PIF has announced a new partnership with Fuel Card Services to help PIF members save money on petrol and diesel.  

Fuel Card Services offers a large range of fuel cards from leading brands such as BP, Shell, Esso and UK Fuels; PIF members will be able to decide which card best suits their business.

Fuel cards will help PIF members on a daily basis in terms of :

• saving up to 10p per litre
• fuel cards are a safer alternative to carrying cash and eliminate fraud
• Streamline admin – HMRC compliant invoices, no receipts, one neat invoice and a dedicated account manager
• Tighter control of business expenses – transactions and reports available online 24/7
• Increased flexibility for refuelling across a huge network

PIF CEO, Nigel Baker, commented: “Here at PIF we are always looking at new benefits for our members. We are extremely aware of how difficult the economic climate is at the moment, particularly with fuel costs at such a high level.

“Partnering with Fuel Card Services will enable PIF members to choose the best fuel card for their business and start saving money on a daily basis, whether they run one vehicle or a whole fleet.”

PIF members will be emailed details on how to apply for their fuel card.

PIF’s education partner, The National Pet College, is targeting the hospitality industry with a new course highlighting the benefits of becoming dog friendly.

With 10.2 million dogs in the UK, and 27% of UK adults now owning dogs, the potential for businesses that welcome dogs is considerable. This new course from The National Pet College, in association with www.dogfriendly.co.uk, gives a unique insight into how to maximise these opportunities whilst also equipping delegates on how to overcome the challenges, ensure welfare, undertake thorough risk assessments and become up to date with the latest legislation.

Aimed at all businesses that can become dog friendly, such as hotels, restaurants, cafes, pubs, B&Bs, holiday cottages and holiday parks, Head of Education at The National Pet College, Vicky Skinner explains:

“We know that those businesses that do welcome dogs have seen a considerable upturn both in new and repeat business so we wanted to encourage more premises in the hospitality industry to become dog friendly in a responsible way which ensures the welfare of any dogs on site. This new course gives delegates a thorough understanding of the responsibilities involved with doing this properly and equips businesses with the tools to really maximise the potential revenue streams from this.”

James Waters of www.dogfriendly.co.uk added:

“We’ve had figures of 50% and 20% increase in sales quoted to us when we’ve asked about the impact of becoming dog friendly; we know that welcoming dogs properly is a beneficial investment and we are thrilled that The National Pet College has created this course to ensure that businesses can make this transition responsibly with the dogs’ best interests at heart. Pet parents are more and more likely to want to take their dog with them when out and about and they will reward businesses that truly welcome their dog onto their premises.”

The Dogs In Hospitality course is available from www.nationalpetcollege.co.uk for individual delegates and can also be delivered in group scenarios on site at hospitality premises. On completion of the course, delegates receive a certificate to display at their premises, a digital logo for their website and social media and their completion highlighted on the www.dogfriendly.co.uk listing. For more information please email info@nationalpetcollege.co.uk

The much anticipated PIF Awards were a huge success last night, with over 20 categories of winners revealed at the gala black tie ceremony held at Whittlebury Hall in Northamptonshire.

Generously supported by headline sponsors Cliverton, Collar, Naturo Pet Foods and Tuft, plus Strategic Partner DHL Supply Chain, Drinks Sponsor Pedigree Wholesale and 20 category sponsors, the 2022 PIF Awards are the most coveted awards in the pet industry, celebrating the inspirational success stories of the past 12 months.

Winners received sustainable, wooden trophies and ranged from the nationwide Just For Pets retail chain to independent businesses such as Millin Brook Luxury Dog Boarding and the inspirationally innovative Scoff Paper.

Nigel Baker, CEO of the Pet Industry Federation, commented:

“The PIF Awards just get bigger and better each year; the standard and volume of entries was phenomenal this year and we sold out of tickets to the Awards dinner over a month before the event so we can see how much winning a PIF Award means to businesses in the pet industry. It is truly inspirational to see the diversity and sheer hard work within our industry and at PIF we are honoured to be able to reward this with the PIF Awards. Look out for next year’s event for which we’re planning something extra special!”

The 2023 PIF Awards will celebrate PIF’s 75^th anniversary and will take place on Thursday 16^th November 2023, with entries opening after Easter. All updates will be posted here on the PIF website.

Click here to see the list of 2022 winners.

Specialist pet PR company Tillymint Communications scooped a cluster of prizes at the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) PRide Awards recently including Best Publication (Silver) for the PIF member magazine, PIF Matters, which the Tillymint team helped to launch in May 2021. 
Produced both digitally and in print, PIF Matters has been warmly received by PIF members across the pet industry achieving a 93% satisfaction rate. The next issue, which will be published at the beginning of December, will be full of editorial and images from the much anticipated PIF Awards.
Nigel Baker, CEO of PIF, commented: “We are delighted that PIF Matters has been recognised in the CIPR PRide Awards. Communication with our membership is vitally important which is why we brought in a specialist agency to devise a publication that would encourage engagement. We are thrilled for Alison and the Tillymint team who have helped deliver improvements to our wider communications over the past two years. There are other exciting projects in the pipeline which will bring even greater benefits for PIF members and support them in promoting their own businesses.”
For more information on PR and marketing services visit: www.tillymint.co.uk

Pet professionals are being invited to attend a live webinar hosted by The National Pet College and Dogs Trust to gain a better understanding of behavioural struggles that they may encounter in their profession and to learn strategies that will improve animal welfare.

Delivered by Dogs Trust’s Canine Behaviour Officers, Hannah Harris and Úna Race, this unique webinar will explain the role of body language, identify behavioural indicators of frustration, stress, pain and fear, reflect on scenarios where animal welfare could be compromised and help attendees to develop strategies to meet the needs of animals in their care in order to maximise welfare.

Held on Tuesday, November 1^st at 7pm, the live webinar is aimed at all pet professionals and will be particularly useful for dog groomers, home boarders and dog walkers. Head of Education at The National Pet College, Vicky Skinner, explains:

“We know that pet professionals encounter a wide range of behaviours in dogs on a weekly basis and we are delighted to have partnered with Dogs Trust to deliver this webinar. We have very much based the content around real-life scenarios to ensure that attendees gain practical advice and strategies that they can then implement in the workplace.”

Jenna Kiddie, Head of Canine Behaviour Officer at Dogs Trust, says:

“Every dog is an individual and will respond to situations in a way that is unique to them, which will be influenced by previous experiences or how they are feeling in that moment of time. It may be particularly difficult to predict how dogs will react to a new situation, for example, some dogs may enjoy going to the groomers for the first time, whereas others may become worried. So that pet professionals can best support dogs and their owners, it’s essential that we can understand the dogs that we are working with and to provide for their needs at that time and going forwards.

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to take part in this webinar and hope that together we can make sure that dog welfare is always at the heart of everything we do.”

Tickets to the webinar are available at £30 and will be sold on a first come, first served basis. PIF members can use their October PIF password to redeem a 20% discount on this webinar. Click here to purchase your ticket.

The 2022 finalists for the PIF Awards have been announced today. Following a record number of entries, the judges were particularly impressed by the standard of submissions this year and congratulate all those businesses shortlisted as finalists.

Nigel Baker, CEO of the Pet Industry Federation, commented:

“The standard and volume of entries for the PIF Awards this year has been quite staggering and we thank everyone who took the time to enter. All businesses shortlisted as finalists deserve sincere congratulations and we very much look forward to welcoming everyone to the PIF Awards this November. Tickets and accommodation sold out in 2021 so we’d encourage early booking this year.”

Generously supported by headline sponsors Cliverton, Collar, Naturo Pet Foods and Tuft, plus Strategic Partner DHL Supply Chain, Drinks Sponsor Pedigree Wholesale and 20 category sponsors, the 2022 PIF Awards take place on Thursday November 17^th at Whittlebury Hall in Northamptonshire. Tickets to the black tie event include a complementary drinks reception, three course meal with wine and live entertainment. Individual tickets can be purchased at here on this website with savings for tables of ten and a discount code available for accommodation at Whittlebury Hall. Details of all finalists can be found here

Following a record number of entries for this year’s PIF Awards, the preliminary judging is complete and finalists for each of the 20 categories will be announced next week.

Nigel Baker, CEO of the Pet Industry Federation, explained:

“Everyone here at PIF was extremely saddened to hear of the passing of Her Majesty The Queen so it made complete sense to delay the finalists’ announcement by one week out of respect for the national mourning period which we are all currently observing.
We have received an unprecedented number of entries this year and very much look forward to welcoming everyone to the PIF Awards in November. Tickets and accommodation sold out in 2021 so we’d encourage early booking this year.”

The 2022 PIF Awards take place on Thursday November 17^th at Whittlebury Hall in Northamptonshire. Tickets to the black tie event include a complementary drinks reception, three course meal with wine and live entertainment. Individual tickets can be purchased here on this website with savings for tables of ten and a discount code available for accommodation at Whittlebury Hall.

The PIF Export Scheme successfully passed its Trial Phase recently with pallets travelling across Europe and safely delivered to their destinations.

The Trial Phase follows months of due diligence by the PIF team who, after hearing from members about export difficulties, have been working hard to create a scheme which enables manufacturers and suppliers to export products to the EU containing animal protein in a cost effective and efficient way.

Jonathan Rees, Director of Pero Foods, who took part in the Trial Phase commented:
“Since Brexit, exporting products to the EU that contain animal protein has been significantly more complicated so we very much welcome the introduction of the PIF Export Scheme.”

Nigel Baker, CEO of PIF, added:

“We are delighted to have completed the Trial Phase and look forward to facilitating weekly shipments in the near future. We would encourage any businesses interested in taking part in the scheme to register their interest as soon as possible.”

The next shipment will take place this month; to receive a quote, or to express your interest in booking pallets onto this delivery, please email Daniel Everett at export@petfederation.co.uk

The next shipment is open to all pet businesses however future shipments will be specifically for PIF members.

The Pet Industry Federation (PIF) has announced a new partnership today with Leafyard, a ground-breaking mental health web app.

It has never been more important to have a strong, resilient mindset which is why Leafyard is packed full of techniques that are crucial for developing a positive, successful mindset: from sports psychology to resilience training, to positive thinking and visualisation, as well as exercise, habits, diet and much more. Leafyard’s strategic approach means it is possible to make progress every single day.

PIF CEO, Nigel Baker, explains the rationale behind the partnership with Leafyard: “After the last couple of years that business owners have faced, it’s wise for all of us to check in with not only our own mental health, but with our team and organisation’s mental health.  

“Partnering with Leafyard to enable PIF members to receive a 25% discount on Leafyard subscriptions is a great step forward; this is a comprehensive and forward-thinking solution that has proven results.” 

PIF members can find details on how to redeem their 25% discount in this week’s PIF MattersXtra or in the Members’ Area of this website.

Tickets are now on sale for the most coveted awards in the pet industry. Celebrating 20 categories of pet businesses, the PIF Awards are the perfect showcase for the breadth of the pet industry, highlighting inspirational success stories from the past 12 months.

Nigel Baker, CEO of the Pet Industry Federation, commented, “We are all very much looking forward to hosting the PIF Awards again this year. With a great venue, band, drinks reception and three course menu already booked, it’s guaranteed to be a fantastic evening to meet up with customers and colleagues and celebrate the pet industry. Tickets and rooms sold out last year so we’d encourage everyone to book early to make sure they’re not disappointed.”

This year’s PIF Awards take place on Thursday November 17^th at Whittlebury Hall in Northamptonshire. Tickets to the black tie event include a complementary drinks reception, three course meal with wine and live entertainment. Individual tickets can be purchased at www.petfederation.co.uk with savings for tables of ten and a discount code for accommodation at Whittlebury Hall.