MONROVIA, CALIF. — SuperZoo announced April 26 the details of its 2022 education program, revealing the program will consist of more than 70 sessions covered by more than 28 pet industry experts. Hosted by the World Pet Association (WPA), SuperZoo will be held from Aug. 23 to 25 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.

The educational sessions offer a fully customizable experience with seminars and trainings to aid pet industry and food professionals with their businesses.

Though SuperZoo officially begins Aug. 23, the 2022 educational programs will begin on Aug. 22. The program will include two specialty tracks — Retail Education and Grooming Education — as well as Free Show Floor Talks:

• Designed specifically for retailers, the Retail Education track will cover retail technology, marketing tools, customer and employee satisfaction, consumer trends and insights, merchandising strategies and more.
• The Grooming Education track will focus on grooming techniques, pet safety and wellness and strategies to build a successful grooming business. These educational sessions will also provide knowledge and skills to help groomers prepare for the Professional Grooming Credential (PGC) exam.
• The 30-minute Free Show Floor Talks will occur in booth 5725 on the trade show floor. Various pet industry experts will discuss consumer trends, technology innovations, influencer and social media marketing, sales strategies and more.

“Each year, we pride ourselves in delivering the industry’s leading educational program at SuperZoo, and this year is no different,” said Vic Mason, president of WPA. “With retail and grooming focused sessions led by the industry’s top thought leaders, SuperZoo’s education program will dive into critical topics that will help pet professionals grow their businesses and elevate their skillsets. This year, following input from our attendees, we have a newly streamlined Monday and Tuesday education schedule to allow for more time on the show floor to discover the newest pet products and innovations.”

For pet food and nutrition specifically, SuperZoo 2022 will offer two educational sessions, both hosted by Micah Kohles, vice president of technical services and research at Compana Pet Brands:

• “Insect Protein Expert Panel: The Next Consumer Trend,” will cover insect trends, including black soldier fly larvae (BSFL), mealworms and crickets, as well as regulations, global perspectives on production, nutritional benefits and applications for these ingredients in pet food.
• “New Trends in Nutrition: From Bone Broth to Grain-Free, Our Expert Panel of Nutritional Experts will Separate Fact from Fiction!” will cover hot topics and trends in pet nutrition.

Featured speakers of SuperZoo’s educational sessions include:

• Maddie Goode, retail social media strategist and ads buyer at Crystal Media, will host the “Reels Mean Deals: The Power of Short Form Content and How Retailers are Cashing In” session. Goode will cover social media strategies for using Instagram Reels and TikTok, as well as other short-form content, to help retailers grow.
• Matt Aldrich, founder of Pet Engine Marketing, will discuss search engine visibility and search engine optimization strategies for retailers in his “Invest 1 Hour on Google to Double Your In-Store Traffic” session.
• Joe Zuccarello, vice president of sales, marketing and business development at The Paragon School of Pet Grooming, will host the “How to Add Grooming Services to Your Retail Store to Drive Traffic and Profit” session. Zuccarello will offer insights on identifying potential grooming services and strategies on attracting, building and leading a team of groomers.
• Kevin Coleman, founder of KMC Empowerment LLC, will host a Free Show Floor Talk on leadership in retail. In his “5 Ways Resilient Leadership in Retail Can Make You Invincible” discussion, Coleman will cover principles, insights and strategies to develop leadership skills as a retailer.

Read SuperZoo’s full educational schedule.

Find more articles about pet food and treat industry events.