Copenhagen, Denmark – From October 13 to 14, the 2026 International Pet Conference (IPC) was successfully held in Copenhagen, Denmark. The conference brought together leading global pet brands, retail channels, authoritative industry organizations, and international professional exhibition institutions to engage in multi-dimensional and in-depth exchanges on core topics such as global market iteration, industrial technological innovation, and cross-regional trade cooperation, presenting the current development status and future trends of the global pet industry.

As the exclusive official partner in China for IPC 2026, the China International Pet Show (CIPS) was invited to attend this international event. Representatives of the show joined the topic roundtable dialogue alongside two other top international pet exhibitions—Interzoo (Germany) and Zoomark (Italy)—to share practices in the development of the Asian and Chinese pet industries, and to jointly explore the iterative direction and collaboration pathways for global pet exhibitions. This international industry dialogue is an important microcosm of CIPS's long-term commitment to deeply cultivating the global market, regularly participating in international industry activities, and continuously expanding its global cooperation footprint.

Three Major International Pet Exhibitions on the Same Stage, Discussing Regional Collaboration

On the first day of the conference, the core thematic roundtable What's Next for International Pet Trade Shows? was grandly launched. The roundtable was moderated by Oliver Mengedoht, Managing Editor of PET worldwide, the authoritative international pet industry media. Chris Li, Global Marketing Director of the China International Pet Show (CIPS), Dr. Rowena Arzt, Head of Exhibitions, WZF/Interzoo, and Pascale Sonvico, Exhibition Manager, Zoomark, shared the stage for discussion.

The dialogue focused on core industry topics such as changes in the global pet exhibition landscape, upgrades in international procurement demand, optimization of exhibitor efficiency, and cross-regional resource linkage. The three major international exhibitions engaged in pragmatic and in-depth industry exchanges based on their respective regional markets and industrial resources.

The wave of digitalization is reshaping global business communication methods. Online information acquisition and business communication are becoming increasingly convenient, but face-to-face in-depth exchanges remain an important way to build long-term business trust, understand different markets, and discover cooperation opportunities. At the same time, the global pet industry landscape is continuously changing, and the needs of exhibiting companies and professional buyers have become more diversified. The value of international exhibitions is no longer limited to product display and trade connections, but also lies in promoting cross-regional exchanges, gathering global industrial resources, and driving international cooperation.

In response to this change, representatives of the three international exhibitions shared their observations and reflections on the development trends of the global pet industry and the future role of international exhibitions, leveraging their respective market advantages and industrial resources. Among them, CIPS, based on the development practices of China's pet industry, focused on exchanging views on the increasingly diversified development trends of the global pet procurement market, as well as new changes in Chinese pet enterprises in manufacturing and supply chains, product R&D and innovation, quality upgrading, and international market expansion.

The global pet industry market has clear stratification and distinctive resources, which also constitutes the core cooperation foundation for the complementary and symbiotic development of the three major international exhibitions. Interzoo, Zoomark, and CIPS respectively cultivate different core markets in Europe and the Asian market, covering differentiated global industrial resources, procurement groups, and consumption scenarios. The three are not in a relationship of industry substitution, but rather core partners in the global pet trade network that connect different regions and integrate different industrial advantages, jointly building a global pet trade and exchange system.

Long-term Deep Linkage, Continuously Expanding the Global Cooperation Network

The industry collaboration between CIPS and Interzoo and Zoomark is not a short-term linkage of a single meeting, but a long-term strategic cooperation of years of continuous deep cultivation and two-way empowerment. For a long time, Great Wall International Exhibition has continuously organized high-quality domestic pet enterprises to participate in top international exhibitions such as Interzoo and Zoomark, helping Chinese intelligent manufacturing and innovative products enter the global market, and building a communication bridge between Chinese enterprises and overseas brands, buyers, and industry institutions. At the same time, relying on its core platform advantages in the Asian market, CIPS provides global enterprises with core channels to enter China's huge consumer market and layout the Asian incremental market, realizing the two-way flow of Chinese and foreign industrial resources. 

Differentiated regional positioning and complementary industrial resources have enabled the three international exhibitions to form a stable and benign cooperation mechanism, jointly promoting the improvement and upgrading of the global pet trade system through continuous industry exchanges, experience sharing, and resource sharing. This same-stage dialogue in Copenhagen is precisely another confirmation of the long-term friendly cooperation of the three parties in jointly building the industry ecosystem.

In addition to leading exhibition institutions, this year's IPC also gathered top global industry organizations, leading enterprises, and authoritative research institutions such as the European Pet Organisation (EPO), Nestlé Purina, VAFO Group, Musti Group, and Euromonitor, building an efficient cross-regional and cross-industrial chain exchange platform. For CIPS, participating in top international industry conferences is not only a window to export China's pet industry development achievements and showcase the vitality of the Asian market, but also an important opportunity to deeply understand global industry needs, connect with global high-quality resources, and improve the global cooperation layout. In the global pet industry ecosystem, CIPS has always played the triple role of industry participant, resource connector, and ecosystem co-builder.

Insight into Global Industry Trends, Promoting Platform Iteration and Upgrading

This year's IPC took "Pets, People, Progress – Developing the pet industry together" as its core theme, with the agenda covering multiple cutting-edge fields such as mature European and American markets, emerging Southeast Asian markets, pet health and welfare, artificial intelligence industry applications, alternative protein innovation, and full industrial chain upgrading, comprehensively presenting the new development trends of the global pet industry. Industry sharing by Nordic enterprises and Euromonitor demonstrated the consumption upgrading characteristics of mature European and American pet markets, with the trend of pet humanization and anthropomorphism continuing to deepen, driving the industry to iterate towards refinement, quality, health, and high welfare. The sharing by Ammersea Group focused on the emerging Southeast Asian market, interpreting the channel improvement, service upgrading, and industrial infrastructure dividends behind the rapid growth of the regional market. 

▲ Marco Hutterer, Managing Director of Ammersea Group, shares the growth opportunities of the Southeast Asian pet market.

In addition, the practical case of German pet food company Bewital intuitively demonstrated the application results of artificial intelligence technology from concept implementation to the entire chain of enterprise production, operation, and sales, providing practical reference for the digital transformation of the global pet industry. 

▲ Jan Philip Petershagen, Executive Team member of Bewital Holding, shares the enterprise application practices of AI technology.

From the consumption upgrading of mature markets to the incremental release of emerging markets, and then to the industrial implementation of cutting-edge technologies, this IPC presented a global pet industry pattern of diversified symbiosis and collaborative innovation. These global industry insights also provided important references for CIPS to optimize supporting value-added services, integrate global high-quality resources, and enhance the platform's international professionalism.

Connecting with a Global Perspective, the Guangzhou Main Venue Opens the Annual Industry Event

With nearly three decades of deep cultivation in the industry, 2026 marks the 30th anniversary milestone for CIPS. Since its founding in 1997, CIPS has always grown and strengthened alongside the Chinese pet industry. Relying on China's complete industrial chain, mature supply chain system, and continuously active R&D and innovation capabilities, it has continuously gathered global brands, international buyers, industry associations, and innovative enterprises, building a pet trade and exchange platform that connects China and foreign countries and covers the globe.

At this important juncture, the 2nd CIPS International Pet Industry Conference (CIPIC) will be held in Guangzhou on November 11. The conference will gather global pet industry leaders to engage in in-depth exchanges on topics such as industrial chain collaboration, regional market development, and industrial innovation and growth. From November 12 to 15, the 30th China International Pet Show (CIPS 2026) will also be held in Area B, Canton Fair Complex, Guangzhou, further gathering global industrial resources and promoting international trade cooperation.

From the international industry dialogue in Copenhagen to the annual industry event in Guangzhou, CIPS has always been based on China's industrial advantages, connecting global market resources, continuously deepening global cooperation with an international perspective, promoting mutual learning and exchange between Chinese and foreign pet industries, and creating more cooperation and development opportunities for the global pet industry.

Symbiosis and Shared Prosperity, Embarking Together on a New Journey

November 2026, Guangzhou, let's embark together on new opportunities in the pet industry