KANSAS CITY, MO. — As the number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the United States continues to grow, global public health safety concerns remain, and travel restrictions hinder our ability to attend both domestic and international meetings, several major industry events have been postponed, moved online or canceled altogether.
Pet Food Processing is tracking the status of pet food and treat-related events in the United States and abroad. A list is provided below and will be updated as needed.
If you know of an event postponement or cancellation that has not been added to the list, please contact our editorial staff, Jennifer Semple (jsemple@sosland.com) or Jordan Tyler (jtyler@sosland.com).
Event updates throughout 2020
Most recently, the American Pet Products Association (APPA) and Pet Industry Distributors Association (PIDA) announced Dec. 15 that Global Pet Expo 2021 will be held entirely online. Details about the Global Pet Expo Digital Access platform are coming soon.
Organizers of International Production and Processing Expo (IPPE) have opted to cancel the in-person portion of its January 2021 event, and will offer virtual programs instead. This includes the American Feed Industry Association's (AFIA) annual Pet Food Conference, which will now be held virtually on Jan. 26, 2021.
Pet Fair Southeast Asia (SEA) initially postponed its in-person event to Jan. 20-22, 2021, but recently decided to push the event back even further into 2021. The trade show will now take place Oct. 6-8, 2021, in Bangkok, Thailand.
Pet Food Alliance, which had previously scheduled its Spring Meeting in Kansas City for April 29-30, postponed the meeting to September 2020 and moved it to an all-virtual event.
The World Pet Association (WPA) on June 4 announced SuperZoo 2020 was canceled and rescheduled for Aug. 17-19, 2021, after weighing public health and safety concerns surrounding COVID-19.
The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) opted to postpone its 2020 Feed Industry Institute (FII) and move the event to a virtual format. It was held in a self-paced format from Aug. 17 through Sept 23.
"Please note that we did not make this decision lightly, but felt it was the right thing to do to protect the health and safety of our attendees and staff," AFIA said.
Additionally, AFIA's Purchasing and Ingredient Suppliers Conference (PISC) was oved to a virtual format, held July 20-24.
The Baker Equipment Manufacturers Association (BEMA) canceled its 2020 annual convention citing coronavirus concerns. The organization offered virtual programs in lieu of an in-person event.
Sosland Publishing Company has opted to cancel its 2020 Purchasing Seminar out of an abundance of caution. The 2021 Purchasing Seminar is set for June 6-8 at the Sheraton at Crown Center in Kansas City. Sosland Publishing's Winter Webinar will be held Dec. 2.
Petfood Forum Connect was held virtually Sept. 9-10 and 15-17.
The organizers of Interzoo have rescheduled the event to June 1-4, 2021 in Nuremburg, Germany. Read the full updated statement from Interzoo.
“In the aftermath of a crisis such as the one we are currently facing, it is our obligation as association and trade fair organizer to support the industry in recovering economically," said Dr. Rowena Arzt, director or exhibitions at WZF GmbH. "Our exhibitors state that a biennial rhythm for an event with the magnitude of Interzoo is simply ideal and should therefore be maintained."
Kinship sent out this e-mail update regarding new dates for its Coalition summit. New dates have not yet been announced for this event.
Follow our breaking news coverage of the coronavirus/COVID-19 situation.
