Thirty-six British garden and pet product suppliers presented their latest ranges to buyers from Dubai, Finland, France, Italy, Spain and the US at the latest Meet the Buyers events held by Gardenex and PetQuip.
Over 70 one-to-one meetings were held during the day's programme earlier this month.
The Finnish pet product buyer said the meetings had exceeded expectations, and Dubai's largest garden centre chain said it now intends to work as a distributor for up to six of the UK companies that attended the event. It will also be sourcing products for its Dubai retail outlet from two of the other participating suppliers.
A similar reaction has been received from the French distributor: potentially the firm could now be doing business with half the companies it met at the event.
The next Meet the Buyers event is June 8 2016 and will be held at the Federation of Garden & Leisure Manufacturers offices in Brasted, Kent.