COSMOS

paul-mercer-cosmos

Zoomark is back, in great style. What news do you have in store for visitors to your stand at BolognaFiere?
From a product innovation standpoint, we’re really excited about some of the latest developments.
In the Dental category, TropiClean Enticers Dental Ball Kit for Dogs makes playtime teeth cleaning time. The kit includes a 59 ml tube of Enticers Smoked Beef Brisket Flavored Gel for a delicious treat that cleans their teeth while they chew. The durable KONG ball is specially textured to help scrub away plaque while gel works to remove bad breath-causing bacteria in the mouth. The vivacious squeaker keeps dogs engaged and coming back for more. The dental ball kits are available in small, medium, and large sizes.
In the Grooming space, TropiClean Essentials is our new line of sulfate-free pet shampoos and refreshing sprays in trendy extract blends including Shea Butter, Yuzu Oil, Jojoba Oil, and Goat’s Milk. These cruelty-free products are enriched with hand-selected, naturally derived ingredients and are also free from dyes, phthalates, parabens, and soaps. Shampoos in this line come in a pump dispenser, providing one-handed dispensing convenient when bathing squirmy pets.
From a product distribution perspective, we’re very happy with the early success we’ve had with the opening of a new European warehouse located in The Netherlands. We’ve been shipping from this location since June 2022, and now offer 55 of our best-selling products all of which come attached with multilingual packaging. This allows us to better serve existing and new customers in the European market by reducing key commercial terms such as lead times and minimum order quantities. With local stock now in place, it has also allowed us to secure new accounts that otherwise would not have purchased from us due to challenges importing directly from the United States.


Why do you think is it important to take part in Zoomark? What are your expectations and what are your goals?
The show provides an excellent venue to foster and enhance key customer relationships, build brand awareness, gain competitive insights, and stay apprised of emerging trends. A big focus for us this year will be the further growth of our distribution network through our European warehouse.


Can you tell me about your vision of the pet market: what are your predictions for the industry from now to Zoomark 2023? What challenges await us in the coming months and what opportunities?
Supply chain challenges persist due to labor shortages that extend lead times. We’re also seeing a continued rise in overall freight costs and variability of available freight to transport goods. These labor demands, raw material demands, and rising service costs all contribute to overall cost challenges. With these challenges also come opportunities for automation, continuous improvement, and sustainability efforts that help improve efficiency, better utilize resources, and manage costs. Despite mounting economic challenges, e-commerce is still seeing strong performance. We’re really excited about the opportunities, through our new European warehouse, to better both brick-and-mortar and online marketplaces in Europe.
From a consumer perspective, we’re also seeing opportunities both in terms of a pet population boom in Europe as well as a focus on premiumisation. The pet care industry globally had a record year in 2020, with social isolation and work-from-home arrangements prompting many to adopt companion animals. In Europe, the pet population of dogs and cats in 2020 was more than double its historic compound annual growth rate, according to Euromonitor. It isn’t simply a higher volume contributing to pet care industry growth. We’re also seeing premium pet products have the highest growth in Europe, with pet parents more interested in creating healthy lifestyles for their pets. This includes preventive care such as establishing easy, effective oral care routines, as well as products made with more wholesome ingredients.