Innovation Lives on the Fringes: What the 2025 Global Pet Expo Teaches Us About Scaling Through Adjacent Industries

The 2025 Global Pet Expo was a masterclass in how innovation often emerges not from the center, but from the edges.

In a space dominated by traditional players, it was a rising company named Veterinary Exam Assistant (VEA) that captured headlines and hearts. As the unanimous Grand Prize Winner of the 2025 Pet Care Innovation Prize, sponsored by Purina, VEA exemplifies a bold, often-overlooked thesis: the future of pet care will be shaped by ideas borrowed from outside of it. But they are not alone.