For many pet brands, the question isn’t just how to promote a pet brand offline, it’s whether exhibiting at an expo is actually worth the investment.
With rising digital ad costs and increasingly crowded online channels, brands are re-evaluating how they connect with customers in more meaningful, memorable ways. The Cat Lovers Festival offers a powerful alternative, but success often depends on finding the right format for your brand.
This exhibitor case study explores how Teef Club, a Melbourne-based creative cat brand, found that fit by exhibiting in The Marketplace at the Cat Lovers Festival in Sydney and Melbourne in 2025. The Cat Lovers Festival is Australia’s largest retail event for Cat Lovers, delivered yearly by Pet Projects International.
About Teef Club
Teef Club was born from a love of cats, creativity and community. Inspired by Japan’s vibrant cat culture, the brand set out to fill a gap in the Australian market by supporting independent local artists who design cat-themed products.
Today, Teef Club curates a growing collection of locally made items, runs workshops and pop-up events, and exhibits at markets and expos across Australia. Without a permanent storefront, in-person events play a crucial role in how the brand connects with customers.
Is It Worth Exhibiting at a Pet Expo?
“Customers who attend ticketed events come ready to buy. The Cat Lovers Festival attracts people who are already in the right mindset to spend on cat-related items.”
Suz, Founder, Teef Club
For Teef Club, the answer was yes, but not by chance.
Exhibiting at a ticketed pet expo like Cat Lovers Festival meant engaging with an audience that arrived with intent. Attendees were already in a cat-focused mindset, actively looking to discover and purchase products related to their pets. Compared to free-entry markets, this created a higher-quality retail environment with stronger buying behaviour.
Just as importantly, the Expo allowed Teef Club to step out from behind a screen and have real conversations with customers, something that’s difficult to achieve through digital-only marketing.
Not Every Brand Fits the Same Expo Format
One of the biggest misconceptions about pet expos is that they only suit large, established brands.
In reality, brands arrive at expos at very different stages. Some are scaling nationally, while others are emerging, testing products or building awareness for the first time.
That’s why Pet Projects International designs its expos with different exhibitor environments, each created to support brands with varying goals, budgets and levels of experience.
One of these environments is the Marketplace.
What Is the Marketplace?
The Marketplace is a dedicated retail zone designed specifically for boutique brands, startups and independent businesses.
Rather than competing with large-scale exhibitors, Marketplace brands benefit from:
- A curated environment focused on discovery and creativity
- Lower barriers to entry for emerging businesses
- A highly engaged, purchase-ready audience
- Direct access to customers who value unique and independent brands
For Teef Club, the Marketplace offered the ideal balance between accessibility and impact.
Customer Engagement and In-Person Discovery
Exhibiting in the Marketplace allowed Teef Club to showcase the stories behind the products.
Customers immediately connected the illustrations and designs to their own cats or to friends and family. Many purchases were made as gifts, driven by emotional connection rather than impulse alone.
Learning that each product supported independent artists further strengthened trust, creating a deeper bond between customers and the brand.
Commercial Impact Beyond the Expo Floor
“The Festival helped me leverage marketing beyond the weekend. Promoting our pop-ups and workshops at the Expo directly contributed to selling out one of our sessions.”
Suz, Founder, Teef Club
Teef Club’s first Cat Lovers Festival delivered more sales than the brand’s entire first year of operation.
Over time, the value extended well beyond the event weekend. With no physical storefront, the Expo became a rare opportunity to:
- Learn directly from customers
- Build a customer database through lead generation
- Promote upcoming pop-ups and workshops
Following the Melbourne Cat Lovers Expo, Teef Club successfully sold out a workshop and drove strong foot traffic to a subsequent pop-up, results the brand strongly attributes to Expo exposure.
Sales Performance and Smart Stand Placement
In-person sales consistently exceeded expectations, with stand location playing a key role in performance.
Booking early allowed Teef Club to select a position influenced by foot traffic, entry points and nearby activations. This strategic placement helped maximise exposure and sales throughout the weekend.
The Festival’s lead generation tools also enabled ongoing engagement with customers after the event, supporting repeat online sales and long-term growth.
Building Brand Trust Through Human Connection
“Being able to speak to customers face-to-face as a business with no storefront is gold. I learn about them, their cats, and their friends’ cats.”
Suz, Founder, Teef Club
In a digital-first world, face-to-face interaction remains one of the most powerful ways to build trust.
Meeting the person behind Teef Club helped humanise the brand and communicate its mission of supporting small creatives. Customers could touch and feel products, ask questions and form connections that are difficult to replicate online.
A Community That Grows Together
“The Marketplace is full of small businesses supporting each other. I’ve made genuine connections that I look forward to seeing at every Festival.”
Suz, Founder, Teef Club
Beyond commercial outcomes, the Marketplace fostered a strong sense of community.
Exhibiting alongside other small businesses led to referrals, shared audiences and lasting relationships. For Teef Club, these connections became an unexpected but valuable part of the experience, extending the benefits of exhibiting well beyond the Expo itself.
Finding the Right Fit at a Well-Designed Pet Expo
Teef Club’s experience shows that when brands find the right environment, the answer is a clear yes. With thoughtfully designed exhibitor formats like the Marketplace, pet expos offer opportunities for brands at every stage, from emerging startups to established businesses.
Delivered by Pet Projects International, the Cat and Dog Lovers Festivals provide platforms that connect brands with passionate pet owners, drive meaningful engagement and support sustainable growth.
If you’re considering exhibiting, now is the time to explore which environment is the right fit for your brand and take the next step toward face-to-face growth. Book a consultation today and speak with our team.
