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One of Petfood Forum’s primary draws is its educational sessions held throughout the tradeshow and conference each year. With multiple “tracks” available, the ability to attend sessions from more than one track, and the trends and data-focused keynote sessions and panel discussion, any Forum attendee is going to have a wealth of educational options at their fingertips.
Keynotes
Petfood Forum 2025’s opening keynote on April 29 will bring Ernie Tedeschi, director of economics, Budget Lab at Yale Law School, to the stage.
Tedeschi’s outlook is designed to help pet food businesses plan for what may come next. While it focuses on the U.S., it will offer an overview of the global economy, including key pet food regions or markets. A perfect way to kickoff your 2-day educational experience!
On April 30, Michael Allison, CEO of the Adversity Academy Leadership Development Co., U.S. Marine Corps veteran and Purple Heart recipient, will deliver a message designed to help leaders, entrepreneurs and professionals break through the self-imposed barriers that hold them back during his opening session, “Break the bottle: How to shatter limiting beliefs and achieve peak performance in pet food development and marketing.”
More to learn on the expo floor
After the opening keynote sessions are over, head to the expo hall to visit with suppliers or continue learning.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, you can access the latest academic research paving the way for the pet food industry. Students will begin their presentations at 9:45 am on April 29 and at 9:30 am on April 30.
Petfood Tech Talks were among the most well-attended sessions in 2024 with many presentations at standing-room only. In 2025, we’ve expanded the program to add even more sessions providing you with maximum opportunities to see what’s next in pet food technologies. There are 20 sessions to choose from and they get started on Tuesday and Wednesday at 9:35 am. Stay and see them all or pick the ones most relevant to your job.
Educational tracks focused on the market, ingredients and nutrition, processing, and food safety and regulatory updates
After lunch, the learning continues. Petfood Forum 2025’s agenda includes five educational tracks taking place via five concurrent sessions each on the afternoon of April 29. If you are looking for specific knowledge in a single category (pet food market, ingredients, nutrition, technology, or career development), you’re in luck! You can simply choose a room and settle in for the afternoon of education.
Concurrent sessions: Tuesday, April 29, 1:30-4:15 pm
- Pet food market. The first section will focus on market data to dive deep into health and wellness while the section will explore ingredient trends and consumer perceptions.
- Pet food technology. AI and its impact to the market will be a focus in the first section; new processing technologies will be covered in the second.
- Pet food nutrition. These two sections will focus in on senior pets and obesity, life stages and nutrient profiles.
- Pet food ingredients. The first section will zero in on the pet microbiome and functional ingredients, the second section covers sustainable ingredients.
- Career development and leadership. Details for these sessions, powered by the Women in Petfood Leadership, will be coming soon.
But maybe only a couple of sessions in a given track sound interesting, or maybe you want to focus on two different topics: say ingredients and nutrition. No problem; the sessions for each track fall into standardized time slots, so you can easily attend the 1:30 pm nutrition session, “Bioavailability and effects of collagen hydrolysates using an in vivo to in vitro approach for canine osteoarthritis ” and then sit in on the 2 pm ingredient session, “Repeatability of the effects of dietary supplementation of probiotic on gut fermentative metabolites and microbiota in dogs.”
Whatever your educational goal is at Petfood Forum, we have you covered! Check out the full agenda ahead of time to see what sessions are under each track.
Petfood Forum is the only ARPAS-credentialed event for eligible professionals in pet food. In 2024, ARPAS members received 9 credits for attending Petfood Forum and 6 credits for attending Petfood Essentials.
Closing panel discussion: The state of U.S. pet food ingredient approval
Stick around for the closing panel discussion on April 30 happening at 1 pm at the Tech Talk Stage. Join representatives from AAFCO, the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA), FDA and the Pet Food Institute (PFI) as they discuss the current state of approvals and other regulatory and legal matters, and answer your questions.It’s a session you won’t want to miss!
BONUS CONTENT: Petfood Essentials
Want a full day’s education on pet food sustainability? Check out Petfood Essentials. This interactive, informal educational pre-conference seminar, held the day before the opening of Petfood Forum, will provide information and insights on key points along the sustainability journey, how to determine your environmental footprint and how to make your supply chain more sustainable.
A separate registration is required. Purchase the Petfood Forum 2-Day & Petfood Essentials Combo pass for the best value and the full educational package.
Making the most of it
Whatever you want to hear about at Petfood Forum, odds are there’s a track or a session for you. From overall trends data to a focus on a specific emerging trend, you can find what you need and fit it into your busy convention schedule. Make sure to check the full schedule online ahead of time so you can hit the ground running on April 28. And once you’re at Forum, make use of the Guide available when you pick up your badge and the Petfood Forum 2025 mobile app, which gives you the ability to plan your day and set reminders so you don’t miss a session!