Agenda

7 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

Registration
Lobby 2200

7 a.m.-2 p.m.

Cash coffee bar
Lobby 2200

7-8 a.m.

Breakfast
Room 2215 A-C

8-8:50 a.m.

Welcome and opening keynote: Macro-economic outlook and what it means for pet food companies and pet owners 
Ernie Tedeschi, director of economics, Budget Lab at Yale Law School

Tedeschi will provide a forecast for upcoming changes and events with the economy, inflation, consumer spending, the labor force, the financial markets and other key indicators.

Room 2103

9 a.m.-6 p.m.

Exhibit hall open
Halls A-D

9:00 a.m – 6 p.m.

Visiting pet charities
Pet Charity Dog House, Aisle 1000

9:15-9:45 a.m.

Coffee break
Halls A-D

9:45 a.m.-12 p.m.

Petfood Forum Student Program research presentations and education session
Future of Pet Food Pavilion, Aisle 1400

9:35 a.m.-12:20 p.m.

Petfood Tech Talks
Tech Talk Stage, Aisle 2900

12:15-1:30 p.m.

Lunch
Halls A and D

12:15-1:30 p.m.

Women in Petfood Leadership Lunch

1:30-4:15 p.m.

Concurrent sessions: Pet food market

Market data with health and wellness deep dive, 1:30-2:35 p.m.

• 2025 pet economy report — Diana Rosero-Pena, equity research analyst, Bloomberg Intelligence
• How perceptions of health and wellness impact pet owner attitudes and pet food spending — Shannon Landry, pet brand manager, Packaged Facts
• Leveraging a “foodback” loop to integrate real-world pet health data into recipe design, product innovation — Brittany White, Ph.D., vice president, research, development and engineering/commercial enablement, and Tara Zedayko, chief science officer, Ollie Pets

Ingredients trends and consumer perceptions, 3:10-4:15 p.m.

• Pet food ingredient trends: Insights from 2024 sales — Lara Moody, executive director, Institute for Feed Education and Research, and Louise Calderwood, director of regulatory affairs, American Feed Industry Association
• Novel proteins and today’s pet parent: What’s next? — Nicole Hill, executive director, strategy, MarketPlace
• Insect protein in pet food: Assessing consumer perceptions, knowledge and willingness to pay — Lonnie Hobbs, Ph.D., assistant professor, and Aleksan Shanoyan, associate professor, Kansas State University Department of Agricultura Economics

Rooms 2100

1:30-4:15 p.m.

Concurrent sessions: Pet food technology

AI focus areas, 1:30-2:35 p.m.

• The evolution of pet food consumer behavior: AI and technology impact analysis, 2024-2025 — Adriana Pope, former investment analyst, UBS, and Nathan Pope, AI product architect and consumer behavior research lead, OngoingAI
• AI is transforming marketing: What are the benefits, challenges and applications for pet food? — Hana Bieliauskas, senior vice president and partner, Inspire PR Group
• Understanding AI to streamline pet food manufacturing — Matt Lueger, executive vice president of sales, Northwind Technical Services, and Bill Ward, founder and CEO, Northslope Technologies

New processing technologies, 3:10-4:15 p.m.

• New methods in high moisture extrusion for the creation of innovative, diverse and nutritious wet pet food — Jenni Harrington, director of sales and technology, Buhler Group
• Starch gelatinization in extrusion cooking of pet foods: Balancing quality and sustainability — Ed de Souza, extrusion systems process director, Wenger Manufacturing
• Optimizing microbial control in pet food: Understanding traditional and innovative methods — Rocío Daniela Soto Castro, HPP food specialist, Hiperbaric

Rooms 2100

1:30-4:15 p.m.

Concurrent sessions: Pet food nutrition

Focus on senior pets, 1:30-2:35 p.m.

• Bioavailability and effects of collagen hydrolysates using an in vivo to in vitro approach for canine osteoarthritis — Niels Blees, MSc., DVM, Ph.D. student, Utrecht University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
• Enhancing muscle health and longevity in aging canines with HMB supplementation — Shawn Baier, vice president of business development, TSI Group Co.
• Flavor preference in cats across life stages — Ana Rita Monforte, Ph.D., flavor and data manager, AFB International

Obesity, life stages, nutrient profiles, 3:10-4:15 p.m.

• Unraveling the myth of dietary carbohydrates and feline obesity: A meta-analysis and study findings — Hannah Godfrey, BSc.H., MSc., Ph.D. candidate, University of Guelph Ontario Veterinary College
• Innovating pet nutrition: Combating the pet obesity epidemic with new food approaches and ingredients — Kathy Gross, Ph.D., adjunct professor, and Julia Guazzeli Pezzali, Ph.D., assistant professor, Kansas State University Pet Food Program
• Time to reconsider NRC and AAFCO guidelines for amino acid requirements in dogs? — Sarah Dickerson, Ph.D., senior research scientist, Four Rivers Kennel

Rooms 2100

1:30-4:15 p.m.

Concurrent sessions: Pet food ingredients

The pet microbiome and functional ingredients, 1:35-2:05 p.m.

• Biotics in pet food and modulation of feline gut microbiome by diet and biotic supplementation — Jeff Alix, global head of business development, palatability and microbiome, and Brian Klein, Ph.D., principal scientist, microbiome, dsm-firmenich
• Repeatability of the effects of dietary supplementation of probiotic on gut fermentative metabolites and microbiota in dogs — Jan Suchodolski, Ph.D., professor, associate director and head of microbiome sciences, Texas A&M University Gastrointestinal Laboratory
• Session info to come.

Sustainable ingredients, 3:10-4:15 p.m.

• Exploring fresh African game meat in pet food products for novel, sustainable approach to nutrition — Angelique Myburgh, nutrition and development specialist, Montego Pet Nutrition
• Harnessing blood-derived proteins from the meat industry for sustainable pet nutrition — Roger Gerlach, director of global pet food sales, APC
• Considerations for supplementing omega-3s in companion animal diets — Alexandra Rankovic, MSc., Ph.D., research associate, University of Guelph

Rooms 2100

1:30-4:15 p.m.

Concurrent sessions: Career development and leadership

Powered by Women in Petfood Leadership

Session and speaker details coming soon.

Rooms 2100

2:30-3 p.m.

Coffee break
Halls A-D

4-6 p.m.

Networking reception
Halls A-D

4:30-5:30 p.m.

Student and industry research poster meet-and-greet
Future of Pet Food Pavilion, Aisle 1400