Pets at Home plan fifth ‘‘Innovation Day’’ for December

Pet retailing giants Pets at Home is offering aspiring inventors the chance to show their pet products at its fifth Innovation Day on 5 December.

The competition was created to give budding developers and designers the opportunity to present their ideas and products to a panel of key decision makers at the firm and, after the successes of the previous four, the fifth day is set to bring with it even more great pet products.

Products which appeal to pets and pet owners alike are what the company is searching for, and Claire Gavin, head of innovation at Pets at Home, said that they “all look forward to our Innovation Days, which offer a unique opportunity to meet many passionate pet product designers and entrepreneurs.”

She elaborated: “While customers will always want to pamper their pets, today’s economic climate means that products that deliver well-thought through solutions – often to sensitive issues – and true value for money are likely to be well received by customers.”

Former Innovation Day successes are numerous but one of the most popular is the Smart Kitz Cardboard Castle which is now on the shelves of 328 Pets at Home stores.

“We presented it at the April Innovation Day,”said Nigel Bateson of Smart Kitz. “The team saw the potential and, after working together with the buyers to ensure our castles could be presented in a marketable and retail-friendly manner, the product went on sale at the start of September. They are doing so well they are planning to stock them right through Christmas.”

“The good thing about Innovation Day was being able to get straight in front of the key decision makers and explain fully how our products would appeal not just to owners, but also to the instinctive nature of small pets,” he added.

Fully developed and prototyped products for consideration should be sent to productdesign@petsathome.co.uk. Pets at Home will then contact anyone whose concept wins the chance the chance to deliver a 30-minute pitch to the panel of trading experts on December 5 at the Stoke-on-Trent distribution centre will be notified. The deadline for responses is Friday 23 November.