«ParkZoo 2025»: A Platform for the Development of the Pet Industry
Now in its fifteenth year, the event has solidified ParkZoo’s reputation as a venue with a rich industry history and high business value. The exhibition continues to foster a unique atmosphere — one that seamlessly blends competitor analysis and business negotiations with personal interactions and genuine emotions. |
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Photos courtesy of the exhibition organizers
A Territory of Professionals
«ParkZoo 2025» has further strengthened and expanded its role as a space for meetings, communication, and collaboration among industry professionals. Visitor traffic increased by 15% this year, while exhibition stands became more “optimized” in both size and content. Exhibitors focused even more on meaningful and effective interaction with visitors and peers.
The pet industry is maturing: participants increasingly view the exhibition not as a festive occasion, but as a platform for structured, goal-oriented professional work.
The Scale of the Exhibition
Just a few years ago, «ParkZoo» exhibitors could compete in showmanship — from live performances and mascot costumes to booth raffles, robotic dogs, and other crowd-pulling attractions. In 2025, however, the focus shifted. Entertainment gave way to business. Stands became more about dialogue than display.
At the largest booth — that of the APZ “Triol” — the communication zone became the centerpiece, while the company’s products and projects were arranged along the perimeter. “Euro-Product-K” separated its meeting area with a transparent wire-mesh partition, creating clear boundaries while maintaining an open-space concept. “Valta” united its many brand booths under the concept of an “Emerald City,” where visitors were guided through business tours “along the yellow brick road.” The format proved successful — all tour slots were booked even before the exhibition began.
Elena Krupina, Marketing Director at Valta, leads a guided tour of the company’s stands.
Of course, the event retained its signature atmosphere. «ParkZoo» has long been a gathering point of positive emotions that the industry builds up over the year and releases during three “happy days” at Crocus Expo. Colleagues come to «ParkZoo» to reconnect, exchange ideas, and feel part of a large professional community.
The main focus of «ParkZoo 2025» was business efficiency: the design and ergonomics of the bright, large-scale stands were all geared toward creating a comfortable environment for work. While snacks and refreshments accompanied many discussions, they were clearly not the main attraction for exhibitors.
According to organizers, 2,760 staff members worked at exhibitors’ booths this year — each serving as a source of positive energy and valuable insights for 15,500 visitors.
Sergey Demchenko,
CEO of Pet Care Company:
“We are delighted to return to ParkZoo after several years away. Participating in the exhibition gave us an excellent opportunity to showcase our new products and rebranding. We strive to keep up with the times, and it’s important for us to share our progress and achievements with partners. We had numerous meetings, including with new clients.”
A New Stage of Digitalization
«ParkZoo 2025» featured an updated mobile application — the most functional version to date. It offered convenient navigation through the exhibition, a detailed business program schedule, an exhibitor catalog, and a contact exchange system via QR code scanning on badges.
The active use of the app demonstrated that the industry’s key event is gradually evolving into a digital ecosystem. «ParkZoo» is no longer just an offline exhibition — it has become a platform enabling a new level of business communication, visitor comfort, and systematic data collection and exchange.
Olesya Miroshnichenko,
CEO of Ferplast:
“We didn’t participate in ParkZoo last year, and this time it truly felt like coming home. It was a great opportunity to show that Ferplast continues to operate in Russia, remaining true to our mission — the comfort and safety of pets. We reconnected with partners we had lost touch with, met new clients, pleasantly surprised our existing partners with innovations, and agreed on new SKUs for store shelves.
Personally, the exhibition was a source of inspiration and joy — in Moscow’s fast pace, it’s hard to meet everyone. ParkZoo gives this unique chance to exchange more than words and business offers.”
Business Program
The «ParkZoo 2025» business program reflected the exhibition’s importance as a key platform for industry development. Over three days, the Crocus Expo conference halls hosted dozens of presentations and workshops, attracting professionals from across the pet sector — from analysts and manufacturers to groomers and breeders.
On September 24, the National Association of the Pet Industry (NAZ) held two major conferences — “Labeling: The First Anniversary” and “Opportunities for the Pet Industry” — dedicated to regulatory updates and market prospects (see separate coverage in this issue).
On September 25, Denis Dolgachev and Marina Maksimenko from Nielsen presented new data on consumer behavior and market trends in the pet products segment. Their report was among the most anticipated, as insights into pet owner consumption patterns are key for both tactical and strategic business planning.
Next, Nikolai Bespalov, Development Director at RNC Pharma, gave an in-depth overview of retail trends in veterinary medicines and feed additives.
The “breeding” segment of the program was curated by the DOG-PROFI Academy. Veterinarians and experts — Anna Makarova, Ilya Isaev, and Lilyana Sapitskaya — discussed breeding, nutrition, and neonatology in puppies and kittens, as well as modern approaches to disease prevention. The second part of the program focused on marketing and client relations: Nikita Prokhorov spoke about reputation management and social media growth, while Ingosstrakh specialists covered pet insurance topics.
Within the exhibition, the 14th GroomingFest took place, featuring renowned Russian and international stylists — Varvara Karandashova, Yulia Vodolazko, Johnny Lee, and others — who demonstrated salon and show grooming techniques. The event concluded with Grooming Business Day, dedicated to the professional groomer community and the future of the industry.
Johnny Lee, one of China’s most prominent and acclaimed groomers, holds international recognition and numerous achievements in the grooming field
National Pet Industry Awards
On the first day of “ParkZoo,” at the Zooinform stand, a ceremonial announcement was held to present the results of the National Pet Industry Awards.
The winners in the “Brand of the Year” category were
Brand of the Year:
Felix (cat food)
Chappi (dog food)
RIO (bird feed)
Little One (rodent diets)
CAT STEP (cat litter)
Dreamies (treats)
Special Awards:
Manufacturer of the Year — Limkorm Group
Veterinary Manufacturer of the Year — VIC Group
Breakthrough of the Year — AWARD pet food brand
Debut of the Year — PETEXPERT plant
See the full results of the National Pet Industry Rating.
As part of the ceremony, Zooinform also recognized the winners in the «New Product of the Year» category.
Exhibitors proudly displayed their awards at their booths, turning recognition in the ranking into a marketing advantage.
This synergy between the exhibition and the rating establishes a new standard for industry events: «ParkZoo» gains an additional level of value for both visitors and participants, while the rating becomes a benchmark and evaluation tool for the market.
«ParkZoo 2025» brought together over 300 companies and brands. About 60% of exhibitors were full-cycle pet food manufacturers — with their own R&D departments, product development teams, and in-house laboratories — along with suppliers of raw materials, packaging, equipment, and factories producing treats, toys, bedding, cages, and pet pharmaceuticals.
Roughly 30% of exhibitors were distribution companies — wholesale businesses, importers of pet products and equipment. The core of this group consisted of multibrand distributors. Around 10% represented service providers: financial, digital, and information platforms.
Carlo Gheda,
Purchasing Manager, Gheda Mangimi (Italy):
“Our participation in the Moscow exhibition was an extremely valuable experience. We strengthened business connections, gained a deeper understanding of the Russian market — which is strategically important for us — and presented our company as an Italian exhibitor in a prestigious professional environment. We are very satisfied with the results.”
Participants came from 11 countries, though Russia and China accounted for about 90% of the exhibition area. Among Russian regions, the leaders in exhibitor numbers were Moscow, the Moscow Region, and St. Petersburg, with notable participation from Krasnodar Krai, Lipetsk, Chelyabinsk, Tatarstan, Altai, Karelia, and the Far East.
Evgeny Buslaev,
CEO of ProRation:
“The main feature of this year’s exhibition was the audience — more business partners and professionals interested in real cooperation, fewer casual visitors. At this ParkZoo, we launched a new product — the super-premium brand GOODWIN. Most of our negotiations focused on distribution and expanding our market presence. Our team worked non-stop for all three days, barely finding time for lunch.”
“We saw fewer visitors looking for private-label production this year. Our current PL production facilities are already fully loaded, but we’re opening a third plant. The extruder, ovens, coolers, and conveyors come from China, while the mixers and other components are Russian-made.
Unfortunately, there were still too few raw material producers at the exhibition — we continue to face a shortage of quality feed ingredients such as proteins, fats, and the right-grade flour. Hopefully, this category will grow in future editions.”
Nearly 100 Chinese companies showcased extrusion, freeze-drying, and packaging equipment, as well as OEM/ODM pet food, accessories, litter, and smart gadget manufacturing capabilities.
*OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) — contract production of products according to the client’s specifications, later sold under their brand.
*ODM (Original Design Manufacturer) — contract production where the factory develops the design and concept based on the client’s requirements.
A major highlight was FAMSUN Group Co., Ltd., one of the world’s largest suppliers of feed industry equipment. Contracts have already been signed for the delivery of extruders to new Russian facilities. Today, manufacturers are increasingly turning to Eastern suppliers for equipment and technology — with Chinese solutions being the most accessible for Russia.
Other notable participants included Monge and Gheda (Italy), Flexi (Germany), AQUAEL (Poland), and Wooriwa (South Korea), who presented their long-standing expertise in pet food and accessory manufacturing. WHOZE PET INC. (USA) introduced its “home-style pet food” concept, KRKA (Slovenia) showcased veterinary pharmaceuticals, and Green Pet (Iran) presented bentonite cat litter.
Andrey Skripnik,
Export Manager, Gheda Mangimi (Italy):
“For us, participating in ParkZoo was a first — and strategically important — experience on the Russian market. The exhibition emphasized Russia’s significance as a key export destination for Gheda pet food. It allowed us to meet clients and discuss new forms of cooperation. We also aimed to establish contacts for distributing our ‘free lines’ and for private-label production. Negotiations are already underway.”
This year’s «ParkZoo» reflected a “pendulum strategy” among companies: some large distributors that previously exhibited chose to attend only as visitors, while major industry players that had skipped the event in past years made their return. Meanwhile, many small and mid-sized brand owners decided not to participate in 2025.
Such shifts indicate that companies are reassessing their marketing strategies. The trend can be viewed as the beginning of a new stage of market maturity: the exhibition is evolving into a tool for strategic decision-making. For some, the priority is careful budget management; for others — reasserting their market presence; and for a third group — observing competitors from the sidelines.
Alla Matskiv,
Head of Pharmaks Trading House:
“We came to the exhibition with new projects during a complex, turbulent time and honestly didn’t expect much optimism from our partners — but the reality exceeded all expectations.
Everyone came with a positive attitude and a clear drive to keep working together. The meetings were businesslike, constructive, and inspiring. We identified new growth opportunities and reached new agreements. It gave us confidence that we’re moving in the right direction. The industry is ready to work, evolve, and find new solutions.
That’s what makes ParkZoo 2025 the key event for the pet business.”
The 15th ParkZoo exhibition has already become a part of the Russian pet industry’s history. In 2025, the event expanded its scale and reaffirmed its status as the main venue where the future of the pet business is being shaped.
The premieres, booth designs, and participant composition all show that the industry is maturing — becoming more structured, pragmatic, and strategically focused. Growth continues, but it is now qualitative rather than just quantitative.
From September 23–25, 2026, ParkZoo will once again bring together businesses ready to transform change into opportunity — uniting technology, ideas, and people to build the future of the pet industry. You can already apply for participation today.