The flip of the calendar to March means that it’s time for Global Pet Expo! Global, held annually in Orlando, is the pet industry's premier event featuring the latest and greatest product launches that the industry has to offer. While I don’t attend every trade show where RAWZ exhibits, I’ll never forget the 2015 edition of Global where our minimally staffed RAWZ team began our mission to improve the lives of people and pets!
Although I’ve attended countless trade shows over the years where I wandered expo centers collecting cool swag, probably annoying my hard-working parents, and even eating the occasional dog biscuit when prompted by Grampy, Global was the first expo I attended as an employee in the industry. It must have felt like a scene from Bill Murray's Groundhog Day for my parents to be setting up for yet another show, but I felt just as nervous and excited as I did on the eve of a big hockey game or walking up to the first tee.
Since I’d been part of the RAWZ journey from the beginning, I felt pretty comfortable with the product line and was passionate about our 100% cause-based raison d'être, but this was uncharted territory for me along with our entire team. We had a fairly small product line with a reserved distribution strategy and limited bandwidth. Having no outside investors or existing revenue meant we weren’t launching alongside a big marketing campaign. In fact, RAWZ hadn’t gotten the traditional booth on the convention center’s floor, and instead we scheduled meetings with show attendees to introduce ourselves in a hotel meeting room.
I can only imagine the thoughts going through the retailer and distributor representatives’ minds as they walked away from the main show floor to a nearby conference room. With over a thousand different exhibitors at three thousand booths, what could possibly warrant a trip away from the center of the action? I can’t say whether after our meeting that attendees were satisfied, but enough interest was sparked and the RAWZ journey began. How grateful we are to have so many pet parents and an amazing group of retailers join us on this amazing journey!
It has been a blessing in my life to be part of a company going from zero existing revenue with no products offered to who we are today: a committed team with a robust product line that’s donated over $3.75 million dollars over the last ten years. Working alongside the RAWZ team with such amazing RAWZ Fund partners and pet parents has been a beautiful part of my journey in building a new life after brain injury! My name isn’t Nostradamus, but the possibilities of the next decade leave me filled with excitement! Learn more about our line of minimally processed nutrition options for cats and dogs here, or better yet, locate your nearest RAWZ retail partner here.
