About
Keep it local. Keep it Tassie.
Tasmania has the highest rate of pet ownership in the country. You would think that would make it easy to buy good local pet gear. It doesn't.
Our makers struggle to find anywhere regular to sell, and they can't get near a chain store's shelves. So most Tasmanians buy pet food and supplies made somewhere else, from a company owned somewhere else, while the person making an excellent version of it forty minutes away can't find a way to sell it to you.
The Van Diemen Pet Expo exists to close that gap. On the second Sunday of every month, around twenty Tasmanian pet businesses set up at Long Beach Reserve and sell you the thing they made. You get to ask them about it. They get a reliable place to trade and grow.
That's the whole idea. It isn't complicated. It just hadn't been done.
The Expo is presented by Ernie's Bites and held with the approval of the City of Hobart. Our first market was in March 2026, opened by the Tasmanian Small Business Council, with more than thirty local businesses trading.
- A regular marketplaceA consistent venue for local makers to trade, test new products and grow, instead of waiting years for a spot somewhere else.
- Money that stays hereEvery stallholder is a Tasmanian business. What you spend on a Sunday morning stays on the island.
- A way inFor micro-businesses working out of a home kitchen or a shed, this is a first shelf — and a way to find out whether the thing they make has customers.