Petfood Forum recently spoke with Rachel Strassburger, quality assurance and research & development assistant at FirstMate & Kasiks Pet Food. Rachel was selected as a First For Forum Ambassador for the 2026 event.
First For Forum offers pet food professionals who have never attended in the past a chance to attend the show at no cost. Ambassadors are selected through a nomination process.
We are pleased to welcome Rachel to Petfood Forum on April 27-29, 2026, in Kansas City, Missouri.
What are you looking forward to the most at Petfood Forum?
Rachel: I am most looking forward to connecting with fellow pet food professionals and learning more about their experiences in the industry. With Petfood Forum being such a large gathering, it’s a great opportunity to reconnect with past colleagues who may be attending, as well as build new relationships within the sector!
What are you hoping to accomplish at Petfood Forum?
Rachel: My goal is to deepen my understanding of current innovations in both processing and ingredients. Petfood Forum offers an amazing wealth of new information on innovations from both academia and industry, so I’m eager to take advantage of the opportunity to expand my knowledge and bring back fresh insights to my team.
Which exhibitors are you looking forward to visiting?
Rachel: I’m particularly excited to visit the Future of Pet Food Pavilion. Seeing the work being done in academia is both exciting and essential for driving progress in the industry, and this is a valuable chance to explore new innovations, trends and best practices. I’m also looking forward to meeting with ingredient brokers and suppliers to learn more about research‑backed ingredients. As someone who keeps R&D in mind, discovering well‑supported ingredients makes integrating them into our products much more seamless.
Which educational sessions are you looking forward to?
Rachel: I’m especially interested in the pet nutrition and ingredient research sessions. Behavior, amino acids, and the microbiome have been long‑standing areas of interest for me, and I noticed several scheduled presentations in these areas. Having worked on these topics myself during my MSc, I’m excited to hear about the latest findings and emerging research being presented.
Are you planning to do anything fun while you’re in Kansas City?
Rachel: I recently learned that Kansas City is considered to be the “Barbeque Capital of the World”, so experiencing a Kansas City Barbeque restaurant has quickly risen to the top of my list! If time allows, I would also love to visit the City Market – I’ve heard it’s a fantastic spot for local food and coffee.
About Rachel:
Rachel Strassburger is a quality assurance and research & development assistant at FirstMate & Kasiks Pet Food in Chilliwack, BC. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Animal Biology, a master’s degree in Animal Behavior and Nutrition from the University of Guelph, and is PCQI‑certified. Her experience spans quality assurance, nutrition and palatability research, behavior and welfare research, formulation and various clinical roles, and she is passionate about science‑backed pet nutrition, sustainability and transparency with consumers.
Learn more about the other First For Forum Ambassadors