It hit us. But it’s no wonder – the hottest summer in history is lingering like the wealthy in beloved White Lotos series. On top of the heat, this year, the full repertoire of climate change has truly played out – CO2 is in the air, it’s hot like in a vulcano, and the wind has blown away to Florida. I didn’t think I’d feel on my own skin so quickly all of the reasons why we have launched OVAD. And today we have something new on our minds – our first Pet Expo Łódź trade show in life. It’s like a first concert, a first book signing, a first time, indeed. We are a mixture of panic and excitement. Us, the exhibitors.
Time to work!
So, I pack myself somewhat into the car, where I have my designated small spot after packing everything, and I immediately ask if we forgot anything, even though I’m the only one who could forget something. I start to think – the pillow is there, a towel, a sleeping bag, I have it. Business cards, darn, no, calm down, I have them, plenty even. I scan the Ford, packed to the roof, and check off the important things: we have cans with food for dogs, dry regular and dry omega-3 mealworm, live larvae, a roll-up, vegetables and fruits for insects, glue for our booth, logos, brochures, containers for larvae, adult beetles, feed. Asia reaches into her bag and takes out some pins in the shape of a mealworm beetle, which we’ll attach to our clothing as part of visual identification – I wanted T-shirts, a retro idea from a pizza restaurant’s website, but fortunately, it didn’t pass.
We’re driving, talking, and the air conditioning is blowing cheerfully. Will we manage with all of this? The trade show is tomorrow, and we still need to wrap and label the cans that just came out of production a moment ago and prepare the booth. There’s going to be a lot of work because as a small startup, we took a tiny booth, so we’ll need to brainstorm a bit to stand out.
In the Expo hall, there’s a buzz of activity. Forklifts, cardboard boxes, tape. Everything is chaotic and scattered. It looks like a mess, a dump, but it’s the best kind of chaos. Soon, individual booths rise, microcosms composed of products, marketing narratives, and visions of the leaders. Cans pile up, treats, cages, leashes spill out of boxes, and with each booth, there are people, employees, owners, in work attire, but with clear, relaxed faces. We don’t know each other yet, we look sideways. The time for making connections will come – now we get to work.
Our booth is a small white booth the size of two phone booths. A small, round table, perhaps for coffee. Two chairs. As I walked by other booths earlier, compared to ours, they look like an open-air festival – large screens, bars with drinks, alcohol, snack areas, barista stations. We’re entering a mature market, but it’s open to innovation, so I’m not worried. It’s not the first time I feel like someone’s poor relative, so I don’t worry, especially because Asia has a spark in her eye. Michał is already assembling an Ikea shelf – only I’m still lost in melancholy, so I just get to work.
We paste the walls with colors from the brand book. We made it over two years ago, and I still like it. It’s easy to get attached to our brand when you’ve built it from scratch, invested every penny, thought, and heart into it – the business becomes more than just business, it merges with life. I cut bubbles in the wallpaper with a knife, there are thousands of them, so I have time for meditation. We’re a family business, which means two things – we know how to argue like any family, but deep down, we all understand that OVAD is us, our ambitions, our nerves, our joys. The term “Limited Liability Company” is misleading; it should be called a “Full-Throttle Company” with loose reins and wild hair.
After a while, I see that it’s working. Asia has a sense of design. She can make something out of nothing. So, our small booth is truly our own. We pack our entire vision into it, and for the next three days of the trade show, it will be our megaphone to broadcast it to the zoological world. So much has been said about insects over the past year that I should be calm. But sometimes, I feel that our vision is too simple and too true. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been scolded for being too eco-friendly. Insect farming is the least emission-intensive and most efficient animal farming; it’s a fact, simple and true. But it starts to get complicated because – as I’ve learned – the vast majority of people don’t like ecology, they react with shock, deny, reject data, question everything except their own judgment. I understand it psychologically, but not entirely. And that our insects are healthy – another fact. But today, people like to debate facts. But that’s why we’re here, to debate. To show our product, which we’ve been working on for the past two years – our child, a complete wet pet food based on mealworms, the only one in Poland, the second in Europe, and maybe, just maybe, ladies and gentlemen, in the world. So, we’re like a young rock band in our garage, dreaming of making it big.
Moreover, the usual argument from opponents doesn’t work on me. “Do you eat these insects?” they ask with a mischievous smile. “I do,” I reply truthfully, and their faces change. I’ve been eating them regularly for two years. And now, as OVAD, we want to offer them to dogs. I’ve been surveying the pet food and nutrition market for a while, and I really don’t see better and healthier protein.
In the evening, a bit more relaxed, we sit on the floor in an apartment lent to us by Kamila, a friend of OVAD, with a spacious terrace overlooking beautiful Piotrkowska Street, and we meticulously pack the cans in wrapping paper, stick on labels, and set them against the wall. We look at them in silence until we eventually fall asleep, overwhelmed by the day’s experiences.
PetExpo GO TIME!
It begins – they enter. At first, hesitantly, in small groups, spaced out, as if half-asleep. It’s our first time here, so we’re not sure how to behave. We stand there with glued-on smiles. I’m filled with so much excitement that I’d rather jump up to everyone and start talking about our products. After all, these are our products, there’s so much heart in them. But before I can do that, something happens, they approach, they start the conversation.
- “What are these camembert cheeses?” asks a very friendly pet store owner, as it turns out.
For the first time, I look at our cans from this perspective, and indeed, they look like yellow, orange, silver, and green cheeses. A wonderful conversation starter.
- “These are cans, dear madam, for dogs. A complete mono-protein food for dogs based on mealworms. Here you have the version with insects in a fruit-vegetable mousse…”
The lady seems to not believe it, takes one in her hand, shakes it.
- “Is it made from this insect?” she asks, pointing to our larvae in a transparent container, which are not quite aware of all the commotion.
- “Yes, these are our mealworms. You can already find on the market other pet food with black soldier flies, but we chose the mealworm.”
- “Oh, why?”
Michał, the scientific backbone of OVAD, joins the conversation.
- “The mealworm does take longer to grow, which may make it seem less efficient,” he starts, “but we wanted to introduce a food with no unnecessary additives. The mealworm has a very interesting flavor on its own; we don’t need to cover it with anything. It tastes a bit like roasted sunflower seeds…” – he pauses, reaching for a handful of dried larvae and putting some in his mouth.
- “It’s thanks to the fats,” I interject and also take a few mealworms. They’re delicious. “The mealworm has a very nice fat that works well in processing.”
- “It looks like olive oil,” Asia adds.
- “Very interesting, very interesting,” our conversation partner concludes, and it soon becomes clear that she’s a woman of action. “Please send me 30 cans of each flavor. Here’s the VAT number for the invoice.”
Endorphins interfere a bit as I write down the order; I chicken-scratch. I raise my head and catch the eyes of the next visitors. This time they inquire about dried larvae. We’re happy to explain how we managed to increase the omega-3 content sevenfold. Because, of course, we have our own breeding, and we oversee the entire process – from what we feed the insects to the final composition of the cans. Thanks to our selection of feed ingredients – 100% plant-based, of course – we can control the analytical composition of our larvae. So, we have several more products in the pipeline – maybe CBD, milk thistle as well.
- “But this omega-3 is great,” a smiling influencer says. “Can I make a reel?”
We keep talking. We talk about what we’ve been doing for the past two years, and when I listen to us from the side, I feel like we know everything about insects, processing, dogs, and their needs. What’s important, we also receive dozens of tips and insights, and we learn first-hand what it’s like to work in pet stores. The conversations continue, and our visitors multiply, just like bees in a hive. We contemplate how to convince consumers to try insect-based food. I, of course, keep repeating my points – no preservatives, zero emissions, no antibiotics, pesticides, no artificial additives, and minimal processing. Just open the can – I open one – and smell it – we all sniff it – and stir it with a spoon – we take a taste. I see pleasant surprise. It’s like a nice pate, fluffy, and with whole pieces of vegetables on top of that. “We’ll give it a try,” they say. “What have we got to lose?”
A friendly, party-like atmosphere begins to emerge.
I don’t even notice when hours pass. My notepad is filled with contacts and notes. Darn, I’ve collected a lot of orders already. I’ve given out all my business cards.
During lunchtime, we relax a bit and can wander around. We visit the booths of friendly insect companies, and we exchange high fives with Marta from across the aisle. Mrs. Edyta comes to check if everything is okay with us. “Yes, everything is fine, Mrs. Edyta. I think we’ll need a bigger booth next year.” At one booth, we’re served coffee, and at another, some sake for extra strength. But we quickly return to our booth, as the crowd starts to pick up again. This work is pure pleasure, and “Hello Yellow” by OVAD has just been introduced to the world.
