This year Glee will be home to its strongest pet contingent for many years. From the PetQuip Business Village that has doubled in size, to the wealth of UK and international exhibitors and the newly introduced Buyer Connect event, pet buyers and garden retailers will be spoilt for choice.  

With a recent report suggesting that 70% of UK garden centres now feature a dedicated pet care section, it is clear that the UK’s love for their pets shows no sign of slowing.  In fact, total spending on pet care in the UK reached a record high of around £5.08bn last year as the role of the ‘pet’ continues to evolve into something beyond a secondary addition to the family, to an integral part of the family unit. 

Garden centres are well positioned to take full advantage of this market potential - there has never been a more exciting time for pet product suppliers to greatly expand their stockists and market visibility.   

This year Glee will provide the widest range of profit-boosting products, advice and ideas that businesses need to stay ahead and capitalise on this ever-expanding sector.  Visitors to Glee – including the vastly expandedPetQuip Business Village - should look out for a host of big name brands and niche suppliers from both the UK and international markets, as well as exclusive show offers and innovative products across the food, accessories, bedding, and fashion sectors.

Matthew Mein, Glee’s Event Director said: “We have invested a lot into our pet offering in 2017 and can assure the market that we have taken great strides in creating something unlike anything we have offered previously. Pet products is a huge part of garden retailing and we wanted this reflected in what we offer to the market. From an exciting collection of exhibitors to business support, pet buyers at Glee will be able to arm themselves with everything they need to build profits throughout the 2018 season and beyond.”

The shop window for pet retail

Pet food, treats and complementary foods, by far the largest segment of the UK pet sector, will be well represented at the show, with extensive ranges from currently confirmed exhibitors such as Burgess Pet Foods,GA Pet Food Partners, Supreme Petfoods Ltd, Carnilove, The Dog Treat Company, TDHGroup (Pet Cuisine), Feelwells, and The Barking Bakery.

Pet accessories also represent a huge area of growth for garden retailers as consumers look for new ways to treat their pets.  From dog leads and harnesses to pet beds and cages, Glee has it all from leading exhibitor such as PetFace, Unipet, Scruffs, Trilanco, Group 55, Aristocrats, Loving Pet Products, PacDog, Pet Rebellion, Pet’s Up Products, PetMaxi and many more.

The PetQuip Business Village at Glee 2017 – bigger than ever before

Introduced in 2015, the PetQuip Business Village is designed to offer pet suppliers wanting to build their presence within garden retailers, a platform to launch and showcase their latest ranges. This year the area has doubled in size, providing more space for suppliers to showcase their pet ranges to garden retailers.

Open to both PetQuip members and non-members, the Business Village will make its home at the heart of Glee, bringing together pet brands with garden retail buyers and key decision makers.  Led by PetQuip - the UK’s leading trade association for suppliers of pet products, accessories and services – the ‘village’ is set to welcome even more pet suppliers in 2017.

Pat Flynn, Trade Association Manager at PetQuip said: “The garden centre market offers great potential growth for pet suppliers.  Garden centres usually have a larger footprint than most High Street independents, which aids effective product displays, and also being able to supply a wider range of products instore.  Customer loyalty and repeat visitors are the cornerstone of garden centre business, and pet ranges – especially pet food – is a proven way of achieving this, offering profitability for both the retailer and the supplier.

Pet Buyers Connect

For the first time Glee 2017 will be introducing a special pet focused Buyers Connect networking event. These special 10-minute speed networking sessions taking place throughout the show within the PetQuip Business Village, will place pet suppliers directly in front of buyers from key garden retailers. These retailers are actively looking for new and innovative pet product suppliers, and for many Buyers Connect will be the place where long-term and profitable relationships are forged.

So much to see

As well as leading brands and specialist pet care suppliers Glee will be home to a wide range of visitor attractions and events that will showcase the best the industry has to offer.

The New Product Showcase and Glee Awards

The New Product Display is the place to head to see the most innovative, unique and commercial products from the hundreds of suppliers at Glee. The competition sees new designs and products perfectly displayed for your consideration, with the best of each category receiving the accolade of a ‘Glee Award.’ This year the awards roster will also include a Consumers’ choice and Best of British award. Show visitors can also cast their vote for their favourite, awarding one lucky entrant with the title of Retailers Choice award.

Glee Innovators Zone

This year Glee’s Innovators Zone will be home to over 30 brand new companies.  Launched in 2009, the Glee Innovators Zone has already helped more than 200 companies break into the garden retail market.  This special area is designed to help nurture valuable grass-roots product development and one-off design ideas, whilst also bridging the gap between market-ready new product launches from established companies and pre-commercial product ideas.  

Innovation will also be celebrated within GIMA’s Innovators’ Seed Corn Fund (GISCF). Since its launch in 2014, the GISCF has already witnessed great success. All previous winners have gone on to enjoy great commercial success; evolving from new brands to established and growing suppliers within the garden retail market. Vicky Nuttall, director of GIMA said: “The GISCF is designed to help start-up businesses take their product from concept to reality, and with a £5,000 prize fund up for grabs, it is always a hotly contested part of our annual programme of activities. The calibre of entries in recent years has been of the highest quality, and this year is certainly no different. We look forward to announcing the 2017 winner at Glee in September.”

Buyers Power List

First launched to the market at Glee 2015 – and receiving a wholly positive response from the garden retail industry - the Buyers Power List is designed to provide suppliers and retailers with a platform to recognise the individual buyers and buying teams who have gone above and beyond to make a difference, and whose decisions are helping the garden retail industry to thrive. 

This year there will be five individual categories - Best Independent Garden Centre, Best Multiple Garden Centre, Best DIY / Builder Merchant Buying Team, Best Online Buyer/ Buying Team and Best ‘Other’ Garden Retail Buyer/Buying Team - with votes invited from across the industry, with everyone from heads of purchasing to suppliers eligible to vote.  

GIMA Business Village

The GIMA Business Village is home to a great selection of up and coming companies exhibiting with the support of GIMA.  Glee is also pleased to present the GIMA Business Lounge, an ideal place to take a break, arrange meetings and catch up with key suppliers. It is also home to the “Buyers Connect” speed networking sessions which will see selected exhibitors meet with show visitors for 10-minute power-networking sessions.

International Buyers Centre

International visitors will find the International Buyers Centre (IBC), in partnership with Gardenex, a useful resource.  Located in Hall 18, the IBC will be led by the team at Gardenex, who will be on hand to provide support and advice as well as translation services to international buyers and visitors.  The International Buyers Centre will also be home to a two-hour session of “Meet the International Buyer”, enabling UK suppliers to have short introductory meetings with a few selected international buyers.

Find out more

Glee is the UK’s leading garden and outdoor living trade retail show, focussing on building year-round profits within core product categories including Garden Care, Landscaping & Garden Decoration, OutdoorEntertainment, Pet Products, Speciality Food and Catering, Home, Gift and Clothing, Plants and a dedicated Retail Experiences section. Each year the show attracts thousands of buyers from top retailers, such as leading UK garden centres, builders’ merchants, multiple retailers, and DIY stores. To keep up-to-date on all the latest news log onto www.gleebirmingham.com/news or call 020 3033 2160 to find out about exhibiting.