BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, ENGLAND — The Pet Industry Federation (PIF) announced May 16 the 14 pet industry startups selected as finalists for its 2024 Innovation of the Year Award. Finalists were selected from a pool of entries and span various segments of the pet industry, from products to services to cutting-edge technologies.

These early-stage, innovative companies will have the opportunity to highlight their businesses and meet with investors at PIF’s Business of Pets conference, held June 5 and 6 at the Cranfield Management Development Centre near the Milton Keynes area of Buckinghamshire. PIF will crown one winner to be announced on June 8.

Finalists include:

  • Boil and Broth Ltd – Dehydrated pork bone broth
  • Doggi – Doggi Fly & Float
  • DotDotPet – Conditioning Dog Shampoos
  • EasyEat Feeder
  • Hemp Heros Calming dental sticks
  • MorePaws – A community platform for dog owners
  • Muddy Paws Express Dog Wash & Grooming Service – QuickClawz
  • PAWD DRINKS
  • Pawer Water
  • Pettle Pets – PettBrush3 Pro
  • Poorly Paws – Dog First Aid Kit
  • The Holistic Hound™ – Don’t Bug Me
  • Wonderful World of Treats
  • Xparkles Collars

Of the 14 finalists, five are focused on advancing the pet industry through nutrition — Boil and Broth, Hemp Heros, Pawer Water, Holistic Hound and Wonderful World of Treats. Boil and Broth offers a variety of dehydrated bone broth and kefir water products delivering gut health benefits to dogs and cats. Hemp Heros’ Calming Dental Sticks give pet owners a way to address two need states — oral health and anxiety support — in one fell swoop with all natural ingredients. Pawer Water has developed a hydration supplement for dogs formulated with collagen, electrolytes and other human-grade ingredients. Holistic Hound offers a range of supplements, meal toppers and other holistic pet health interventions. Wonderful World of Treats provides hand-baked soft chew treats in sustainable packaging.

“The response to our Innovation Award exceeded expectations in both quantity and quality,” said Nigel Baker, chief executive officer of PIF. “Our panel faced a challenging task in judging the submissions. We are looking forward to the finalists’ presentations at our conference next month and hope this opportunity will open up new avenues for them.”

The Business of Pets conference will feature a mix of educational presentations, workshops, panels and networking opportunities to keep pet industry players at the top of their game. According to PIF, the central themes of the conference will be innovation, finance and marketing. Specific topics on the agenda include funding and investment resources, marketing strategies, market trends including e-commerce, and emerging industry innovations.

“We’ve meticulously crafted a program following the resounding success of last year’s conference,” Baker said. “It promises to deliver immense value to business owners, directors and decision-makers in the pet industry.”

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