28th - 30th September 2025  |  NEC, Birmingham
14 Dec 2023

UK pet industry energised by THREE-DAY PATS 2024

UK pet industry energised by THREE-DAY PATS 2024
PATS

News that PATS will be a THREE-DAY exhibition in 2024 has delighted UK pet companies eager to showcase their new products to a wider audience.

PATS 2024, to be staged from Sunday 29th September to Tuesday 1st October 2024, will become one all-encompassing show as the two PATS exhibitions – Sandown and Telford – merge into one.

The 2024 exhibition will take over the entire Telford International Centre, giving the organisers the ability to accommodate more than 400 exhibitors, compared to this year’s record number of 256.

The decision to stage a three day show in the Autumn gives suppliers and manufacturers the opportunity to showcase new products over a longer period, and to a larger audience. PATS 2024 will also increase its international profile with the benefit of overseas suppliers and buyers being attracted by the three-day format.

Pedigree Wholesale is one company that has supported PATS exhibitions over the years and is looking forward to the new-look format. The company’s head of buying Melanie Malin said: “We are really excited about PATS being a three-day show in 2024. We feel it’s a positive move that allows us to focus on representing the best version of Pedigree Wholesale. We hope the bigger central show allows more customers to be able to visit over the three days. It also means our buying team can spend much more time engaging with our current suppliers and gives more opportunity to understand the exciting new products on offer.”

Ancol is another major company welcoming the new plans. Director Simon Lane commented: “We always look forward to exhibiting at PATS. We always have a great show –lots of hands shaken and orders taken – but it’s always over far too quickly. We value the chance to show our products at PATS and we invest a lot of time and effort into looking our best on the day. We are very pleased that we’ll get an extra day to exhibit – in our opinion extra show time is a huge benefit for us.”

Cranswick Pet Products has already booked its stand for PATS 2024 and head of marketing Jerry Lowe said: “The team are really looking forward to the new three-day format. We had a great show with our Vitalin and Alpha brands this year, meeting so many customers, old and new, and it was a great place to showcase our re-designs and new recipes. Having an extra day next year is exciting and creates an opportunity to see everyone for longer.”

Rogz also had a very successful PATS in September and is excited by next year’s plans. “This event creates a real buzz in the UK pet industry, and I’m 100% behind the move to a three-day show,” said Sallie-Ann Reed, managing director for UK and Ireland.

The UK pet industry has seen a huge growth in the number of start-ups entering the market over recent years, and many of them have used PATS as their launchpad. This trend is set to continue in 2024 with the exciting PATS New Starter Zone, as well as more than 40 new companies already expressing an interest in exhibiting.

PATS organisers will be working closely with PetQuip to encourage an increasing number of international buyers to next year’s show. Travelling to and from Telford for overseas visitors is straightforward because of the close proximity of two of the UK’s largest international airports outside of London – Birmingham and Manchester.

The new three-day show will retain all its popular features:

  • New Product Showcase and Awards
  • New Starter Zone
  • Grooming Workshop
  • Deals and Discounts

There will be free entry for visitors, a free show catalogue, free parking for up to 1,500 cars and a complimentary tea/coffee voucher.

For all the latest information visit www.patshow.com

Ends    

Photographs of PATS Telford 2023 are available to download at

https://stewartwrittle.dphoto.com/album/dollqv                                                       

For further media information please contact Neil Pope by email press@impact-exhibitions.com

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We are thrilled with the incredible response from our very first exhibition at PATS! The three days were absolutely brilliant, giving us the opportunity to connect with many new and existing customers. PATS proved to be the perfect platform for launching our new catalogue and introducing over 350 brand-new SKUs. We can't wait to be a part of next year's event at the NEC!

Tom Gwilliam
Sales & Marketing Director |  HugglePets

I think it’s a great idea to add a third day to PATS. We’re here for all three days, giving us enough time to meet everyone and make informed decisions about stocking new products. We also like PATS because of all the networking opportunities.

Tina Quest
Redpaw Pet Supplies, Devon

At PATS 2024 it was lovely to reconnect with our existing customers while also having the opportunity to meet potential new ones. We were thrilled to launch three new ranges during the show, Canagan Petite, Canagan Raw (Freeze Dried Treats and Toppers) and Symply Little, all of which have sold amazingly well, further highlighting the value of this event for showcasing our innovations. Looking ahead, we believe that the Birmingham NEC could offer significant advantages, including improved transport links and a larger venue to accommodate a growing number of exhibitors and visitors, both will enhance the overall experience.

Charlie Williams
Joint Managing Director |  Canagan Group

We’ve been rushed off our feet on all three days. It has been an excellent show and I love the fact you can spend more time with visitors. I will definitely need a larger stand in 2025

Cyril Geoffray
UK & Ireland national Sales Manager |  Zoo Med
We’ve missed going to Aqua so we’re really happy to be visiting the Aquatics Zone at PATS. We’ve come to see the new products, find out about deals on offer and meet people face to face. It’s also a great opportunity for networking with other shops and companies and building new relationships – something we have missed out on during the Covid years
Mark Warren
Partner |  West Dorset Aquatics
We’ve come to PATS for the whole three days because you just can’t do it justice in only two. For us, as we deal with the whole spectrum of the pet industry, we spend day one wandering through the halls to see what catches our eye and day two doing our buying – but we’ve found that by the end of the second day we haven’t always got round to everyone. So the third day is a real bonus. There is less of a rush to get it all done and we can spend more time building relationships and ensuring we’ve caught all the deals and found all the new products we might want to stock. PATS is an important highlight of the year and we wouldn’t want to miss any of it!
Toni Thornton
Managing Director |  Four Oaks Pet Supplies, Scarborough

It was great to see the Aquatics Zone sold out and full of exhibitors. For us at J&K it was a pleasure, as always, to catch up with a good number of our longstanding customers as well as meet with and introduce our brands and product ranges to potential new ones. Hopefully the new format for 2025, moving into a larger venue, capable of accommodating even more exhibitors, and with better air, road and rail access, will encourage even more visitors, allowing the show to grow in the years to come.

Ben Windeatt
Sales & Marketing |  J&K Aquatics
I’m a big advocate of having three show days because it gives you more time to spend with clients. PATS keeps growing in a good way because it gives more companies – big and small, old and new – the platform to make their mark. I had a look at the New Starter Zone and loved the buzz that these new companies were creating. PATS is great for the UK pet industry
Greg Van Praagh
Head of UK |  RPFC Group

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