The pet industry’s two major award events -PIF’s Pet Industry Awards and the PetQuip Awards – will no longer be taking place, following the cancellation of their respective supporting trade shows.
The Pet Industry Awards were due to be held during the Pawexpo trade show at the NEC in Birmingham on September 16, and the PetQuip Awards at a gala event at PATS Telford on September 27.
However, both Pawexpo and PATS have now been cancelled for 2020 due to coronavirus regulations, affecting the ability to hold the trade’s eagerly awaited award ceremonies alongside them.
There were also concerns about hosting such events while adhering to covid-19 distancing and safety restrictions.
The awards themselves will continue however, with both organisations saying they would be looking at innovative solutions to ensure winners received the maximum benefit from their achievements.
WITH REGRET
PIF said: “It is with regret that the Pet Industry Awards, scheduled to take place during the Pawexpo trade show on September 16, will not take place at that time. The continued postponement of the Awards, the premier awards event for the pet industry, is due both to the uncertainty surrounding when large-scale gatherings can begin again and guest confidence about attending such events in the autumn, as well as the announcement from the organisers of Pawexpo that they will not be holding their live event in September.
PetQuip director general Amanda Sizer Barrett said: “We are sad not to be able to meet all our awards finalists and winners in person as usual this year at PATS during our awards event and party: but we have arranged to celebrate the achievements of our entrants in an innovative way which will benefit every participant – a positive benefit in a year when our industry has been facing unprecedented challenges.”
Judging of the PetQuip Awards finalist list is due to be announced in two weeks’ time, ahead of final judging in August.
MAXIMUM EXPOSURE
“To ensure maximum exposure for the winning companies and their products, PetQuip and the Award’s headline sponsors – APPA/Global Pet Expo, pbwnews and Natures Menu plus PATS itself ¬¬- will be supporting a wide-ranging PR campaign for the finalists and winners throughout the UK and international trade media,” said Pat Flynn, organiser of the PetQuip awards.
More details of what both organisations have in store for their winners will be released over the coming weeks. PIF said it would write to all finalists this week with further plans, which would result in either a virtual awards night or a live event at the end of 2020.
