Why Attend
Petcare Innovation USA is back for its 6th year, and this year we’re moving to LA!
Join us on December 5-6 as we showcase the most exciting innovations in the pet industry, connecting them with investors and strategic partners to improve pet health and pet owner experience.
Join 450+ senior executives and 180+ start-ups from across the petcare ecosystem for 2 days of 1-2-1 networking opportunities and learnings on the biggest challenges and opportunities presenting the pet market in 2023 including:
- Encouraging the uptake of pet insurance
- Improving affordability and access to care
- Securing financial investment
- Innovations in data and technology that are improving pet health
- Creating sustainable and affordable pet care products
- Increasing access to and contact with pet owners
See you there!
Who will be there
BEST IN SHOW SPOTLIGHT
Highlighting innovation across the petcare space is at the core of this event. The Best in Show Spotlight will be hosted across the two days allowing more start-ups than ever to present their offerings to our audience of strategic and financial investors.
The finalist pet brands will be handpicked by the prestigious selection committee to present their products or services on stage for 3 minutes on the main stage in a quick-fire round of presentations followed by a Q&A with the selection committee.
Apply Now
By applying for the Best in Show Spotlight, you are confirming that you are available on 5-6 December in LA. There is no fee to apply. If selected as a finalist, you will be required to register.
CEO & FOUNDERS FORUM
Drive your business and the industry forward at the CEO and Founders forum by fostering key relationships and partnerships through exclusive networking opportunities and insightful discussion.
Apply now if you are a CEO/Founder to make sure you are one of the 50 chosen to attend.
Apply Now
2022 Selection Committee

Andrew Katz

Brian Axe

Bruce Truman

Drew Taylor
Drew is a Partner at Digitalis.
Previously, Drew was the Head of New Ventures at Taylor Farms, the world’s largest processor of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables. During this time he led the creation and investment activity of Taylor Ventures, which invests in early-stage food and ag technology companies.
Drew represents Taylor Ventures on the Board of Directors at HarvestPort and served in a variety of operational roles with Taylor Farms. He also served on the board of the “Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools” campaign in partnership with Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” initiative. Drew received his BA from Stanford University and MBA from Harvard Business School.

Wayne Wu
Advisory Board

Jim Heim

Laura Olsen

Tom Zerzan
2022 SPEAKERS

Michael Sullivan

Heidi Sirota
Heidi Sirota serves as Nationwide’s Chief Pet Officer, leading the nation’s first and largest provider of pet insurance protecting more than 1 million pets. She joined Nationwide in 2018 as vice president of marketing for the Retirement Solutions business and led an expansion of its capabilities and markets.
Before joining Nationwide, Heidi transformed consumer experiences in human health care. As UnitedHealth Group’s Optum Bank vice president of marketing, she pioneered the retailization of health savings accounts, and as a marketing executive at Aetna and ConnectiCare she introduced new, engaging ways for consumers to shop for health insurance and get care.
Heidi started her career in commercial bank operations, then moved into investment and insurance marketing leadership at The Phoenix Companies. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from Loyola Marymount University and completed executive education from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Heidi sits on the Board of Trustees of the Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) and the Board of Directors of Second Harvest Food Bank in Orange County, California. Also she is an Advisory Board member for the University of California Santa Barbara-Extension, Customer Experience Certificate Program and the executive sponsor of Nationwide’s Pet Advocacy and Wellness Support (PAWS) Associate Resource Group.

Jenny Wolski

Dennis Chmiel

Daniel Cheng

Jon Alexander

Luis Lopez

Jonathan Wainberg

Shea Cox

Shaina Denny
Shaina is the Founder and CEO of Dogdrop— an LA based start-up building the next generation of dog care. Shaina went to business school in Shanghai and ended up staying in China for over three years to work at early stage tech start-ups before returning to the US to get involved in the growing LA tech scene. She has her Masters of International Business and is a co-instructor and guest lecturer at Whittier College. She's passionate about international business, lifelong learning, and her mini dachshund, Poppy!

Ryan Boyko
Ryan Boyko co-founded Embark in 2015 to combine dog genetic consumer insights with cutting-edge research so our canine companions can live healthier, longer lives. He is Embark's CEO. Embark built the most accurate dog DNA test on the market to give pet owners and breeders actionable insights into their dogs' genetic health and ancestry. Its research-grade test will help scientists discover causes and cures for major canine diseases. Prior to founding Embark, Ryan developed a love for fieldwork and community science while earning a computer science BA from Harvard, a public health MS from Yale, and an ecology MS from UC Davis.

Renaldo Webb
Renaldo Webb is Founder and Chief Product Officer at PetPlate. Inspired by his dog Winston, Renaldo founded PetPlate after deciding that he did not want to feed his dog anything less than real food. After making hundreds of batches of home-cooked dog food for Winston and his pup pals, Renaldo decided to launch a pet food brand that he could proudly call his own.
Renaldo graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a degree in Physics, and prior to starting PetPlate worked at LCatterton and McKinsey & Company. He launched PetPlate as a nationwide subscription service in early 2017, following an appearance on the hit TV show Shark Tank.

Michael Caldwell

Amanda Howland

Rich Kelleman
Rich is the Co-Founder and CEO of Bond Pet Foods, a Boulder, Colorado-based start-up that’s working with biotechnology to make pet food from pure microbial and recombinant animal proteins like chicken, turkey and fish, without the animal. Before diving into the world of pets and food tech, Rich was a strategic planner at a number of advertising agencies for more than 20 years including CP+B, Upshot, FCB and Fallon, where he lead brand strategy for brands like Burger King, P&G, Kellogg’s, and Coca-Cola

Andy Katz

Bruce Truman

Rebekah Kang

Drew Taylor
Drew is a Partner at Digitalis.
Previously, Drew was the Head of New Ventures at Taylor Farms, the world’s largest processor of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables. During this time he led the creation and investment activity of Taylor Ventures, which invests in early-stage food and ag technology companies.
Drew represents Taylor Ventures on the Board of Directors at HarvestPort and served in a variety of operational roles with Taylor Farms. He also served on the board of the “Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools” campaign in partnership with Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” initiative. Drew received his BA from Stanford University and MBA from Harvard Business School.

Da Chang
In his role, Da focuses on the operations function across our hospitals and supporting BluePearl’s organizational goals.
Da’s prior experience in the medical field includes his roles as VP of Operations and Chief Operating Officer of Advanced Dermatology as well as his positions at Sea Lane Biotechnologies, Maine Center for Lipids and Cardiovascular Health and Health Dialog.
Da earned his undergraduate degree at Harvard University, followed by a Master of Business Administration at the University of Florida. He is a dynamic leader who earns trust and builds relationships via transparency, communication and teamwork along with his data-driven approach to operational leadership.

Miles Thorson

Adrian Archie
Originally from Concord NC and grew up with the goal of becoming a Veterinarian. I Attended University and graduated with a B.A. in Psychology after switching my major from a Pre-Vet Focus.
From 2003 until 2005 I played Professional Football in the CFL for the Montreal Allouettes and briefly for the Atlanta Falcons. Upon hanging up my cleats began a decades long career with Stryker Corp in Sales and Product Management for Neurosurgerical Highspeed Instruments.
After a successful career in Corporate America I wanted to get back to my passion for animals. I founded petNmind in 2014 with the mission to improve pet health through quality nutrition and pet parent knowledge packaged in a personalized approach to customer engagement. After 6 years of success delivering our mission I franchised the business and we signed our first franchisee recently. Our Franchise concept is based on a small box design that offers the best products, a personalized approach that pet parents love, and a simple business model that is inexpensive, easy to pivot, scalable, and in high demand. We want to create a more diverse community of business owners in the always fruitful Pet Industry.

Marc Atiyeh

Ryan Honaker PhD

Alison Rutty

Wayne Wu

Piers Hampson

Jose A Bermundez

Micah Adler

Peter Weinstein

Christie Horvath

Roy Chin

Amanda Rolat

Alexander Rinkus

Candise Goodwin

Josh Guttman

Jared Jacobs

Ameetess Dira
Ameetess Dira is an entrepreneur and international executive with expertise across US, EU, and APAC markets, and a track record of driving growth performance. Currently the SVP of Growth at DOGTV, an OTT streaming channel with 3M+ downloads, scientifically designed to alleviate stress and anxiety in dogs, Ameetess advocates for animal rescues and pet startups that contribute to improving animal and human well being through innovations and partnerships.
Ameetess is a Steering Committee Executive Member at Pavilion: contributing, mentoring, and advising on CMO, CRO, Digital Media, and Martech topics. She has been a guest speaker at Mindshare Content Summit, M Accelerator, Eurekafest, Enterprise Blockchain Forum and Unilever Innovation Day, speaking on topics wide ranging as go-to-market strategy, engaging the millennial audience, content and localization, and women in tech.
Prior to joining the pet space, she served as CMO for several tech startups in the US and Asia. She has successfully scaled multiple media platforms, including Inc. Southeast Asia (a franchise of Inc. Magazine U.S.) where as SVP she launched the inaugural Inc40 event hosting the top 40 startups in the region. As well, during her time as President of New Markets at Tickled Media (now called The Parentinc), she led user growth to over 1300%. In the US, notably, she has led integrated marketing strategies for brands like Disney Movie Club and The Oprah Store, and was a member of TD Ameritrade’s esteemed marketing team.

Dr. Elliott Garbe

Jim Heim

Joseph Mannello

Alexandre Douzet

Dr. Laurie McCauley

Allison Redmond

Janet Marlow
Janet Marlow is Founder and CEO of Pet Acoustics, an award-winning global brand with innovative products that have helped thousands of animals worldwide with biometrically proven products that have made an impact in the pet wellness market since 2009. Janet Marlow’s discovery of the significance of acute pet hearing and how it affects behaviour has been the centrepiece of Pet Acoustics’ creative mission.

Richard Nilsson

Amanda Burkardt

Silvia Janska

Fred Dijols
Fred is the co-founder and CEO of Mixlab, a modern veterinary pharmacy that delivers a best-in-class experience to veterinarians and pet parents alike. Prior to Mixlab, Fred spent his career in the healthcare industry, working as a healthcare investment banker at J.P. Morgan and a medical device engineer at Johnson & Johnson. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, MSc from Stanford University and a Diplome d’Ingenieur from Ecole Polytechnique. Fred lives in Santa Monica with his wife Francesca, their son Quentin, daughter Isabelle and pug Bob.

Richard Kestenbaum
Richard is a co-founder and Partner of Triangle Capital and has been an investment banker for over 35 years. Richard has a great deal of experience advising clients in merchandising businesses, particularly in the Retail & Consumer sector. Richard is an often-quoted expert on the retail and merchandising industries. He is a Contributor to Forbes.com where he writes a regular blog about trends in retail and consumer product businesses. He also appears regularly in print and other media as well as industry panels and speaking programs.
Before co-founding Triangle, Richard was a Managing Director at a boutique investment banking firm called Financo, Inc. While at Financo, Richard was responsible for a majority of the firm’s apparel industry transactions. Prior to joining Financo, Richard was a Partner and First Vice President at Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc. At Drexel, Richard was responsible for a group of 14 professionals doing middle-market mergers and acquisitions around the world.
Richard is the co-author of three books on finance and computer programming. He is formerly an Adjunct Assistant Professor of International Business at the graduate program of the Stern School of Business at York University.
Richard received a BS in Accounting from New York University and an MBA with a concentration in Finance from Harvard University. Richard is married and lives in New York.
Click here to read Richard’s blog and follow him on Forbes.com.
Register Your Interest
The agenda for Petcare Innovation USA 2023 will be released very soon.
Fill out this form to register your interest and access our early agenda preview!
Register your Interest
Conference Packages
Sending Your Team? Group Discounts Available!
Applicable for Primary Market, Service Provider and Industry Rates Only. Not available for Academic or ‘Start-Up’ rates
Book a Team of 3+ - Save an Additional 10% Off
Book a Team of 5+ - Save an Additional 15% Off
If you would like to register a team of 3 or more, please email [email protected] for your discount coupon code before registering. PLEASE NOTE: Discounts cannot be combined with Early Bird Pricing or any other discount or offer. If you have any questions about your registration, please call us on +44 (0)20 3696 2920
2023 Partners
Platinum Associate Partner
Zoetis
Website: www.zoetis.com
Zoetis is the leading animal health company, dedicated to supporting its customers and their businesses. Building on more than 65 years of experience in animal health, Zoetis discovers, develops, manufactures and commercializes medicines, vaccines and diagnostic products, which are complemented by biodevices, genetic tests and precision livestock farming. Zoetis serves veterinarians, livestock producers and people who raise and care for farm and companion animals with sales of its products in more than 100 countries. In 2019, the company generated annual revenue of $6.3 billion with approximately 10,600 employees.
For more information, visit www.zoetis.com.
Associate Partner
PetsBest / CareCredit
Website: https://www.petsbest.com/
For more than 30 years, CareCredit has been a leading health and pet care credit card that gives pet parents a flexible, budget-friendly way to pay for all of their pet’s veterinary care with available financing options. Today, CareCredit is accepted at 24,000+ veterinary hospital locations nationwide, as well as 250,000+ health, wellness and personal care provider and retail locations. Pets Best offers pet insurance and wellness plans for dogs and cats in every state. Founded in 2005 with a mission to provide access to comprehensive animal healthcare at an affordable price, Pets Best delivers flexible coverage, an easy claims process, and excellent customer service. Together, CareCredit and Pets Best offer a complete financial solution to help clients manage the cost of a Lifetime of Care for their pets.
CareCredit and Pets Best are solutions from Synchrony’s Health and Wellness platform. Synchrony is a premier consumer financial services company that delivers a wide range of specialized financing programs, as well as innovative consumer banking products, across key industries including digital, retail, home, auto, travel, health and pet.
Pet Insurance is administered by Pets Best Insurance Services, LLC and is underwritten by American Pet Insurance Company, a New York insurance company. Visit www.americanpetinsurance.com to review all available pet health insurance products.
For more information on Pets Best, visit www.PetsBest.com
For more information on CareCredit, visit www.carecredit.com.
Senior Event Partner
Nestlé Purina
Website: https://www.purina.co.uk/
Nestlé Purina PetCare creates richer lives for pets and the people who love them. Founded in 1894, Purina has helped dogs and cats live longer, healthier lives by offering scientifically based nutritional innovations. Purina manufactures some of the world's most trusted and popular pet care products, including Purina ONE, Pro Plan, Fancy Feast and Tidy Cats. Our more than 8,700 U.S. associates take pride in our trusted pet food, treat and litter brands that feed 51 million dogs and 65 million cats every year. More than 500 Purina scientists, veterinarians, and pet care experts ensure our commitment to unsurpassed quality and nutrition.
Purina promotes responsible pet care through our scientific research, our products and our support for pet-related organizations. Over the past five years, Purina has contributed more than $150 million towards organizations that bring, and keep, people and pets together, as well as those that help our communities and environment thrive.
Purina is part of Nestlé, a global leader in Nutrition, Health and Wellness. For more information, visit purina.com.
Event Partners
Agrolimen
Agrolimen is a multinational CPG company with revenues ~$3B which operates in two main segments: human food and pet food. We are present in Europe, US and Africa. We have deep knowledge and understanding of the pet food market, with Affinity (#5 Europe PF player), Nature’s Variety (#2 US Raw player), and Natures Menu (#1 UK Raw player) among our main brands.
From Agrolimen Ventures, Agrolimen’s Corporate Venturing Unit, we seek to connect with and potentially invest in innovative start-ups with potential to disrupt the market. We only invest in human food and petcare brands as this is what we know and where we can help the most. We look for talented and ambitious teams betting on sustainable / direct-to-consumer / healthy / natural / alternative pet food among others. We bring to the table our deep knowledge on the pet food industry and on developing brands.
whiskerDocs
Website: www.whiskerdocs.com
whiskerDocs, the leader in virtual triage service for pets, has been trailblazing telehealth with innovative technology-driven, on-demand solutions since 2013. Serving pet parents in the U.S. and Canada, whiskerDocs provides multi-channel access for nearly 6 million pets via client partnerships and direct-to-consumer relationships. The whiskerDocs team of veterinary telehealth specialists is composed of licensed veterinarians and credentialed veterinary technicians who are enabled to deliver a protocol-driven seamless experience through whiskerDocs’ patented processes and proprietary multi-modal cutting-edge technology. For more information on whiskerDocs, visit www.whiskerdocs.com
Vetoquinol
Website: www.vetoquinol.co.uk
Founded in 1933, Vetoquinol is the 9th largest veterinary pharmaceutical business, committed to the protection and well-being of both animals and people.
Peel Plastics Products
Website: www.peelplastics.com
Peel Plastic Products has earned a reputation as the leader in providing pre-made packaging solutions for the North American market. Our continued expansion into the global marketplace has further complemented our commitment to deliver innovative solutions to the pet care industry.
Our leadership position has created lasting partnerships, and many of our partners have enjoyed measurable lifts in market share with one or multiple selections from our portfolio. Peel’s established leadership position in the pet food packaging market provides significant benefits for new and existing portfolios. Because of our breadth of flexible pouch options, we are well positioned to supply the best solutions for all your packaging needs.
Take advantage of over 45 years of experience and get your product the recognition it truly deserves.
Paul Dick and Associates
Website: https://pauldickassociates.com/
Paul Dick & Associates Ltd (PDA) was created in 2010 to meet the needs of large, medium and small animal health companies wishing to develop and commercialize new technologies and products. In 2017, PDA expanded into the human health space to offer its services to companies developing new technologies and services for the human health market.
PDA has a highly experienced team that, in combination with other partner organizations (Contract Research Organizations, Contract Development/ Manufacturing Organizations, Veterinary Colleges, Private Research Facilities), makes for a best in class Human and Animal Health consulting firm.
ab7 America
Website: https://www.ab7group.com/en/home
AB7 Santé is a French Veterinary Pharmaceutical Laboratory that has been innovating for over 50 years in the field of Animal Health.
Fully integrated for better agility, AB7 is specialized in research, development, production, quality control, registration and sales of veterinary medicines, generics, OTC, biocides & pet care products for the global market.
With its industrial know-how over 2 certified units in France (GMP) and in the United States (EPA), AB7 is able to address specific manufacturing needs, from small series to large volumes, by ensuring a high level of quality and offering the capacity to adapt manufacturing resources, method and technology.
As a CDMO Company, we offer our partners pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical outsourcing activities from development to manufacturing by integrating an innovative, sustainable and responsible approach.
AB7 has continually invested in R&D and production capacities with a constant desire to develop its industrial know-how and to own state-of-the-art equipment for a relevant service in the field of pharmaceutical products within GMP standards. Our 5 R&D Laboratories with more than 45 specialists and our industrial equipments allow us to satisfy the requirements of both small and large pharmaceutical companies within a constructive partnership.
Specialized in exclusive drug delivery systems, AB7 supports its partners in the development of new innovative products and is able to provide full line of products with more traditional galenics.
At AB7, we aim to contribute to today's animal health and welfare challenges by working with international partners to achieve this mission together.
Media Partners
GlobalPETS
Website: https://globalpetindustry.com/
GlobalPETS (and our magazine PETS International) are the go-to publications for the international pet industry. Stay on top of the latest trends, developments and expert insights.
Pet Business World
Website: www.petbusinessworld.co.uk
Pet Business World is the UK’s leading news magazine and website for the pet and aquatics industry. We distribute 7,711 copies (November 2018) to qualifying pet trade professionals – the biggest circulation in the specialist trade by a considerable margin. The independently-owned magazine was established in 1951 and the website (www.petbusinessworld.co.uk) attracted more than 37 million hits in the 12 months to October 2018 – and rising!
International Petfood
Website: https://internationalpetfood.com/events/
Please visit our website for more information.American Pet Professionals
Website: https://www.americanpetprofessionals.com/
American Pet Professionals, (APP), is a multiple award winning National Business Networking, Educational and Multimedia Organization for the Pet Industry. Educating, Uniting, Referring, Connecting and Helping all Pet Professionals since 2009! The organization offers in-person and online networking events since it’s inception, hosting over 150 in-person events throughout the country. APP’s is mission to have pet professionals work together, help businesses grow, support each other to continue unite the pet industry, to ultimately help pets and their parents. In addition to in-person networking events, American Pet Professionals also hosts educational courses, masterminds for it’s members; sends out a weekly Pet Events Newsletter to 20,000 pet lovers that showcases both B2B and B2C pet events and also promotes many rescue groups. Founder and President of American Pet Professionals, Nancy E. Hassel, was named 2018 Women of Influence in the Pet Industry, referred to as an ‘industry visionary,’ she also travels across the country attending and speaking at pet business conferences and works with many of the organizers of such conferences to bring more expertise, knowledge, ideas and inspiration to its members. The membership-based organization started in February 2009, for more information go to www.AmericanPetProfessionals.com. Featured regularly in Pet Age Magazine, Pet Product News International Magazine, Pet Business Magazine, Pets+ Magazine, Dogster Magazine, Modern Dog Magazine and numerous other magazines, newspapers, blogs and TV stations throughout the country and world. Connect socially: @AmericanPetPros on Twitter and Instagram
Become A Partner
Kisaco Research provides the much-needed platform on which industry executives can network, connect and learn from each other as well as meet potential industry partners.
Far from the typical ‘meet-and-greet’ exhibition experience, you – as a sponsor or exhibitor – will be positioned as a partner of the event with a focus on the benefits of your product and brand, rather than just a name on an exhibition list.
With our extensive marketing experience and strategy, your partnership with Kisaco Research will grant you a sponsorship package that is an extension and enhancement of your current marketing and branding efforts. We value your ROI and will work with you directly on your specific goals and targets – that’s why we take special care in finding the most relevant end-users to attend, so that your financial and resource investment is smartly allocated.
Find out more by calling us at +44 (0)20 3696 2920, or emailing Harrison Sharp at [email protected]
Press Partnerships
Whether you are an association, embassy, industry body or publication, we can offer a tailored marketing partnership to suit your needs. As a Media Partner we can:
- Promote your organisation as an event partner across all conference materials, including the website, brochure, emails and on-site programme
- Offer your members or readers a discount on their registration fee for Petcare Innovation Summit Europe
- Provide one free press pass to attend
- Distribute promotional materials at the conference
If you are a registered industry journalist or member of the press and would like to arrange an interview with a speaker or to discuss the event please contact:
Marianne Brett
Marketing Manager
E: [email protected]
About Kisaco Research
Kisaco Research produces, designs and hosts B2B industry conferences, exhibitions and communities – focused on a specialized selection of topic areas.
Meet industry peers that will help build a career-changing network for life.
Learn from the mistakes of your peers as much as their successes—ambitious industry stalwarts who are happy to share not just what has made them successful so far but also their plans for future proofing their companies.
Note down the inspired insight that will form the foundation for future strategies and roadmaps, both at our events and through our online communities.
Invest both in your company growth and your own personal development by signing up to one of our events and get started.