Joyride Dogs crossed $300,000 in rescue donations with a customer base over one millioneTailPet survey finds 60% of independents added foot traffic with in-store servicesWuffes rebuilt its brand identity after landing 4,000 retail doors and serving 1.3 million dogsMPM Products promotes Samantha Greenwood to North America presidentRosewood launches nine-SKU Mr Men dog toy line ahead of 2028 feature filmSkiptown signs five-unit franchise deal covering greater AustinPet Food Experts adds Finfare seafood line to national distribution rosterJollyes opened its first store inside an Asda supermarket in SheffieldJoyride Dogs crossed $300,000 in rescue donations with a customer base over one millioneTailPet survey finds 60% of independents added foot traffic with in-store servicesWuffes rebuilt its brand identity after landing 4,000 retail doors and serving 1.3 million dogsMPM Products promotes Samantha Greenwood to North America presidentRosewood launches nine-SKU Mr Men dog toy line ahead of 2028 feature filmSkiptown signs five-unit franchise deal covering greater AustinPet Food Experts adds Finfare seafood line to national distribution rosterJollyes opened its first store inside an Asda supermarket in Sheffield
On the ShelfBy The PetRetailNews Desk3 min readAugust 24, 2026
Global Pet Expo Opens 2027 Registration. The Question Is What Changed.
Registration is open for the March 2027 show, paired with a redesigned Summit format and a shelter-pet storytelling partnership.
Global Pet Expo opened registration for its March 17-19, 2027 show in Orlando, paired with two structural changes: a redesigned Pet Summit experience and a year-long partnership with Stronger Shot that will bring shelter pet stories onto the show floor.
The question for retailers and brands booking travel: does the new setup change who should attend or what they'll walk away with?
The two changes APPA made to the 2027 format
The Pet Summit, which runs March 15-18, 2027, gets what APPA calls a "connection-driven" redesign. The new format adds Connector Rooms, which pair expert panels with Q&A sessions and facilitated networking organized by industry peer groups. It also introduces Speaker Deep-Dives, which take selected Global Learning Series sessions and expand them into smaller workshop formats. Pete Scott, APPA's president and CEO, said the changes are meant to meet "one of the industry's clearest needs: more meaningful opportunities to connect."
The second change is a year-long storytelling initiative with Stronger Shot, a photography and video organization that documents shelter pets. The partnership will follow select shelter pets from rescue to adoption, distributing their stories via digital channels, social platforms, and on-site programming. Featured pets will represent Global Pet Expo 2027 and The Pet Summit. Adam Goldberg, Stronger Shot's founder, said the goal is to help people "look beyond the kennel and connect with a pet's unique personality."
Global Pet Expo draws nearly 20,000 pet professionals. The show hosts more than 1,200 exhibitors across 3,500 booths, with over 1,000 new product launches annually. A 2027 pass covers the exhibit hall, product launches, Global Learning Series sessions, and qualifying networking events. The Pet Summit and its premium programming require separate registration, with details coming through the main Global Pet Expo process.
Our read: the format is the tell, not the registration opening
The Summit redesign is harder to read without specifics. "Connection-driven" and "Connector Rooms" are positioning language, not a format description. If the new setup means better margin intel, supplier access, or category-specific peer groups, it justifies the trip cost for a store owner. If it's generic inspiration content in a smaller room, send your buyer instead and save the airfare.
The shelter partnership is a consumer-sentiment play aimed at specialty's differentiation from mass. It signals which brands are leaning into rescue messaging for 2027 launches, which matters if your customer base skews adopt-don't-shop. But without details on whether this is booth activation, keynote content, or retailer programming, it's hard to say whether it changes what you'll walk away with or just what the show floor looks like.
If you're launching a product in 2027, this is your shot at specialty buyers before they finalize assortments. Registration is open now.
If you're a store owner deciding whether to attend, wait for APPA to release the Summit agenda and speaker list before booking. The Connector Rooms format could be the margin intel you need, or it could be a repackaged panel discussion. The difference is whether the trip pays for itself.
If you're a buyer, track which brands participate in the shelter partnership. The ones that do are betting rescue messaging moves product in 2027, and that tells you something about where they think specialty's edge is.
The registration window is the decision you're facing right now. The Summit details are the decision you'll face when APPA releases them.
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