Interview with Ricardo Herrero, Operations and Expansion Director at Crazypet / Miscota & Petness

With nearly two decades of experience in the pet care industry, Ricardo Herrero is one of Iberzoo Propet’s most loyal visitors. His profile—spanning operations, expansion and the management of specialized retail—gives him a valuable perspective on how the fair delivers real value to chains operating with thousands of SKUs, numerous suppliers and a constant need for innovation.
His is the perspective of a professional who comes to the fair “to work”: analyzing trends, opening commercial opportunities, strengthening relationships and anticipating market shifts. We spoke with him about evolution, usefulness, innovation and the strategic role the fair plays in building product assortments and shaping the sector’s future outlook.

“I’ve been attending the fair for almost 20 years. I’ve seen Iberzoo Propet grow at the same pace as the sector itself.”

Q: How many years have you been attending Iberzoo Propet as a professional visitor?

A: I’ve been in the sector for nearly 20 years and have attended the fair for almost as long. I started coming as a supplier, and now I attend as part of a retail chain. It has been an interesting journey, because it has allowed me to experience how both the fair and the sector have evolved, professionalized their dynamics and expanded their reach. For someone who has been here for so many years, it’s easy to see the difference and understand what the fair represents today.

“The fair has become highly professionalized. It is now designed to deliver value from minute one.”

Q: How do you assess the evolution of the event over this time?

A: The fair, like the sector, has undergone significant professionalization. Today it is a much more structured event, with a clear value-driven proposition. You can see it in the segmentation of exhibitors, in the quality of the parallel activities and in the way spaces are conceived. Before, the goal was simply to “be present”; now the goal is to contribute. And that completely changes the experience for professional visitors.

Q: What motivates you to visit Iberzoo Propet each year?

A: Mainly discovering new products and maintaining contact with suppliers we don’t see as often as we’d like. The day-to-day operations of a retail chain are intense, and the fair allows us to concentrate two or three days' worth of relational work that would otherwise be far more complex. It is also a unique opportunity to strengthen ties, consolidate agreements, explore alternatives and identify opportunities that emerge spontaneously during the fair.

Q: Do you focus mainly on networking, discovering new products or strengthening relationships with suppliers?

A: Yes—those are our priorities. Networking and innovation are essential for continued growth as a chain. Finding new solutions, suppliers who bring freshness or emerging brands that fit our model can make a real difference in any given year. The fair is an ideal environment for that.

Q: For a chain like Miscota, how important is it to find innovative products and services at Iberzoo Propet?

A: It’s essential. Daily operations don’t always allow us to dive into trends, and IberzooPropet gives us the space to identify proposals that add real value to our stores. From new food lines to complementary services or technological solutions for retail, anything that provides differentiation and enhances the customer experience is relevant. Many times, our first contact with strategic products happens precisely here.

“The professional conferences provide vision, context and expertise.”

Q: Do you find the professional conferences and parallel activities useful?

A: Absolutely. Sessions featuring the insights of seasoned professionals are especially valuable for understanding where the sector is headed. I can’t always attend all of them, but I try to prioritize those offering strategic perspectives or helping contextualize the trends we’re already seeing in-store.

“To stay up to date, Iberzoo Propet is an essential event.”

Q: Do you consider Iberzoo Propet essential for staying updated on industry developments?

A: Absolutely. It’s one of the fair’s strongest assets and a key reason we continue attending year after year. In such a dynamic sector, staying updated is not a luxury—it’s a necessity. And the fair is the best place to do so comprehensively.

Q: How does your visit influence the assortment strategy and the trends adopted by Crazypet?

A: Directly. Many suppliers use IberzooPropet as their gateway to our stores, and for us, it’s a time when we assess which products can complement, replace or strengthen categories. The fair acts as a radar: here we detect the signals that later materialize in our assortment decisions.

Q: What do you value most when connecting with people at the fair?

A: As a retail manager, the most important things for me are new suppliers and the exchange with colleagues in the sector. Often, the best ideas emerge from these informal conversations: solutions that work in other markets, trends that are beginning to gain traction or different perspectives on improving the in-store experience.

Q: What other international fairs do you attend besides Iberzoo Propet?

A: Always Nuremberg and occasionally Bologna. The main difference lies in the size and number of exhibitors, but the quality is excellent across all of them. Each fair offers something different, but IberzooPropet has a distinctive value: proximity, closeness to the Iberian market and the ease of turning contacts into real opportunities.