It is All About Animal Welfare - Blog

Karima Jivraj, Board Director, PIJAC Canada, which stands for the Pet Industry Joined Advisory Council for Canada, and Chad Bachand, Event Manager, PIJAC Canada, visit PetEx India for business prospects and share their views on their experience and thoughts about the exhibition.

Jivraj, in a volunteer position, not only represents the pet industry market in British Columbia, Canada, but is also the representative for pet value on the PIJAC board. On the other hand, Bachand's role is to develop different markets across the world for its members in Canada. 

 Bachand shares, "It is a great show with impressive footprints. India has a big market coming up. So, it's a potential market for us and our members. We are trying to get those smaller markets to make sure that our members back in Canada get first dibs on the market."

 Reiterating similar thoughts, Jivraj elaborates, "So PIJAC has two different portions. The trade show portion is what brings in money to operate the organization. So Chad is here from a trade and business perspective, and the goal of us being here is to see which of our members would benefit from being here the next time around. Is there a market for their product? Which one of them would be able to come in and set up and work with a distributor to bring their product into the Indian market? The other portions of PIJAC is advocacy, like education, working with governments and laws, and trying to make sure that animal welfare is at the forefront. So, our tagline for PIJAC is actually 'Animal Welfare is Everyone's Business'." 

Explaining the key difference between the show and that of Canada, she explains, "PetEx has combined different elements, which include cat and dog shows, respective associations, competitions, clubs, etc., all under one roof and thus has a different layout where consumer and business portions are combined, whereas ours is strictly business to business. It is quite interesting to see, and we are trying to understand business feasibility for our market and members. On the flip side, we're also trying to understand how your exhibitors feel about having to do consumer and business at the same time because how do you have a conversation with a retailer or distributor without letting the consumer know about your wholesale pricing and other background stuff."

Stating that the event is well-thought-out for pets and is all not just business but for leisure with pets as well, Bachand points out, "Canada is like a fast-based business, but here you do that, the same thing, but you take a little more time to really understand and take the time to realize in which industry you're working. Hence, it's not just numbers because occasionally when we do shows in Canada, it's all about numbers and business."

Jivraj too finds the show to have a more relaxed vibe, whereas in Canada, most business people who attend the trade show are there for the deal because their profit margin is dependent on those deals. She also shared some pointers for the pet industry in India, especially when the population is now starting to get more pets. She asserts, "The key now is education to make good pet parents based on their income level. To teach the pet parents to do the best with what they have and to make sure that their pet is safe, healthy, and living its best life. Moreover, there is a need for positive reinforcement training, which is required to redirect behavior and deal with positive understanding, contributing to overall animal welfare."