4, at the Cranfield University Management Development Centre near Milton Keynes, Bedfordshire.
Sponsored by Worldpay the event will aim to address the financial, operational and strategic challenges shaping the pet care sector. The conference opens with a headline panel, entitled ‘The 2026 Cost Crunch and How to Survive It’, featuring Joanna Boughton-White (Dorwest), Jo Moorcroft and Vicky Davies (Canine Business Academy) and Darron Burness (Beacon Barkers), hosted by Clayton Payne.
Cash flow and financial resilience will be explored by Emma Jones, the UK Small Business Commissioner, who will outline how new 2026 late payment regulations, including a 60-day cap, can be used to strengthen business stability, while returning speaker Martin Spiller of Palladin Partners will deliver a session entitled: ‘The Unfair Advantage of SMEs’ focusing on how smaller businesses can outperform larger competitors through agility, culture and data. Scaling challenges will be addressed by Emma Barnes (Focal Point Coaching), sharing practical insights from growing the Linnaeus Group from eight to over 150 practices, while further presentations during the two-day programme include a State of the Nation report on UK pet spend from NielsenIQ, a forward-looking consumer outlook from PwC, a digital case study focusing on the success of Pooch & Mutt delivered by Nobull, and further sessions on AI tools and cyber security.
As in previous years, the programme also includes live Innovation Award pitches across both days, showcasing new products, services and technologies as well as networking opportunities and an evening BBQ.
Further information and tickets are available from the PIF website.
