The 2013 Pet Industry Award winners were announced at a glittering Hollywood themed event held last Thursday 17 October at the Chesford Grange Hotel, Warwickshire in front of nearly 200 industry movers and shakers.
Presented by businesswoman Deborah Meaden, who had taken time out of her hectic ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ schedule to attend the event, and organised by the Pet Industry Federation (PIF), the awards are the ultimate showcase for entrepreneurial talent, commercial acumen and quality customer service. The quality of this year’s shortlist was second to none which, combined with a record number of entries on the shortlist, made for a suspense-filled evening as finalists waited to discover who had been chosen as this year’s winners.
The 2013 awards were sponsored by PATS, Beaphar and Compton Hall, with pre-dinner drinks sponsored by Burgess Petcare and wine at dinner sponsored by Pedigree Wholesale. PBW News once again supported the event as the media sponsor.
The winners were:
Retailer of the Year – sponsored by Beaphar
Pets & Aquatics, Cadbury Garden and Leisure, Congresbury, Bristol – Ben Williams
Manufacturer of the Year – sponsored by PATS
Nature’s Menu – Sallie-Ann King, Peter Roy and Emma MacKenzie
Wholesaler of the Year
Pedigree Wholesale – Steve Brown
Boarding Establishment of the Year
Cavalier Lodge Boarding Kennels, Norfolk – Trevor & Karen Souster
Grooming Business of the Year
Shampooches of Harrogate – Verity Watts
‘Your Cat’ magazine– Cat Product of the Year
Adult Cat, Arden Grange
‘Your Dog’ magazine – Dog Product of the Year
‘Green’, Company of Animals
Lifetime Achievement Award
Wendy Stephens – Founder of Arden Grange
The Awards took place against the backdrop of the Pet Industry Forum, which was packed with a heavyweight line-up of speakers and 
topics to enliven and inspire delegates. Subjects ranged from an overview of the US pet industry and an insightful overview of how a UK high street retailer could keep their prices at the same level for 23 years; to working collaboratively with the RSPCA, tips and ideas for understanding your customers better and a look at the future of wholesaling in the pet industry.
The Federation’s newly revamped charity, The Pet Charity, and logo were officially unveiled by its Chairman, Paul Miley. The Pet Charity will be the pet industry’s own charity – its public facing voice, encouraging pet ownership, promoting the joy and benefit of pets, conducting research and collaborating with other stakeholders.Forum Chair, Steve Fowler of PamPurred Pets said: ‘The feedback from this year’s event has been overwhelmingly positive, with ‘collaboration’ a dominant theme throughout the two days. The aim of the Forum & Awards was to inspire the pet industry and thanks to the generous support of all our sponsors, the quality of the topics and speakers, and the participation of stakeholders from all corners of the pet industry, this has undoubtedly been achieved. Thoughts are already
turning to how we can build on this success next year’.PIF Chief Executive, Nigel Baker said: ‘PIF delivered an extremely enjoyable and memorable event. We are delighted by the very positive feedback, with many calling for the event to be repeated next year. Having delivered one of the best industry events yet, this will be a hard act to follow!’The lead sponsors of the Pet Industry Forum were: Crown Petfoods, Mars Petcare, Nestle Purina and Positive Petcare.
Further details about the event can be found at www.piffa.co.uk