April 2022 Pet Insight

Concord Pet Foods & Supplies Business Profile

Family-owned Concord Pet Foods & Supplies just last year celebrated 40 years in the pet retail industry with at last count, as of press time, 33 stores across the states of Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland.

The feat of being able to remain competitive while big box stores and online channels jostle for dominance is laudable on its own. Concord Pet has also been able to maintain a measured and steady growth throughout these four decades—even weathering a pandemic—while juggling changing consumer preferences, trending ingredients and advances in technology.

The most recent jump ahead involved accommodating all the pet owners who needed to shop remotely because of the pandemic and getting services like online ordering, delivery and curbside pickup up and running. Lindsay Mutschler, CFO, said that while the company had dabbled in both before March 2020, the pandemic pushed everyone to adopt the associated technology at a quick clip.

“Now all the stores do it [curbside pickup] and still offer it to a point,” she said. “It’s definitely still there. For our stores, luckily we don’t get the traffic that grocery stores get or Target or anything like that. People can still—and have always been throughout the whole pandemic—been able to safely shop in our stores all the time, so that’s never been an issue.”

Concord Pet also teamed up with Instacart. “We had started to think about that before we even knew the pandemic was going to happen,” she said. “That

timed out really well for us because we were already in the process of that and we were able to launch that pretty immediately. It wasn’t like we were starting from square one with that. That was a huge help.”

Expansion of storage capacity has been necessary to accommodate Concord Pet’s continued growth initiatives. In 2020 the company purchased a 23,000-square-foot building in Wilmington, DE, for $1.12 million to serve as a distribution center, streamlining the movement of products that previously had to be spread out across all its individual stores.

“Right now, we have drivers going to three different stores to get stocked up before they head out. This is going to make it possible to have it all under one roof,” President and CEO Larry Mutschler told Delaware Business Times in July 2020. “The idea is also that it would potentially get more of our own brand out there.”

Concord Pet’s own brand is Elm Pet Foods, first released in 2016.

At the foundation of all of these growth priorities, however, is a love of animals. It’s a value system that Larry has passed on to his children who help run its daily operations. Daughter Lindsay Mutschler, said, “I was honestly brought up in the industry. My father started the company 40 years ago. When I was a kid, my brother and I would put dog crates together in the living room at night. When I was in high school, I worked in the stores as an associate and then when I went to college, I did my co-op with Concord Pet, and it

just kind of went from there.”

And the junior Mutschler has grown into her leadership position seamlessly.

“For me I believe it is the fact Concord Pet is truly one of the largest family independent-owned chains,” she said. “When I came on full time, we only had 17 stores. I feel like I have become one of the people a lot of manufacturers turn to for advice, and I am glad that I was able to gain their confidence throughout the years.”

Concord Pet’s Roots

Concord Pet began when Larry Mutschler started selling pet supplies out of a trailer as a way to feed the family horses. Three years later, Larry opened the first retail location on Concord Pike in Wilmington, DE.

With his brother Woody Mutschler and good friend Pete Caramanico as business partners, Larry grew Concord Pet to nine locations by 1998. It was in the company’s early days that the decision was made to allow each store to reflect the character and needs of the community it served. To achieve that, store managers were given a significant amount of control over everything instore spanning from which brands of products to carry to which community events to support.

The formula, or lack of one, clearly works. By 2014, Concord Pet grew to 22 established store chains and that same year acquired the Cutter’s Mill pet stores, bringing its total number of locations to 27.

Concord Pet currently has about 230

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Business Profile: Concord Pet Foods & Supplies

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employees. Growth remains a company goal even now, but Lindsay Mutschler said it can’t be at the expense of the quality of service and community outreach that customers have come to expect from them, so the speed of expansion can ebb and flow.

“For us, we tried to open a few stores a year, but if it ends up only being one, or it ends up being none, we’re very strategic about where we look to open,” she told Pet Insight in 2019.

Today, Larry remains sole owner of the company while his children, Lindsay and COO Larry, Jr., have taken on management responsibilities. The company as a whole carries more than 250 brands, both known national brands like Acana, IAMs and Hill’s Science Diet, as well as pet specialty labels like Grandma Lucy’s, NutriSource and Nature’s Logic.

Leadership

Concord Pet’s 33 stores are staffed by managers who have been with the company anywhere from 10 to 30 years.

“I have managers who have been with Concord more than 20 years, and I have watched pet parents literally move which store they shop at because one of my managers had to be relocated to another store,” Lindsay Mutschler said in a 2019 interview.

At one point, Larry Mutschler previously said in media reports that the company tried adopting a regional management structure to oversee the stores spanning four states, but it proved only marginally successful.

Currently, the Mutschler family (Larry Sr., Larry Jr., and Lindsay) manages overarching company initiatives, and the individual store managers essentially represent the next management tier. The near absence of middle management means the family continues to make regular stops at each store weekly to check in. Yet while individuality is encouraged to best meet the needs of each of the store’s communities, the managers are also tasked with being able to support each other when necessary, Larry Mutschler said.

This measured approach also applies to some of the company’s internal initiatives, such as developing and now of-

fering a private label array of products including grain-free LIDs, shampoos, cleaning products and wipes under the brand name Elm Pet Foods.

According to media reports, Concord Pet worked with Sunshine Mills on the launch of Elm Pet Foods and began selling the line in June 2016. Independent pet stores in New York and Connecticut, outside of the Concord family of stores, are also carrying the line.

“We have our warehouse that is open,” Lindsay Mutschler said. “It really right now only provides distribution to our own stores, but we obviously have Elm in there.”

Since first launching Elm Pet Foods, “We’ve expanded body parts a lot and we keep expanding that,” she said. “It’s a really fun category. It’s a little bit more fun than the normal kibble and dog food. It’s coming up with new things and it’s exciting. We recently launched one SKU of a gently cooked flash frozen product in chicken.”

While the desire to grow Elm Pet Foods is there, continuing logistical challenges stemming from the pandemic still linger.

“We’re having the same canned food issue that everyone else is having,” Lindsay Mutschler said. “So we’re not really doing much there. Our food, same thing, so we’re trying not to disturb that at the moment. In the areas that we can expand a little bit, we are, but at the same time, the ones where we can’t, we’re holding steady with what we have.”

Life After 40

Concord Pet marked its 40th year in business in 2021 with great fanfare. “We focused all last year on 40 years,” Lindsay Mutschler said. “We picked a weekend every month and had a special that was marked 40 percent off. We went pretty heavily at our anniversary sale that was in June. And we had big signs that still actually hang in the stores saying ‘celebrating 40 years.’ They came out really nice. We just really pushed the 40 years because it’s a big deal. You don’t see many that truly make it family-owned for 40 years.”

But no one is resting on their laurels. Concord Pet continues to meet its challenges head on, and there are many. From stocking problems to hiring and

keeping its employees, the landscape still continues to remain unsettled, said Lindsay Mutschler.

Speaking on her priorities for this year, she said, “For me, it’s just holding onto our good staff. That’s just become so much harder especially over the last couple of years. Especially as inflation starts to hit, it makes things a little bit more difficult and trying to keep our stores as full as we possibly can, that’s always been a big thing for us just making sure the stores are full. And even though it’s been tough this last year, we’ve been like, ‘Make sure you find something else that can fill the shelf. Just make them look full.’ I would say that’s a big one.”

When options have run out in terms of inventory, Concord Pet can rest on its well-earned and continually cultivated culture of customer service, to the point that customers who can’t find an item online will come into a physical store, Lindsay Mutschler said.

“We’ve gained back some customers that we lost over the years because they’re coming back in to see if we have something, and even though we might still not have it, we’re able to say, ‘We don’t have that, but we have 15 different varieties of things that you could use.’”

This reputation for being reliable translates directly into Concord Pet’s relationship with not only its customers but also with its many partners through the years.

“I like to think we have really good relationships and partnerships with our manufacturers and distributors,” said Lindsay Mutschler. “Being in the business for 40 years, our main thing is making sure our bills get paid and usually we’re way above terms so that’s helped to really make people come through for us. A lot of my manufacturer reps and a lot of my distributors have become some of my closest friends over the years. That’s what makes the industry so different from a lot of industries is it’s still extremely relationship-based. It’s not an industry that is ever going to truly thrive via Zoom meetings and over the phone and conference calls. We need industry trade shows. We need the partnerships with our manufacturers and distributors.”

Market Focus: New York Market

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BROOKLYN

• Population: 2,641,052

• Stores: 66

• Median Household Income: $63,973

Brooklyn has a total of 66 pet stores holding 32.83 percent of the market. Leading retailers include NYC Pet with seven locations, Petco with six locations and PetSmart with two locations.

Margo Tortorelis with My Natural Pet Shop mentioned the various reasons she chose Brooklyn to open her pet shop and what New York means to her.

“I was born and raised in this neighborhood of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn,” said Tortorelis. “I have been in the pet industry of New York since I was a teenager in the 90s. Because of this, I have a strong connection to their neighborhood and NYC as a whole.”

Taking a look at the characteristics of pet owners, Tortorelis emphasized the desire to learn more is a distinguishing factor of owners in the area.

“Pet owners in this area seem to be very eager to learn and grow, conscientious about what is the best food, toy, treat, etc.,” she said. “I think especially in New York, folks are always expanding and changing their views and ideologies of what they think is the best option. I’ve taught so many amazing people about the benefits of raw feeding, the power behind holistic supplements and overall, more natural ways to raise their fur babies.”

Tortorelis continued, “I highly recommend New York as a great place for people starting out in the pet industry to learn and grow, just as I did. New York offered me diversity and great minds to learn from, as well as valuable learning lessons to mold me into a stronger businesswoman. I was able to work my way up in this field with perseverance and a strong work ethic, which has helped create my dreams of owning a pet shop into a reality. Decades ago, I knew this would be my lifelong career. You can often hear me tell my clients ‘I’m living the dream, not too many people can actually say they love what they do!’ If you’re passionate about pets like I am, never give up, find your niche and stay focused on what keeps you excited about and engaged in your work. There is truly no place like New York, as the cliche goes: If you can make it here you can make it anywhere.”

Winston Casalinuevo with Vinny’s Pet Shop highlighted the various reasons pet retailers might be enticed with the New York marketplace.

“The New York marketplace has such a diverse crowd, especially where we are in Bay Ridge. You have people that have been living here since the 70s and know or have heard of ‘Vinny’s’ (Pet Shop),” Casalinuevo said. “You also get people who just moved into the neighborhood because of the numerous restaurants and small mom-and-pop stores it has to offer. I think it’s safe to say, everyone needs pet food. I believe 70 percent of US households have a pet, and it’s just going to keep growing.”

“We have two different kinds of clientele in our store,” he continued. “One group who have been shopping here for generations. Those customers tend to know what they want. If they want this very specific bag of food, you must have it every two weeks or however often they buy it. Then we have the new pet owners. Owners who just got a pet, usually from the start of the pandemic to now. These kinds of clients are keener to try alternatives and new products that just came out.”

Queens has 42 pet store locations, which occupies 20.89 percent of the market share. Petco is the leading retailer in the borough with six locations. Following Petco, Disco Paws operates three stores in the Queens market, while Pet Supplies Plus has two locations in Queens.

QUEENS

• Population: 2,331,143

• Stores: 42

• Median Household Income: $72,028

In an interview with Pet Insight in 2021, Pet Supplies Plus’ Chris Rowland outlined the company’s goals for the future, specifically in 2022.

“We opened just under 90 stores in 2021 and expect at least that many again in 2022,” Rowland said. “We also have a new concept that we will be rolling out this year, along with a new loyalty program, new POS, expanded distribution and several other major backof-house initiatives. Our team is very nimble and we’re able to balance supporting our network while opening new stores and expanding our capabilities. We’re very fortunate.”

According to Rowland, “Franchisees tend to do more local product purchases, local marketing efforts and form stronger ties to the communities they live and work in. We provide all the back-of-house infrastructure that is needed to win in a competitive retail environment. This includes everything from product assortment, purchasing, pricing, store design, marketing, loyalty programs, IT support, operational support, new store opening support, training and product distribution. Virtually everything to ‘minus the hassle’ of operating their store, so our franchisees can spend their time with our neighbors in the aisles.”

“Having corporate stores allows us to test and pilot initiatives before we roll them out to our franchisees,” Rowland continued. “We often identify new locations that would make excellent corporate stores hand them over to interested franchisees looking for quick openings. Having a mix, also insulates the overall business from any market fluctuations, although Pet Supplies Plus has enjoyed an unprecedented 30 years of positive sales growth.”

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Market Focus: New York Market

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MANHATTAN

• Population: 1,576,876

• Stores: 65

• Median Household Income: $89,812

STATEN ISLAND

• Population: 493,494

• Stores: 11

• Median Household Income: $85,381

THE BRONX

• Population: 1,424,948

• Stores: 17

• Median Household Income: $41,895

Manhattan has 65 stores occupying 32.33 percent of the total market share. There are a total of six Pet Central NYC locations, five Pet Market NYC locations, five Petco storefronts including Reddy SoHo, four Petopia locations, three Canine Styles stores and two PetSmart locations in the market.

Elly Wong with Towne House Grooming & Pet Supplies emphasized the benefits of the market’s landscape and demographic. “NYC has a large, centralized population making people with pets also large and centralized,” Wong said. “In Chelsea, we have multiple grooming shops, daycares, vets and retail stores within a five-block radius.”

“We have awesome customers,” she added. “We have families, young singles, gay couples, people in all industries and a decent amount of wealth. As different as the backgrounds are, they all have love for their pets in common. They all love them like family and are willing to spend on their pets. New Yorkers are social creatures, so how their pets look is very important. When people have parties, friends visiting from out of town, getting married; they want their dogs to look nice. It’s not just a haircut.”

There is a total of 11 pet stores in Staten Island holding 5.47 percent of the market share. Pet Oasis leads with three locations while Petco and PetSmart have two locations each.

Pet Oasis opened its first location in 2011 and has been dedicated to its local community ever since. The company has four locations (three in New York and one in New Jersey), and each is staffed with knowledgeable employees and high-quality products.

Bring Your Own Pet Grooming has one location in Staten Island and was founded in 2017. The company started with the founders’ love of animals and the goal to fill a void for premium, professional grooming. Services include bath and brush, bath and trim and full grooming.

With one location, Arcadia Pets, a full-service, privately-owned pet store, is a leading independent business in the borough. The company offers a wide array of supplies such as aquariums, tropical fish, exotic birds, cat and dog products, dog grooming services and more. The company has been in business since 1990 and recently celebrated its 30th anniversary in the industry.

There are 17 pet stores in Bronx, which takes up 8.45 percent of the marketplace. There are several independent pet retailers within the market, each with one location. The leading retailer in the market remains Petco with a total of three locations.

AZ Pet Foods, a local pet retailer, with one location in the Bronx has more than 7,000 products for pet parents to choose from. The company carries holistic, frozen and premium brands of food and treats along with a range of accessories and supplies.

While pet retailers have been able to grow and succeed throughout the market, businesses like Couture Grooming also have paved the way for a variety of services to be provided. The company has one location in the Bronx and had provided pet parents with these services since 2017 when the company was founded by Carlos Parra.

With one location in the market, Crosby Pet Center is an independent and family-owned business that was founded more than 20 years ago. The company sells a range of animals along with foods, treats, suppliers and various products.

Special Report

Global Pet Expo Takeaways

The pet industry has become a community-oriented industry with many relating it to one big family. There has been a lot of anticipation when it comes to events such as Global Pet Expo, but with the uncertainties the past two years have brought, the need and excitement to reconnect with friends, partners and industry leaders was at its highest point leading up to this year’s event.

Will Chen, CEO and Co-Founder of P.L.A.Y Pet Lifestyle and You, acknowledged while there were still some unknowns, the company had a great Global Pet Expo and was excited to get back to a sense of normalcy by returning to pre-pandemic rituals.

following the expo. “In the weeks following Global, our sales and operations team is typically swamped with placing orders and following up with leads from

is refreshing to get the perspective and voice of the customers.”

Jenny Gilcrest, VP of Marketing for Skout’s Honor said, “It felt great to rally our team together again to show off everything we’ve been working on these last two years and re-engage with friends and colleagues—you could definitely feel a renewed energy and excitement throughout the show floor.”

“We met and exceeded our goals as a company this year at Global. The purpose of major industry shows like this is to put your best foot forward and create a memorable, lasting impression about how you fit within the industry for current and new customers. Our specific goal was to solidify ourselves as a leading brand in this industry—we’ve grown so much since 2020, and I believe we effectively demonstrated our capabilities in branding and marketing, product innovation and overall leadership. Wellness continues to be the hottest and leading product category for interest and growth. We’re excited to be leading the category for innovation in topical wellness solutions with our patent-pending probiotic grooming and skincare technology.”

“While there were some uncertainties around buyer attendance, there was a palpable excitement and enthusiasm amongst our team members about this year’s Global Pet Expo,” Chen said. “Such industry events are important not only because it gives us the chance to catch up with many of our retail partners, but also the opportunity to showcase our latest innovations and product launches. Following the robust growth and success we saw at SuperZoo last year, we are hoping to see similarly strong results at Global this year. In terms of a sales goal, we are expecting to see high double-digits, if not more than double growth in sales when compared to the last Global we attended in 2020. There are other qualitative factors we assess when considering the return on investment, but sales closed at and right after the show are a quick and tangible way to measure results. It’s too early to say if we are going to meet that target but judging by the quantity and quality of foot traffic, I am cautiously optimistic that it has been a good show for us. That said, there is always some room for improvement that we can work on for next year’s Global.”

“Busy and stressful, but in a good way,” Chen said referring to the weeks

the show. Buyers and retail partners are inundated with catalogs and business cards at the show, so I do not expect them to have the bandwidth to follow up. I believe it is our responsibility as a brand/vendor to assume initiative and handle post-show conversations. The one thing I would like to see from our partners is to work with us on specific next steps, whether it’s a small order to test a new collection or to set a specific date to include us at their next line review. It is more efficient and productive to keep the momentum established during the in-person discussion at Global than to start all over again later on.”

In reference to the company’s interest in the categories they represented at the show this year, Chen mentioned the array of new and interesting products that keeps the categories competitive.

“Our main categories of bedding, toys and outdoor gear are very competitive, so it is not surprising that we see a lot of interesting new products,” Chen said. “In fact, we love seeing great new ideas coming not just from us, but from our peers because it is good for the industry and consumers, and it pushes us to innovate and compete. What I found interesting is us getting some of the best feedback from our customers at the show. We spent countless hours on product development, but sometimes you can be too close to the project to see a flaw or room for improvement, and it

“We met and exceeded our goals as a company this year at Global,” she continued. “The purpose of major industry shows like this is to put your best foot forward and create a memorable, lasting impression about how you fit within the industry for current and new customers. Our specific goal was to solidify ourselves as a leading brand in this industry—we’ve grown so much since 2020, and I believe we effectively demonstrated our capabilities in branding and marketing, product innovation and overall leadership. Wellness continues to be the hottest and leading product category for interest and growth. We’re excited to be leading the category for innovation in topical wellness solutions with our patent-pending probiotic grooming and skincare technology.”

Ken Wilks, VP Sales and Marketing for Superior Farms Pet Provisions told Pet Insight earlier this year what the company had in store for the expo.

“As a company, our growth strategy is heavily weighted towards innovation,” said Wilks. “Without the opportunity to attend trade shows in-person for the past 24 months our ability to showcase new items to our customers has been limited. We’re excited to show off the new products we’ve been developing since we first introduced the collagen stick concept at Global Pet Expo two years ago. Our mission is to continue to share the story of our company’s partnership with hundreds of small family

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— Jenny Gilcrest, Skout’s Honor

Special Report: Global Pet Expo Takeaways

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farms across the US. From a branding perspective, this means migrating our identity away from the company name of Superior Farms Pet Provisions and towards the more consumer-friendly name of Bark & Harvest. Our newest HydeOut rawhide alternative products to be introduced at this year’s show will include carrot and broccoli purchased straight from our farms.”

“Of all the shows in which we participate, Global Pet Expo is by far the easiest and most enjoyable experience,” Wilks continued. “This has been true even though there were uncertainties related to the pandemic.”

When asked about the weeks leading up to the expo, Jonathan Zelinger, Ethical Products President said earlier this year, “We are looking forward to reconnecting with so many of our friends that we have not seen in a long time. First and foremost, we want to ensure that every interaction at our booth is conducted in a safe and responsible manner. We are going to be introducing a line extension to our fabulously successful Nothin’ To Hide Dog Chews and are eager to place samples in the hands of our customers to gauge reactions. We want to let customers know that we have a full line of rawhide alternative chews and while others were out of stock, our fill rate was excellent during the past 18 months.”

Zelinger continued, “Virtual sales meetings and virtual trade shows have actually worked out better than we ever anticipated. While we all yearn for in-person meetings to resume quickly, we found out that with proper planning and training, we can achieve great results on virtual platforms.”

Amanda Palm, Marketing Supervisor at Champion Petfoods told Pet Insight earlier this year, “Our team is energized about getting back to live events and excited to connect at the show with our retailer and distributor partners. We will showcase new products we launched in 2021, as well as the exciting innovation we have coming in 2022. Our team will ensure we exhibit safely because the safety of our partners and employees is critical.”

“Champion Petfoods has always been

a strong partner in the industry,” Palm continued. “We’re excited to celebrate new products we’ve recently launched and showcase brand new innovation. From Orijen and Acana premium wet dog foods, to Orijen dry cat foods, to Orijen and Acana high-protein biscuits, and Acana Rescue Care for Adopted Dogs, we’re gearing up to celebrate all of our recent innovations and exciting new products at Global Pet Expo this year.”

“Champion appreciates all the work the APPA has done in the last two years, in light of the very complex and ever-evolving challenges the pandemic presented,” she told Pet Insight before Global. “While virtual shows allowed our team to stay connected with valued retailer and distributor partners, and even allowed us to make new connections, there is nothing quite like engaging in person. We look forward to finally reuniting with everyone again soon.”

Mark Sapir, Chief Marketing Officer for Open Farm outlined the company’s expectations for the show and what it was like seeing and connecting with everyone again.

“It was really nice to see our retail customers live as well for our team to reconnect and spend time together. While we have been successfully moving the business forward through the pandemic, there is something special about seeing our retail partners and friends in person,” Sapir said.

“Our main hope and expectation this year was just to keep our team and community safe while meeting our customers in person after a long wait, we’re anxious just to be able to connect and talk about the business and assess how we can continue to lean into our neighborhood pet partners’ business and help provide them with the products, tools and support to allow them to continue to thrive,” Sapir continued.

“Business as usual—certainly met a lot of customers and a lot of follow-ups to ensure we get the product or tools requested, certainly a lot of feedback at the show we listen and learn from, but we will keep focused on running the business to ensure we continue to make the best pet food possible for pets, our retailers, our pet parents and the planet,” Sapir added. “We are excited to see

an overall shift and interest into more responsible sourcing, more sustainable business models, more humane sourcing and more transparency. While we expect to continue to lead this effort and be in front, it was exciting to see others recognize the importance of not just growing and building a business but do it responsibly and in a way the planet cannot just survive but thrive.”

Jerry Moffet, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for RuffDawg highlighted the company’s experience at Global Pet Expo while touching on the goals and expectations the company had for the event.

“After two years it was wonderful to be able to see our existing customers—and to meet new ones! We were very excited to introduce Ruff Dawg to new buyers,” Moffet said. “Nothing beats face-to-face interaction. We loved talking with them and seeing them try out our toys in real life.”

“Our sales goals for Global 2022 were met on the first day!” Moffet said. “With all the craziness of the last two years, Ruff Dawg continues to bring to the pet trade a standard of excellence in USAmade rubber dog toys. We knew that this show was the best opportunity to get new buyers’ attention, and we were very happy with the turnout. It appears Ruff Dawg has become a destination booth at Global—we’ll take it!”

Moffet mentioned what the weeks following the expo will look like.

“Busy!” Moffet said. “For the next few weeks, we’ll be following up with all the contacts made at the show and finalizing all the new business we secured. It’s my favorite time of year! Remembering the key takeaways from our presentation: ‘Made in the USA’ and ‘Indestructible with a Lifetime Guarantee.’ They can use these keywords to effectively categorize, promote and sell Ruff Dawg toys. They’re a major part of RuffDawg’s success—and are not phrases they heard in other booths.”

“We were surprised at the growing interest products like ours are having all over the world, despite the additional costs of exporting from the USA,” Moffet concluded.

Before the event, Jones Natural

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Special Report: Global Pet Expo Takeaways

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Chews’ goals for Global surrounded the platform opportunity Global Pet Expo brings through face-to-face meetings and conversations.

“We have enjoyed exploring the various virtual opportunities presented throughout the course of the pandemic,” COO Laura Jones said. “Virtual shows, however, have not been a sufficient replacement for in-person events, yet. They will continue to be improved upon, but there is something about the excitement of a candid conversation that is lost in digital translation. Our goal is to showcase what we do exceptionally well and that is making products that pet parents can trust to be manufactured safely, from USA farms, that taste great. We love seeing wagging tails.”

this rising interest firsthand through the consumer behavior on our website. Since the Covid-19 pandemic began, we have seen a steady increase in orders come through in the middle of the night and received questions from pet owners about tips for helping their dog fall

“Our main categories of bedding, toys and outdoor gear are very competitive, so it is not surprising that we see a lot of interesting new products. In fact, we love seeing great new ideas coming not just from us, but from our peers because it is good for the industry and consumers, and it pushes us to innovate and compete. What I found interesting is us getting some of the best feedback from our customers at the show. We spent countless hours on product development, but sometimes you can be too close to the project to see a flaw or room for improvement, and it is refreshing to get the perspective and voice of the customers.” —

what they expect for 2022. Lennox will be introducing several new dog chews and treats and this trade show will be a good opportunity to have feedback on them. During the last two years our customers’ main concerns were product availability, and pricing stability and we believe Lennox has fulfilled their expectations.”

Jones continued, “Regarding specific goals for chews, we always want to impress the benefits of treating dogs to a variety of different chews. Our products are first and foremost rewards, so it is important that they excite dogs, but mixing up the chews that you provide your dog are great ways to add variance to their diet as well.”

Earlier this year, Bill Partyka, CEO of Kradle, mentioned how the company prepared for the expo after doing business virtually. “We have learned a lot about the pet comfort category in the last two years of doing business virtually,” said Partyka. “We are seeing the space rapidly evolve beyond calming anxiety-relief solutions into more therapeutic areas, such as pain and inflammation, skin health, sleep, healing, and appetite suppression. For our four-legged friends, CBD started off as an anxiety-relief solution, which is incredibly effective and what many of our competitors in the space are offering. As CBD has become a mainstream solution, however, pet owners have started expressing interest in using it to address the other common needs in their dogs mentioned above as well.”

He continued, “We have witnessed

Will Chen, P.L.A.Y Pet Lifestyle and You

asleep and stay asleep. We already have a new product, called Sleepy CLEANZzz, specifically developed to tackle this need. Heading into Global Pet Expo, we are excited about how vibrant this category is and how it has and will continue to evolve.”

Partyka mentioned that although this was the company’s first year at Global, they were ready to jump right into the event and showcase their products.

“Our goal for Global Pet Expo was to showcase the broad solution set CBDbased products can provide for pet owners and their dogs, and, in doing so, maximize our visibility with key customers and other industry partners. We hoped to engage in conversations about how the pet comfort category has evolved and how we have responded to it. This was our first year participating in Global Pet Expo. We look forward to sharing our innovative comfort portfolio and connecting with retailers and vendors in person!”

“We are all very excited to have Global in person,” Akiva Boclin, Director at Lennox International said before the show. “While virtual meetings can be useful for certain purposes, in-person meetings are always more productive to discuss new products and projects. Additionally, is always great to meet and spend time with business friends and colleagues that we have known for so many years. We are interested in learning how each of our customers has overcome the last two difficult years and

In February, Pure Treats told Pet Insight the company’s goals for this year’s Global Pet Expo were to spread awareness about its new product launches along with the new packaging and branding.

“Our goals for the show this year are to showcase our new PureBites treats, food, and toppers and to unveil our impending new recyclable packaging and branding update coming later in the year,” said Senior Marketing Specialist Andrea Bourne. “Everything we do at PureBites is focused on asking pet parents to turn the bag around and look our natural and pure ingredients. We have been constantly innovating to keep up with the demands of pet parents for treats, food, and toppers with simple high-quality ingredients they can read, pronounce, and trust.”

“For example, we’ve seen pet parents show an increased interest in treats that offer the benefit of functional ingredients to support their pet’s health or that are able to provide a fun, interactive, engaging experience for them and their pets,” Bourne continued. “We decided to take those trends, combine them, and apply our philosophy of doing it with as few high-quality ingredients as possible to bring a really differentiated one-of-akind treat or topper to market.”

“This past fall, we launched PureBites + Squeezables for dogs and cats that can be fed as a healthy and functional treat, mixer, or topper. Available in three daily health support formulas: Gut & Digestion with pumpkin and inulin, Skin & Coat with 113mg of omega-3 and 1065mg of omega-6, and Heart & Eyes with 276mg of taurine and carrots. All

Special Report: Global Pet Expo Takeaways

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of the formulas are made with only five simple human-grade ingredients,” she added.

Vernon Roach, a business development and marketing consultant for Treatibles, acknowledged that although the show was smaller than in previous years, the opportunities and excitement remained.

“Being the first and original brand of pet CBD, most of Team Treatibles has attended the expo multiple times,” Roach said. “We were very excited to be back at Global as were many others we spoke with. We also noticed that the event hall was much smaller than usual, and the attendance was low. This did not slow down Treatibles! With our new CBDfree line Happy Treatibles, and our seven new extra-strength products we had a lot to talk about and offer everyone that stopped by our booth.”

Roach continued, “We wanted to encounter new business along with touching base with all our existing business that was in attendance. We made contact with many and are pursuing all the opportunities nationwide and internationally as well. We noticed there was a much warmer response from visitors at our booth, perhaps people are generally happy to be out at a tradeshow again. Our booth stayed busy with inspirational talks, and quality relationship time with everyone that stopped to inquire.”

Immediately following the expo, Roach outlined the busy weeks that follow and the importance of reaching out to those connections and partnerships made. “The weeks following are busy with personally reaching out to everyone we came in contact with to pursue future endeavors!” he said. “We find the relationships we create to be one of the most important aspects of our business plan. This explains the longevity, and success of the Treatibles brand since the beginning in 2013. Following up is as simple as pointing the question ‘what’s the next step?’ This question is different for every interaction we’ve had with potential new, and existing business post Global Pet Expo!”

Regarding the categories the company has entered, Roach mentioned it was particularly interesting, “The ultimate

need for our pet CBD products, along with our new CBD line Happy Treatibles!” Roach added. “We also noticed a much smaller attendance of CBD pet brands which signals to us that perhaps some competing brands chose not to attend or are no longer in business.”

Eric Bittman, Owner of Warren London, outlined the company’s goals for this year’s show were simple, achievable and included making connections with current and potential partners.

“We were very excited to get back to Global, in person, to not only find new customers but to talk with many of our current customers,” said Bittman. “It is important to get in-person meetings with distributors and buyers around the world to expand relationships and discuss ways to work together to build sales. In person, we find help more than phone and Zoom meetings. Our expectations were to try to get back to normal and have a well-attended show that brought many kinds of buyers to the show. We felt we had a great show. We set up a lot of meetings in advance and met many new companies that we had great talks with at the show and followed up soon after the show was complete. Return on investment always takes time to answer those questions. In past years we had great meetings that had potential and then we were able to start new great partnerships months or years later.”

“Following the show is when the real work starts,” Bittman continued. “We make sure we have our top contacts ready to go and hopefully start creating new business relationships right away. You want to keep the meeting at Global fresh and act on it right away. You also want to act before a possible competitor acts and potentially takes your sale. We usually go over with our partners at the show our top sellers and how we can work together to get started. Hopefully, our partners can take that information home and figure out how our products and pricing can fit into their plans for the upcoming year. Then, once we all meet next time, we can hopefully advance to the next stage of getting some orders going.”

“We always find it interesting how many new companies there are at every show in our category,” Bittman added.

“We love competition and seeing what our fellow dog spa product companies are bringing to the show. We are a friendly company and love to chat with everyone and sometimes there can always be ways to work together to advance both our agendas.”

Tara Whitehead, Director of Marketing and Communications for MidWest Homes for Pets emphasized that although the company was prepared for a smaller show this year, they focused on the positives.

“We knew the footprint of the show would be smaller, and we knew we would be having more conversations about logistics, supply-chain management, the general shake-up of the economy, and the challenges and changes happening in the retail space—all while the pet industry has recently experienced a historic high in total sales,” Whitehead said.

“These conversations have been taking place in the past two years, just not often in person,” she continued. “Our goal was to reconnect, share our new innovations and products, and let our partners know how we are addressing and overcoming the challenges our company has faced, and to have actual conversations about how we can work together to continue our successful partnerships for the future. We gather and share our notes from the show— feedback on our products, an assessment of orders placed and contacts made, ideas for our maximizing booth display for the future—and, of course, we process orders and fulfill commitments made at the show.”

Whitehead added, “Our category is huge, in that containment products and pet housing is critical and represent a massive segment of the pet product industry. However, the number of manufacturers and companies in this space is small, especially as you compare it to the number of suppliers of food, supplements, treats, collars, clothing, etc. We enjoy taking in the massive landscape of the pet industry and seeing the new ideas, interesting innovations, POP displays, marketing and packaging. It really is a cool space in which we work, and Global Pet Expo provides a perfect opportunity to experience our industry as a whole.”

Special Report

Global Pet Expo Takeaways: Premium Foods

After a year of Zoom meetings, premium food leaders were finally able to properly showcase their high-quality food options at this year’s Global Pet Expo.

Dana Paris, Chief Marketing Officer for Canidae outlined this year’s Global Pet Expo and what it meant for the company to be back in person at the much-needed event. “It was such a welcome event,” Paris said. “We were able to meet with many of our accounts and have robust, strategic meetings. It was an extremely productive week for our team. There is nothing like in-person meetings a couple of times a year to drive both of our businesses forward. I came into Global with optimism that we would have meaningful retailer and supplier meetings. Going into Global, we wanted to have several meaty conversations with our partners. We exceeded all expectations for Global. We had multiple meetings with executives and business partners that allowed us to align on future strategies and set up a clear roadmap for our joint business plans. We also brought the right team members and set up most of our meetings in advance of the show so we could really maximize our time there.”

forward to connecting with our distribution and retail partners throughout the Global Pet Expo. Although, we’ve maintained consistent communication and support virtually over the past

“It was fantastic getting back to live in-person events and having the opportunity to reconnect with our retail partners. The energy from our industry peers was energizing. Our goal was to reconnect with our retail, distribution and industry partners and share the new product innovation we have introduced over the last 24 months. Global Pet Expo allowed us to also introduce Orijen Amazing Grains and Orijen and Acana premium wet cat foods. Having the opportunity to reconnect with peers live after two long years was well worth the investment. After an energizing show, we continue to build on the momentum and enthusiastic response from our retail partners for our Orijen Amazing Grains launch.” — Amanda Palm, Champion

Petfoods

two years, the virtual format has not replaced meeting in-person. An in-person event provides more fluid communication, better products display, and an opportunity to build on our growing partnerships while on the show floor and during post-show events.”

items and start to sprinkle in the new additional items. Spread the word we are a very dependable supplier during these different times. Our procurement department, production and freight has done a tremendous job navigating the current situation, and each day we seem to be in a better position. We respect and appreciate the attention and care the APPA has demonstrated toward their members, buyers and staff. These uncertain times have been difficult on everyone, being disconnected from the norm, so we are grateful for the opportunities provided by the APPA to help bring parties together.”

“It is critical for us to have in-person visits a couple of times a year with our key vendors and retailers,” she said. “We are able to work together with more focus and intention to create and develop winning partner strategies. We are leading in our commitment to sustainability. We have invested deeply in regenerative farming, sustainable proteins, sustainable packaging and sustainable operations. We are seeing more and more partners and other pet food companies investing behind the importance of a more sustainable category.”

In anticipation for the event, Matt Wilson, General Manager, Sales and Marketing for FirstMate Pet Foods told Pet Insight in January, “We are looking

Wilson expressed the company has maintained its high fill rates through hard work, in spite of uncertain times. “Our company and team continue to stand out as a unique partnership opportunity and strong supporter of the IndiePet community,” said Wilson. “As a family-owned and operated manufacturer with both a dry facility and cannery, we have maintained a high fill rate during a difficult time. We want to ensure retailers have an opportunity to learn about investments in our facilities that will ensure we retain our fill rate and what they can expect in the way of new product, marketing and support tools in the coming year, and we always enjoy the new relationships that are established during a live event.”

Scott Merrill, VP of Sales for Sunshine Mills had been looking forward to Global Pet Expo and planned to raise awareness of the company’s longstanding reputation with its current and future partners. “We are very excited to participate in Global this year and start the process to return to normalcy or the new normal,” Merrill said to Pet Insight before the show. “We will be ready to discuss and supply our legacy

In an interview with Pet Insight in January, Dave McLain, CEO of Alphia, mentioned the company was prepared for and eager to attend the expo and looking forward to seeing everyone face-to-face again. “We’re ready! Since we’re on the manufacturing side of pet food, most of our employees were never virtual; we kept working hard to make sure our customer’s pet food made it to store shelves,” he said. “We’ve been fortunate to have been able to attend other in-person events in 2021, and we’re excited to be able to attend Global Pet Expo as our first event of 2022. Most of us are eager to meet people face-to-face again, interacting and collaborating on what’s new in the industry.”

Champion Petfoods had several expectations for Global Pet Expo this year. Marketing Supervisor Amanda Palm highlighted the anticipation and excitement for the event was worth the buildup and wait. “It was fantastic getting back to live in-person events and having the opportunity to reconnect with our retail partners,” Palm said. “The energy from our industry peers was energizing. Our goal was to reconnect with our retail, distribution and industry partners and share the new product innovation we have introduced over the last 24 months. Global Pet Expo allowed us to

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also introduce Orijen Amazing Grains and Orijen and Acana premium wet cat foods. Having the opportunity to reconnect with peers live after two long years was well worth the investment.”

Palm continued, “After an energizing show, we continue to build on the momentum and enthusiastic response from our retail partners for our Orijen Amazing Grains launch. We are also getting ready to ship new Orijen and Acana premium wet cat foods to retailers and can’t wait to hear the response from pet lovers who have strongly suggested Champion enter the wet cat category. We are looking forward to partnering with retailers to merchandise new Orijen Amazing Grains, our first grain-inclusive pet food under the Orijen brand, and Orijen and Acana premium wet cat foods, our first entry into the wet cat category for both brands. All three products serve a unique purpose and with specialized training from our sales team, we are excited for retailers to share these premium options and their benefits with consumers.”

importantly ensuring that we follow up on the discussions, meetings and leads that came from the show to maximize those engagements. As with any conversation, meeting, or negotiation you

we work hard to follow up with everyone we met with and but sometimes it can be difficult so I love when a partner reaches out and follows up on the few agenda items they feel are pressing for the success of our partnership.”

“It is critical for us to have in-person visits a couple of times a year with our key vendors and retailers. We are able to work together with more focus and intention to create and develop winning partner strategies. We are leading in our commitment to sustainability. We have invested deeply in regenerative farming, sustainable proteins, sustainable packaging and sustainable operations. We are seeing more and more partners and other pet food companies investing behind the importance of a more sustainable category.” —Dana

Paris, Canidae

expect to have a high level of communication to make sure that the goal set for both sides is achieved. If needed, we will schedule a post-show call or Zoom meeting to review everything and establish the tasks needed to continue to push the ball forward.”

“The level of knowledge and acceptance of functional nutrition in the marketplace was encouraging for SquarePet Nutrition,” he said. “Our VFS (Veterinarian Formulated Solutions) product line effectively allows retailers to establish a ‘Solutions Center’ in their store allowing them to provide readily available functional nutrition to their customers.”

Tyler Atkins, Partner and Sales and Marketing Director for SquarePet Nutrition said, “Simply put, it was great! Great for industry to finally gather unimpeded by the regulations of the pandemic. Going into the show we were cautiously optimistic for the overall show attendance. Our goal was to meet with a specific handful of key accounts, we had a few of these meetings prescheduled prior to the show. Knowing that we had a commitment from those key accounts justified the commitment to the show, we were able to build upon those meetings while in attendance which further solidified the value for the show for SquarePet Nutrition.”

“As a small family-run company, we have a fair amount of digging out from the meeting just to catch up on the dayto-day operations of SquarePet Nutrition as most of our organization was at the show together,” said Atkins. “Most

Brian Butler, Director of Sales for Grandma Lucy’s said, “It was so great to see everyone from the industry and connect in person after a long period apart. It was so nice to shake hands, give hugs and share a laugh with our partners in the pet industry.”

“We set ambitions goals for our team and met all of our goals for the show,” Butler continued. “We were able to solidify relationships with key partners and meet new ones to continue our growth. I believe this industry thrives on in-person interaction and our goals for the year align with a show like Global being in March. I hope for greater attendance next year as we get further out of the pandemic.”

“Our sales team has a few days to process orders but they are all back pounding the pavement now. Overall, we have lots of products to make and meetings to set up in follow-up,” Butler said in reference to the weeks following the expo.

Butler continued, “As a manufacturer

“The commitment to alternative diets and support from our retail partners was great,” he said.

“It really felt great to see how independent retail is there to support alternative diets and vice versa.”

Jiminy’s Founder Anne Carlson outlined what the company’s goals were for this year’s Global and how they were able to achieve them. “To be honest, I expected to see sustainability flex its muscles and this year’s Global didn’t disappoint. The worsening environmental news of droughts, floods, mega-hurricanes, etc. is on tap 24/7 so it reaches every consumer—and I mean literally every consumer. That news directly impacts their purchases and makes sustainability a new sweet spot. Retailers are always looking for them and I think sustainability will be a very wide and very deep sweet spot for a long time. One of our goals was to be seen here as a focus for sustainability and I think our preparation got us there. It was great work by the team,” Carlson said.

“On the booth level, I eliminated one element (video) from our presentation and think now that it was the right move,” she continued. “Retailers invest a lot on their trip and don’t want to spend their time watching a video on the show floor—they can do that on their laptop at home. Video online is already fantastic, so it’d be a mistake to completely rule it out in the booth. I think though that it’d have to be something really different to bring me around to its usefulness. In all, Jiminy’s got a huge ROI from this year’s Global. We’re already starting to work with new retail partners (that we met at the show!) which will mean even more water saved (millions and millions of gallons) along with even more greenhouse gas emissions averted in the next year. It was a good week for Jiminy’s and, more importantly, a good week for the planet.”

Special Report

Gut Health

All of the pets adopted in the last two years during the pandemic continue to need care, and manufacturers of digestive health products are keen on educating pet owners about some of the preventative care they can provide now before problems arise later on. Thanks to that direct connection between immune health and a thriving gut microbiome, consumers’ demand for such products remains high and suppliers report a retail environment ripe for growth and innovation.

“Zesty Paws performed well this first quarter,” said Steve Ball, CEO of North America at H&H Group, which acquired the Zesty Paws brand last year. “At the start of the new year, we launched several innovations that are now available on our site, through Amazon, Chewy and in our brick-and-mortar pet retailers. For Q1, we introduced four new products to the market including our Tear Stain Bites, Mini Bites, Pill Wrap Probiotic Paste and Senior Advanced omega Bites. In addition to this exciting progress in innovation, Zesty Paws also entered the in-store independent retailer channel via Phillips Pet Food & Supplies nationwide.”

MuttGut, which CEO Michelle Griffin describes as a pioneer of gut health for pets, said the current environment has been very hospitable for the pet supplements segment in general. A relative newcomer to pet supplements, “We are pre-revenue and only now delivering our first batch of products to retailers,” she said. “The pandemic has been favorable to the pet supplement industry. Covid isolation gave pet owners the time and motivation to perform research on the latest natural health discoveries and gut health was one of them. We were very grateful to our forward-thinking independent retailers who are willing to put in the work to understand how and why our product really works. We have made a number of small batch sales this quarter but are confident that when word gets out, our sales will dramatically incline.”

Going into the second quarter, MuttGut aims to improve its direct-to-consumer outreach, she said. “Educating the end consumer is the greatest challenge with

a complex and revolutionary product like ours. We are educating our manufacturer reps and independent retailers, so they know how to explain the product. By the end of the Q2 we want to be showing promising growth in our sales numbers across the US.”

Griffin is methodically strategizing MuttGut’s impending growth. “Gut health is potentially one of the most important areas in the pet supplement industry,” she said. “We have a small batch supply chain at the moment with the facility and real estate available to scale up.”

Meanwhile, H&H Group, which also carries the Solid Gold brand, a holistic pet food brand with diets that support gut health, is eying multiple avenues for growth. “The group has a strong global network, currently directly selling in 14 countries across Europe, the UK, Asia, and Australia/New Zealand, thus providing international potential for Zesty Paws,” Ball said.

On the product front, Zesty Paws’ Probiotic Bites recently surpassed 20,000 total reviews and collected just under 15,000 five-star reviews on Amazon. “Our Probiotic Bites are formulated for all ages, breeds and sizes, and come in both pumpkin and chicken flavor,” Ball said. “They feature DE111, a Bacillus subtills that supports normal digestive function and assists with the immune system. We are planning to expand this line with a unique probiotic Pill Wrap, as well as more specialized products in Q2 and onwards.”

Under Solid Gold, “We are looking to expand the successful NutrientBoost line this year,” he said. “Launched in 2021, this plasma-powered selection of products for dogs and cats includes essential minerals, 18 amino acids and antibodies to boost the immune system and gut health. By continuing to look at our pets’ nutrition as an extension of ours, we’ll continue to seek beneficial, natural ingredients that offer nourishment and cravable flavor. Our industry continues to experience growth on the natural segment, and we are excited to continue delivering holistic recipes that nourish pets and pet parents everywhere.”

A strong immune system starts with gut health, said Ball. “Up to 80 percent of a pet’s immune system is influenced by the gut, and that’s why we crafted products, both on Zesty Paws and on Solid Gold, with ingredients that focus on gut health.”

Griffin’s founding of MuttGut and establishing its direction as a gut health-focused company is personal, and she’s banking on its unique appeal to pet owners who grapple with questions about how to support their pets’ overall health.

It was Griffin’s own battle with an autoimmune disorder, Myasthenia Gravis, that led her to realize the connection between gut microbiome and immune health.

“Ineffective immune regulation is a common consequence of microbiome dysbiosis, which is an imbalance or a deficiency of gut bacteria,” according to MuttGut literature. “While researching gut health related immune disorders she came across the articles, clinical studies and published research of Gitte Jensen, PhD.”

Griffin worked with Jensen to create a 3-in-1 prebiotic plus probiotic plus postbiotic formula, the basis of the patent pending formula Urban Flora included in MuttGut products.

From this foundation, “We are highly focused on one thing: probiotics,” said Griffin. “I believe that if you do one thing really well, you stay focused and it will bring you success.”

Supplement makers’ focus on gut health aligns with how pet owners are approaching preventative care. Pre- and probiotic solutions are a growing segment for Florida-based Max’s Pet Market & Salon.

“For us and our customers, it starts with understanding their pet’s diet and nutritional requirements, said Paul Spalvieri with Max’s Pet Market & Salon. “Some raw food brands we carry are ‘emulsified’ which allows for quicker and more complete absorption. Other brands are fermented which brings a whole other level of diet and nutritional benefits. The biggest innovation for us would be gut microbiome testing and FMT supplementation.”

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Special Report

Chews and Treats

Thepast two years of uncertainty are currently being met with an uptick in production and sales. Chews manufacturers are experiencing a strong start to 2022 and have laid out roadmaps of goals and plans they expect to achieve during the coming months.

“Jones Naturals is having a very good Q1,” said Laura Jones, COO of Jones Naturals, makers of Jones Natural Chews. “Our team is maintaining a 99.7 percent fill rate and 99.5 percent on time delivery rate. That type of consistency is a key component to staying on track to our forecast.”

“There have been so many starts and stops over the past two years that buyers have been cautious about bringing on innovative pet products,” said Great American Pet Treat Company’s Sales and Marketing Manager, John Bosserman. “After the first of this year, however, we noticed substantially more interest from retailers and pet product marketing companies to consider new concepts and ideas.”

“We continue to see dramatic growth in 2022,” said Treat Planet President Doug Martin. “Our first quarter finished 30 percent higher than 2021. Customers are continuing to migrate to high quality US manufactured chews.”

“Great product innovation, great production capabilities, and great relationships,” have allowed for Loving Pets Products to drive incremental growth to the category. “Because Loving Pets locally sources the majority of our resources as well as manufactures our treats in our own facility, this supports our company to deliver made in the USA treats with little to no interruption or delay in the production chain,” Eric Abbey Loving Pets President and Founder said to Pet Insight last month. “Also, we have invested a great deal in manufacturing equipment and production lines to be ahead of our growth so we can continue to take on more and expand our capabilities. Last but certainly not least, we take great pride in the relationships we have built within the industry since starting Loving Pets in 2005. When you surround yourself with a great network of companies and people, great things happen.”

“We are so grateful that our sales have been growing throughout the pandemic and continue to be stronger year-overyear,” Abbey continued. “Many people adopted or purchased new pets during their extended time at home and those who already had pets are treating them more often. More important than ever before, pet parents are looking for premium quality treats at affordable price points. Loving Pets is honored to be a trusted brand throughout the years, which has been accomplished in large part because our treats are sourced and Made in the USA.”

As Jones Naturals prepares for Q2, “We are looking forward to shifting efforts towards presentation and research,” Jones said. “We are currently working on new pouches for retail display. Our team is also developing new flavors for our stuffed product line and the patty line.”

In the coming months, Great American Pet Treat Company is focused on expanding one of its existing chew lines. “We are continuing to broaden our ‘clean and green’ collagen dog chew line,” Bosserman said. “Our latest offering is USA Collagen Nuggets, which is perfect for small dogs or for training any size dog. These chews contain just two ingredients—natural collagen and a dried fruit or veggie that we mix in. These are all small-batched sourced in the USA and made at our brand-new plant in Indiana.”

Creating chews designed for puppies is one area Treat Planet plans to direct its attention towards this spring, which is expected to benefit retail partners. “Treat Planet had put all new product initiatives on hold due to Covid,” Martin said. “We are starting to see some light at the end of the supply chain tunnel so we are turning our development efforts back on. We will be launching a line of puppy chews which is a growing category for retailers.”

One of the reasons Loving Pets entered the category was to supply high caliber treats at affordable price points and this mission continues to motivate and drive the company. After combining quality with accessibility, Abbey was determined to see those treats sourced

and manufactured domestically. “It was important to me that Loving Pets was at the forefront of USA manufacturing and that our facility, team and company were positioned to deliver Made in the USA treats before everyone made that switch,” he explained. “In 2021 and again this year, Loving Pets continues to expand our manufacturing and production capabilities. We had already made major investment of time and money into SQF Level 2 certification every year, which is the gold standard in food safety and quality. I saw the trend in human food standards and knew this was coming and would be applied to the pet consumable categories and it was important for me to position our company to remain one step ahead. My consistent investments in technology and expansion of manufacturing equipment and capabilities set Loving Pets apart from the pack, and in 2022 we will further that trajectory of growth.”

There are several hurdles and elements associated with the chews category that manufacturers would prefer for retailers and pet owners to have a deeper understanding of. “Regarding supply chain impediments, the largest price increases that we have received have been from our meat packers,” Jones said. “We hope that our customers view us a true partner, their resource for safe and tasty natural chews and understand and appreciate that we are not willing to compromise quality. The best way to support Jones Naturals is to understand that a price increase is a reflection of that commitment to our standards.”

“Relative to the chew category and relevance: long-lasting, quality, natural chews keep dogs and their owners happy,” she continued. “It will always be relevant, because dogs love meat and chewing. Owners realize that having a chew that adds natural protein to their diet offers numerous benefits, from saving their shoes to filling gaps in their pups’ diet.”

“With market conditions changing quickly, retailers and consumers alike need to be extra careful about where

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products are coming from and how they are being produced,” Bosserman with Great American Pet Treat Company said. “Purchasing USA-made products generally provides a higher level of confidence in a product’s quality and safety but it’s not a guarantee. For instance, some rawhide dog chews have been renamed ‘collagen chews’ with no change in processing. Almost all are still being produced with raw material that is a byproduct that comes from a leather tannery. Choosing Great American Pet Treat Company products is an assurance of safety and clean processing and as well as being made with raw material that is full substance and never comes from a tannery.”

“Chews can be a strong incremental ring for retailers,” Treat Planet’s Martin said. “Customers are constantly looking for treats that keep their dog happy for a longer period of time.”

“Consumers were looking for and continue to look for and love treats that do more than just make their dogs’ tails wag, but also help promote health from the inside out,” Abbey said. “Loving Pets began and stands by a simple concept: use all natural, USA farmed ingredients to produce an absolutely delicious, healthy dog treat that is proudly Made in the USA. Lean, healthy proteins made through a variety of treat production methods—from soft chews, to hard tartar fighting dental, to air puffed krisps, to baked treats and more. Because we care deeply about your pet, we choose every ingredient of all of our treats, on an unwavering commitment to health and quality. My mom said it best: ‘If you’ve never heard of an ingredient, it probably isn’t natural.’ We rely on education of both the retailer and consumer to stay transparent. But in addition to educating our retailers (who in turn educate pet parents), we also help to build awareness through a variety of selling tools that we offer. For example, we work with retailers to create special displays like clip-strips or floor displays, as well as encourage sampling programs for trial.”

In order to stay ahead of competitors and to continue the course of serving retailer partners and pet owners, chews

manufacturers have continued to veer and remain flexible.

“Unpredictable shipping realities have been the greatest contributing factor to our ‘pivots,’” Jones with Jones Natural Chews said. “Both from an incoming and outgoing perspective, shipping has been challenging. We’ve focused on building a substantial inventory to combat missed raw shipments.”

Meanwhile, Great American Pet Treat Company has added more of a private label focus. “Our concept of small-batch USA sourcing and ultra-clean processing is something that pet product marketing companies have taken notice of as this is not only a new product in the marketplace,” Bosserman said. “It’s almost a new category. They see this as an opportunity to get ahead of their competitors by applying their own branding to an already vetted product.”

One of the main challenges Treat Planet is addressing is cost control. “We have been working hard to redesign products, sources, and packaging to maintain costs,” Martin said. “Controlling the supply chain is the biggest challenge we will have in 2022.”

Loving Pets has been addressing pet parents’ demand for treats that are made with ingredients consumers recognize and understand how they are beneficial to pets. “Loving Pets uses easy to understand icons on their packaging such as Grain-Free and Gluten-Free so pet parents can easily identify the benefits or confirmation of the absence allergens they may be looking to avoid,” Abbey said. “Creating eye-catching packaging that clearly calls out what’s in and sometimes what’s out, and where the product is made has been a direct response to what pet parents are looking for. Loving Pets also anticipates trends in nutrition trends, ingredients, etc. as well as keeping pricing where retailers can be profitable and pet parents can afford healthy treat solutions for their pets. Loving Pets has remained dedicated to its mission of making delicious, high-quality and natural treats remain affordable so pet parents never have to sacrifice quality for price.”

Last month, chews suppliers gathered at the first in-person Global Pet Expo to take place in two years. Global offered these companies the ability to

properly introduce their latest products and for retailers to further learn about these items the preferred way that does these products justice: in person.

“This show will represent a true launch of our new Ultra Chewy Pawsibles True Rawhide Replacement Plant-Based Chews, a great opportunity to share the new look of our core Ultra Chewy Double Treat Bones, and a showcase of our expanded Natural Treat Items and concepts,” Fritz Goodnow, CEO of Rush Direct told Pet Insight before Global. “We can’t wait to be able to let our retailers touch and feel our new items which is a great improvement over virtual viewing.”

“Our goal is to showcase what we do exceptionally well—and that is making products that pet parents can trust to be manufactured safely, from USA farms, that taste great,” Jones of Jones Natural Chews said in January. “We love seeing wagging tails. Regarding specific goals for chews, we always want to impress the benefits of treating dogs to a variety of different chews. Our products are first and foremost rewards, so it is important that they excite dogs, but mixing up the chews that you provide your dog with are great ways to add variance to their diet as well.”

Caitec has experienced significant growth over the last two years, and as a result, it has made key strategic investments which have positioned the company well for continued category expansion. The company was acquired in early 2021 by private equity firm Fairchild Capital Partners. Post acquisition, Caitec has acquired two online subscription box companies: KitNipBox.com and VetPetBox.com. “With the recent growth and new acquisitions, we’ve been very focused on channel expansion, new product development, new partnerships, and building out our portfolio of brands. With all these exciting changes, we are looking forward to getting out in front of customers again to show them the new Caitec,” Scott Cross, VP of Marketing shared with Pet Insight earlier this year. Within its chews offering, Caitec launched Bonetics under its Hero brand. “Bonetics offers the durability of a nylon chew but with many added benefits; it’s gentler on the teeth and stomach, making it safer.”

Special Report

Interactive Dog Toys

Interactive dog toy suppliers wrapped up the first quarter of the calendar year with strong sales. Combined with the surge in pet adoptions since the spring of 2020, they have a lot to look forward to in the coming months.

“We had amazing sales, trending up for the remainder of the year after a 150 percent growth last year,” said Ward Myers, Spunky Pup Owner.

“Coming out of the pandemic, we continue to see strength and opportunity in pet hard goods based on continued pet ownership,” said Denelle Grant, PetSafe Senior Category Manager for Toys and Behavior. “Customers continue to look for high quality pet products that address key solutions from keeping their pet hydrated to making walking experiences or traveling better with their pet; this hasn’t changed. We do know that customers are making household choices about how to spend their dollars that are not going as far as they did before Q1 due to inflation pressures. This has helped PetSafe, a trusted brand wellknown for quality.”

“Mammoth Pet Products had another excellent quarter with continued growth,” said VP of Sales Mark Pasco.

In the coming months, Spunky Pup is poised to broaden and develop its Made in the US offering. “We are expanding in Made in the USA toys, that include rubber toys, scented toys, lick mats and treat dispensing toys,” Myers said.

At Tether Tug, company leaders are connecting with breed-specific groups, namely larger dogs that were once trained for active duty, service and security and are now settling into being a family pet. “We are looking to build stronger relationships with our retailers and with breed specific groups,” said Founder David Hayford. “We hired our first salesperson to help build stronger lasting relationships. We have a niche toy, and we need to make sure we give retailers every available resource, including photo, video and advertising assets. We want to make sure the retailers know Tether Tug will also work hard to get in front of more customers on the breed level. Our customers are big dogs, active dogs, service and security dogs. We want more people to know who we

are, and we really want to develop relationships with the dogs that are transitioning from the field to the home.”

PetSafe will continue advancing its research which has revealed consumers are looking for toys that pets can play with while pet parents are busy and ones which challenge pets mentally and physically. “Our Customer Insights Team has conducted extensive consumer research and hands-on product testing to learn more about customers’ needs and expectations specific to interactive dog toys,” said Lindsay Brown, PetSafe Product Manager for Toys and Behavior. “We’ve learned that while customers love to play hands-on with their dogs, they also seek innovative, versatile products that encourage their dog(s) to play on their own and they expect for that playtime to be intuitive, engaging and enjoyable. As we enter Q2, our team is focused on researching new product concepts that will encourage exciting, independent playtime and resonate with dogs’ natural instincts, facilitating both physical exercise and mental stimulation.”

“We kicked off a number of exciting new interactive rope toys at the Global Pet Expo in Orlando recently and will be focusing on filling those orders,” Pasco said. “We have the best team in the business hands down, and our quality is No. 1. However, if I had one thing that I would like to make better, it is to improve on our order lead times.”

Spunky Pup says retailers can be stronger, supportive partners by appreciating and promoting two of the assets which helps Spunky Pup to stand out within the category. “Buy made in USA and sustainable toys, we have an extensive line of both,” Myers said.

“Tether Tug is very fortunate to have great partners,” Hayford said. “We are loaded with inventory. We are able to buy far enough out that supply issues haven’t been an issue this year. One thing I would like retailers to start thinking more about is their relationship with disposable toys. No toy is indestructible, but some toys are made to last minutes rather than months. There is a whole category of toys that have deep roots in the industry that don’t

last, they fill the landfill and are dangerous to dogs. Awesome interactive toys are being made with great long-lasting products. These products need to be a larger part of a store’s offering.”

PetSafe will further inform retailers and pet owners that, “Interactive dog toys are varied and offer great experiences for both pets and pet parents,” Grant said. “PetSafe offers Busy Buddy Treat-Holding Dog Toys that entertain and help clean teeth and massage gums. We’ve seen great success among retailers that offer mixed sizes of toys and refill treat rings. Selling refill treat rings separately helps increase store visits and purchases throughout the year. Offering toys that are different, can be refreshed with treats, and that keep customers coming back to stores for treat replenishment is a win-win for the retailer and pet parent.”

Mammoth Pet would like for retailers to remember one of the most important things when it comes to toys is the fact that they are meant for interaction. “Consumers tend to sometimes miss the fact that all toys are to be given to their dogs under supervision, hence the word ‘interactive,’” Pasco said. “You should never leave your dog unattended when playing with toys.”

Companies have become adept at remaining flexible and not reacting to unexpected changes. This skill has allowed certain companies to not only survive but flourish during chaotic times.

Tether Tug has stayed ahead of competitors by maximinizing its sale channels. “We are still a pretty small company comparatively,” Hayford explained. “We can’t afford to have a narrow focus on our sales channels. We still do pop up events, gift shows, anywhere there is an audience we are willing to go. I’m also a firm believer in talking with people who will tell me I have an ugly baby. My favorite people in the industry are the ones who won’t let me get comfortable. Everyone needs someone who will put new eyes on their business. I love talking with retailers who are forging a path in their community. They see their business differently, and they see their own stores through different colored glasses.”

Category Analysis

Natural Litter

The landscape for natural litter has stabilized to a degree, in contrast to last year, but suppliers continue to wrestle with the rising cost of shipping and transport. While serving customers who have already come around to the benefits of natural litter products, category leaders also make sure they get into animal shelters and in front of new cat owners to start them down the path of using natural products. It’s a smart step to take as retailers report that while there is a segment of cat owners who adhere to natural brands they like, many pet parents’ shopping habits are still mostly guided by functionality over other points of differentiation.

“Pioneer Pet Products has been extremely blessed to continue to grow during the pandemic as well as in Q1,” said Shannon Supanich, Marketing Director. “We continue to work on streamlining our litter production process so we can keep up with our growing demand. We also look forward to expanding our natural litter line in the future.”

Business has evened out some, but challenges persist for Next Gen. “Q1 has been a little step closer to normalizing our forecast,” said Janice Yamamoto, Director of Marketing. “The demand for litter has been volatile the past two years, but as everyone gets used to our new normal, ordering has stabilized.”

One new challenge that continues to vex suppliers like Next Gen is the cost of doing business. “We have dedicated a significant amount of energy into figuring out how to get product shipped economically,” Yamamoto said. “Our freight quotes have jumped more than 11 times in some cases, in addition to having issues just getting product through the ports. We have had to be really creative, and our loyal customers are so patient.”

Not being able to operate as usual has actually become the norm. “I can’t think of anything else to ask of our retailers and pet owner champions other than to continue to communicate with us,” said Yamamoto. “The biggest pivot has been to shift our mindset that no one really knows what the right answer is and trying our best needs to provide us with the confidence that we are doing the right thing. It’s hard to predict what will

happen next, but keeping a cool head and a steady hand will get you further than you might think.”

Having a domestic supply has proved beneficial for Pioneer Pet Products. “We produce our litter here in Wisconsin,” said Supanich. “So during these difficult times of shipping and supply that is helpful. We get our product from Midwest farmers. It’s always nice to support local farms.”

Even on a more local scale, having open lines of communication are vital. “We have had to have conversations and create a streamline process as we continue to grow,” said Supanich. “Communication, respect and appreciation helped our Pioneer Pet family during difficult times. We are so thankful for everything this company has to offer.”

Cost aside, Helen Cantrell, Director of Sales and Marketing for Eco-Shell, makers of the Naturally Fresh brand, said the first quarter of the year gave the brand the opportunity to refocus its message. “In Q1, we really focused on our product differentiators: odor control and sustainability,” she said. “With pets being such an integral part of people’s lives, especially during the pandemic, we wanted to home in on how we can best fill the needs of our consumers. As a natural and sustainable cat litter, the health of pet parents, cat kids and the environment are not compromised for the sake of odor control or overall performance. We feel great about the direction we’re headed in.”

Naturally Fresh plans to dedicate resources toward emphasizing those points of differentiation with newcomers to cat ownership. “In Q2, we’re concentrating our efforts in eco-friendly markets to support shelters and new cat adopters with our second annual Gotcha Day partnership,” Cantrell said. “With shelters and rescues doing so much for cat kids around the nation, we’re excited to continue programs that get litter into the hands of adopters, as well as match adoption fees to support various shelters during kitten season, a normally hectic time for them.”

Naturally Fresh’s selling points include its environmental impact—or lack, thereof. “With walnut shells being

the star ingredient of Naturally Fresh, pet parents don’t have to worry about chemicals or additives that could potentially harm their cat kids,” Cantrell said. “Walnut shells have the organic ability to eliminate ammonia odor, so our litter is free of harsh perfumes. Pet owners using our sustainable litter is a winwin-win—a win for cats, pet owners and the planet.”

While suppliers of natural litter continue to emphasize their points of differentiation, some retailers report that sustainability isn’t necessarily the top selling point.

“First of all, we are in the heart of the Midwest and the demand for sustainable products has been minimal,” said Merrie Morris with Tail Waggin’ PetStop. “Our customers rarely ask about it. That said, World’s Best and Sustainably Yours litters have done very well for us. The two determining factors are the flushability and whether the cat likes the litter, which they generally do. Other important factors include odor control and clumping. Those are the qualities that customers seem to consider when deciding which litter to choose, or if they are switching from a traditional clay litter.”

Function supersedes sustainability, according to Sophie Phillips with Sprocket & Stone. “Though sustainability is definitely a conversation to have, cat preference, cost and weight—in that order—play a big factor in what litter customers pick,” she said. “Another issue that comes up a lot is tracking and no matter how innovative a company is, that is an issue that has yet to be improved nor totally eliminated.”

Still, it’s important to give consumers the choice, according to Marsha Vallee with Noble Beast Natural Market for Pets. “We try and cover our bases in terms of sustainability and environmental impact with litter made from walnuts, grass, recycled newspaper, pine and so forth,” she said. “It’s critical to give customers a choice, while also maintaining quality standards so that people know we have done the research and they cannot make a bad choice if they buy litter in our store.”

Category Analysis

On-Trend Merchandising in Air-Dried Food & Treats

The air-dried food and treats space is gaining traction amongst retailers and pet owners that are attuned to elevating mealtime and ensuring pets receive all the nutrients they need. One downfall of some methods of manufacturing pet foods involves losing key ingredients pets require for complete nutrition. Air-dried requires a process where pets are guaranteed to enjoy the flavors and palatability of their foods, while pet owners can feel reassured their pets are receiving key nutrients.

“Like many others in and outside of our industry, we too experienced supply chain challenges throughout 2021,” said Earth Animal Co-Founder Susan Goldstein. “These challenges therefore led to inventory issues for us in 2021. However, we looked at this as an opportunity and executed an operational growth plan by hiring more specialized support in manufacturing, inventory control, procurement, and production. This additional support allowed us to overcome more quickly and effectively many of our challenges, improve our operational processes, increase our manufacturing capacity, and get our inventory position back in a consistently solid place towards the end of 2021 and into 2022. Because of this, our Q1 topline sales were slightly down against budget. However, we were able to make up for it from the cost and efficiency savings from our operational support plan. Not only did our Q1 net profit exceed our budget targets, at the end of March, our inventory position is the best it has been, and we are back in stock on almost all of our product SKUs!”

“Q1 proved to be a great area of growth for the ZIWI team!” said Marketing Manager Jessica Krueger. “Not only did we continue our vision of providing peak nutrition for pets without compromise with key sales milestones, but the North American team also added several friendly faces in key positions to support our continued growth with exciting advances to come!”

In the coming months, Earth Animal plans to draw attention to a new line extension. “Earth Animal’s Wisdom dog food formulated by Dr. Bob is expected to offer its line extension consisting of

Wisdom Catfish, a novel and sustainable protein, along with Wisdom cat food,” Goldstein said. “In addition, Earth Animal has launched its Plant Based Better Biscuits and Plant Based No Meat No-Hide chews. Both offerings have two flavors which include beef and salmon.”

“During Q2, ZIWI plans to continue increasing awareness of our air-dried recipes and how they have impacted pets’ health to bring peace of mind to guardians in choosing peak nutrition for their cat or dog,” Krueger said. “We plan to drive steadfast into Q3 where we will be excited to share more news on the direction of ZIWI.”

Earth Animal would like more retailers and pet owners to understand how the process the company uses to manufacture its food and treats is one of the key ways Earth Animal stands apart. “Earth Animal’s Wisdom food and treats have a strong point of differentiation starting with who formulates the products, the sourcing and sustainability of ingredients, as well as how and where the products are made,” Goldstein said.

“Dr. Bob, Earth Animal co-founder and veterinary formulator of Earth Animal’s foods, supplements, and treats oversees all aspects of the products, based upon his 50-plus years in holistic-integrative veterinary practice, using many of the ingredients as healing modalities. Air drying and the unique separating of the component proteins, vitamins, fruits, and vegetables in a minimally processed, air-dried cooking environment ensures the highest quality of nutrition and safety. Earth Animal owns its own plant, Riverstone, which gives Dr. Bob total control of all aspects of Earth Animal foods and snacks. Retailers can support Earth Animal by becoming knowledgeable about the company and products. Also, in-store demos and a presence on the retailer’s website can assist greatly.”

In regards to the air-dried food and treats category, ZIWI would like for retailers and pet owners to have a better understanding of how supply chain impediments are impacting manufacturers, not only in the category, but across the pet industry as well. “As most of us are unfortunately aware, we know

that supply chain issues are not quite a hurdle we have all jumped over yet,” Krueger said. “The long-term effects of Covid delays are still very much present, and especially prevalent when dealing with overseas operations. We are very thankful to our supportive retailers and their understanding as we’re excited to bridge the gap with the opening of our new state-of-the-art Awatoto kitchen this summer in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand. With the addition of this new kitchen, we will be able to ramp production up to support the needs of retailers and customers.”

Earth Animal’s pivoting thus far in 2022 involves strategic evaluation in operations conducted by CEO Stewart Shanley strengthening of the company’s various sustainability commitments, increased corporate tithing as well as line extensions in foods, supplements, and treats. The company has also renewed its commitment made in 2021 to reduce its need for meat and is actively engaged in reducetarian activities. “We also officially became a Public Benefit Corporation, which means that we are obligated to uphold our mission, values, and consider people and the planet, as well as profit in our business model, operations, incorporating stakeholders like our employees and community as beneficiaries,” Goldstein said.

One area of focus that ZIWI intends to continue progressing with revolves around the specific health concerns and goals pet owners are paying closer attention to. “ZIWI is constantly keeping our ears and minds open when it comes to listening to what the retailers and consumers want,” Krueger said. “Staying on top of industry demands and responding accordingly is crucial to surviving in competitive markets. One area of focus has been around the specific health concerns and goals pet guardians are looking to address so we’re constantly reviewing our product portfolio and innovations to deliver on those fronts. In the back half of the year, it will be clear just exactly how we are responding to the asks of our retailers and consumers as we’re very excited to introduce you all to what we have in store for the market.”

Category Analysis

Leashes

After two years of uncertainty, leash manufacturers are continuing to focus on the positives and how they nimbly respond to circumstances and barriers out of their control. Innovation that addresses functionality and style, along with technology which improves the odds of reuniting lost pets with their families is at the forefront of the leashes category.

“2020 and 2021 were certainly interesting years that led to all kinds of business concerns,” said Bryant Baxter, Marketing Sales Coordinator for EzyDog. “Fortunately, we saw a ton of growth and interest in our products that led to record sales both years, and that trend has continued in 2022. We have also been fortunate to have been impacted minimally by supply chain issues.”

Flexi North America senses a return to normal is on the horizon. “The demand continues to hold par with last year’s numbers and as the logistics issues calm, a return to something similar to normal feels imminent,” said Mark Harris, Flexi North America President.

“While product demand remains on the rise, as with everyone else, we are still struggling to find capable employees,” said Felix Ying, President of Timberwolf Pet Products.

“Coastal Pet Products is once again shipping on time. We continue to work through the challenges of long lead times for import items, and logistics issues which we have mitigated by manufacturing domestically as much as possible,” said President Kim Stout.

“MyFamily USA plans to once again support its current retail partners and attract new ones by delivering plenty of new ID tag designs, along with collar and leash collections, that strengthen our position as a premium supplier in the pet specialty market,” Tom Glessner, CCO of MyFamily USA said in early 2022. “Visible identification, personalized instantly at store level, is MyFamily USA’s primary focus and 2022 will see us offer display options that provide flexibility to our retail partners by giving them the ability to merchandise complementary products, like our Italian made premier quality collars and leashes, while creating an improved shopping experience

for their customers.”

MyFamily USA is introducing a new and innovative display concept allowing retailers to “enhance their in-store ID tag presentation, add more designs, as well as include products that are complementary and can and should be purchased along with tags,” Glessner continued. “Also, we will have plenty of new tag designs that show off our creativity, craftmanship and quality that will surprise our retail partners while giving their customers a reason to have or update their pet’s ID tags.”

Areas of the leashes category companies plan to focus on in the near future are the individual company’s strengths while undertaking and concentrating on consumers’ feedback.

“As a brand known for our high quality and innovation, we always want to keep devising new solutions until every potential customer’s needs are met,” Baxter said. “One thing we hope to continue expanding upon is our color and style variety for proven products.”

“We will continue to do what we do best: retractable,” Harris said.

“Timberwolf has always been a fairly high-end brand, so much of our product development is aimed at a customer’s second or third leash or collar purchase,” Ying said. “Much of this development was stymied by foreign tariffs that were applied before the epidemic. The epidemic only made things worse. Removal of the heavy tariffs will allow product development to proceed again.”

Specifically, EzyDog would like for retailers and pet owners to understand the company doesn’t adhere to a one size fits all approach. Rather, to maximize the experience of walks and hikes with pets, a leash that is customized to the different types of adventures, coupled with the pet’s needs and energy levels is the place to start. “At EzyDog, our goal is to help us all get the most out of the time we spend with our dogs,” Baxter said. “Every dog is different whether it be based on breed, specific activities, or even the preferences of their owner. For this reason, a standard no-frills leash isn’t always the best leash for the dog. This is part of the reason why we offer so many different styles of

leads with unique functionality.”

“For retailers, we’d like them to know that we are in a strong position with respect to inventory,” said Harris. “For retailers and consumers, it’s important to understand what ‘Made in Germany’ means for our products and how that attention to detail makes for a better consumer experience.”

It’s important for retail partners and pet parents to know that Timberwolf exclusively supports independent pet specialty stores. “Timberwolf is one of the few manufacturers that has restricted its sales to actual brick-and-mortar stores only, no e-commerce,” Ying said. “This will turn out to be profoundly relevant to the success of the industry overall. A large, diverse, and vibrant retail marketplace is key to the future of the pet industry. Retailers should, whenever possible, look for manufacturers that are like-minded and support their retail efforts as well.”

“Visible identification is one of the most important things for pet parents to provide their dogs and cats, since they get them home the fastest if they get lost,” Glessner said. “That makes ID tags one of the most purchased nonfood products retailers should carry and having a way for customers to get them instantly and easily enhances purchases 50 percent or more compared to internet delivery programs. MyFamily USA has award-winning, eye-catching, space efficient displays, that incorporate ‘Techla,’ a proprietary self-service engraver and up to 96 different tag designs, improving the customer experience and providing brick-and-mortar retailers a service that cannot be replicated online.”

“Pivoting is always something a manufacturer has to do, even in the best of times,” Ying with Timberwolf Pet Products said. “Pivoting over the past couple of years, obviously, has taken on new meaning. We now have to increase capital investment in many components due to inconsistent supply lines, spend more time and effort on the work force and work much harder to maintain product quality and consistency in inflationary times.”

INTERVIEW

had started to think about that before we even knew the pandemic was going to happen. That timed out really well for us because we were already in the process of that, and we were able to launch that pretty immediately. It wasn’t like we were starting from square one with that. That was a huge help.

the pet industry that allows it to navigate better in all seasons compared with other industries?

What are you most proud of when you look back at Concord Pet’s response to the pet industry climate during the last two years?

I believe the biggest accomplishment and moment that we’re proud of is being able to innovate Concord while still sticking to our core values. So not losing what we know we’re good at is what I would say. We obviously know at the end of the day that we’re never going to be able to compete online with the Chewys or the Amazons of the world, so when this all started to happen that’s not where we focused our attention, we focused it in different areas. Since the spring of 2020, how has Concord Pet supplied a shopping experience that accommodates consumers’ priorities for convenience and safety? For those who have opted to shop from a distance, how are consumers still accessing the expertise that store associates provide during in-person visits?

The two biggest areas would be obviously curbside pickup, which we’ve always dabbled into over the years and some of the managers would do it, some weren’t great at it. Now all the stores do it and still offer it to a point. It’s definitely still there. For our stores, luckily we don’t get the traffic that grocery stores get or Target or anything like that. People can still—and have always been throughout the whole pandemic—able to safely shop in our stores all the time, so that’s never been an issue.

And then of course we launched Instacart which we got lucky because we

What really has helped us as of late is, the one thing is with out of stocks and issues with shipping and everything, is it’s driving people into our stores. And even though we might not have what they want, we are able to give them suggestions on what to buy. Whereas online, they’re not getting that at all. We’ve really benefited from that a little bit because we’ve gained back some customers we lost over the years. They’re coming back in to see if we have something. Even though we might still not have it, we’re able to say, ‘We don’t have that, but we have 15 different varieties of things that you could use.’ And that’s been a huge help. How has offering a hybrid shopping experience that allows for ordering online and still coming to brick-and-mortar stores for pick up impacted Concord Pet’s operations? How is this format affecting pet specialty retailers?

It’s really made us more diverse. We only have one store at this point that we still can’t get up and running on Instacart and that’s just because Instacart doesn’t have the market. Our online has taken off as well obviously not to the degree but it’s been interesting because even when we have issues with customers online not getting their things or shipping, as long as they get a response and you make do what’s right, it’s crazy how much they appreciate just that little bit of communication. Right away it’s always, ‘Thank you so much, that was great customer service!’ Within the hybrid model shopping experience, I believe that customer service has really probably gotten better.

The pandemic and the rush to adopt pets resulted in huge demands for products and services across the pet industry. But it’s argued that pet would nonetheless have fared OK even without the adoption uptick. What is it about

The biggest thing is at the end of the day, pets are like a family member. We are the ones feeding that family member and they want to feed that family member the best. Just like you’re seeing Whole Foods and Fresh Market, all those grocery stores kind of taking away from the ACMEs and Giants of the world, you’re seeing people want to shop for their pets at a local pet store and not necessarily at a grocery store. What are the top 2-3 challenges and opportunities pet specialty retailers are currently facing?

I guess the biggest one right now would be stocking issues. It’s going to be ongoing. And then employment. Employment is really tough right now. Those are the two biggest right now. As a pet specialty retailer, what would you like for pet owners and supplier partners to better understand about the hurdles pet specialty retailers have been and are currently addressing?

My biggest issue going through all of this was the manufacturers and suppliers understanding that my managers and my employees aren’t stuck behind a computer or phone. They are taking on the direct hits from customers, their customers, and 9 times out of 10 it’s not anything that has to do with our stores when it comes to stocking issues. I wish they better understood how much the managers and employees in the stores do and truly care about pets and working. It’s very hard to work in a retail store. It’s very easy to be behind a computer or behind a phone. It’s a lot harder when you are there and actually have to do it in person.

It goes the same way. I tell my managers all the time you don’t know what has happened to that customer that morning that makes them come into your store and lose it at noon. But at the same time, customers don’t know what’s going on in my managers’ or my employees’ lives either throughout the day. Sometimes, instead of confrontation happening, everybody needs to take a deep breath and walk away. And

Lindsay Mutschler, CFO, Concord Pet Foods & Supplies

Interview: Lindsay Mutschler, Concord Pet Foods & Supplies

r From Pg. 40

then think about it for a minute. When we last spoke with you specifically about Concord Pet, it was 2019. Your private label offerings, namely Elm Pet Foods, were taking off and you had yet to open your newest distribution center in Wilmington. What’s been happening since?

We have our warehouse that is open. It really right now only provides distribution to our own stores, but we obviously have Elm in there. I don’t know when we talked last if we had launched our body parts line. So, we’ve expanded body parts like a lot and we keep expanding that. It’s a really fun category. it’s a little bit more fun than the normal kibble and dog food. It’s coming up with new things and it’s exciting. We recently launched one SKU of a gently cooked flash frozen product in chicken. Where is Concord on its private label roadmap? Are you still expanding your SKUs?

I don’t have a real set-in stone answer. We’re always looking for ways to definitely keep expanding. I mean body parts, obviously, are easy to keep expanding. Like I said, we only have chicken right now in our gently cooked flash frozen product, so we’d like to get another protein there because you don’t realize how limited you are with just chicken until you only have one protein. We’d like to expand that a little bit. Other than that, we’re having the same canned food issue that everyone else is having, so we’re not doing much there. Our food, same thing, so we’re trying not to disturb that at the moment. In the areas that we can kind of expand a little bit, we are, but at the same time, the ones where we can’t, we’re just holding steady with what we have.

What are some of the conditions that would have to be in place for Concord Pet to consider merging with or acquiring like-minded pet retailers?

I mean it’s not really on our radar. I can’t really say that’s anything we’re looking to do anytime soon. My brother and I are both in our mid-30s, so we’re not looking to go anywhere in the near

future. So I can’t really say that there’s anything that would really make me think about it because right now it’s just not really in our timeline. It’s been really difficult the last few years, I’m not going to lie. It definitely makes you question things differently. What are Concord Pet’s priorities for 2022?

For me, it’s just holding onto our good staff. That’s just become so much harder especially over the last couple of years. Especially as inflation starts to hit, it makes things a little bit more difficult. Also trying to keep our stores as full as we possibly can, that’s always been a big thing for us, just making sure the stores are full. And even though it’s been tough this last year, we’ve been like, ‘Make sure you find something else that can fill the shelf. Just make them look full.’ I would say that’s a big one. You’ve reached a milestone— celebrating 40 years in the pet industry. What is it like to have achieved four decades in the industry? How did Concord Pet commemorate this achievement?

We focused all last year on 40 years. We picked a weekend every month and had a special that was marked 40 percent off. We went pretty heavily at our anniversary sale that was in June. And we had big signs that still actually hang in the stores saying ‘celebrating 40 years.’ They came out really nice. We just really pushed the 40 years because it’s a big deal. You don’t see many that truly make it family-owned for 40 years. What do you attribute to Concord Pet’s success in the business?

It’s truly staying true to who you are and what you’re good at. You’ve seen brick-and-mortar—not even in the pet industry but just everywhere—has changed significantly. You see them closing up left and right. We haven’t let that scare us. We’ve done our best to stay on course with education, customer service, quality, making sure we have our shelves full. That’s the biggest thing, is just staying true to who we are. What are some key values and features of Concord Pet that make you an industry leader?

We try to truly make—especially our management, it gets a little bit harder

outside of our management—but to truly make them also feel like part of the family and take a little bit more ownership in their stores than just ‘Oh, I’m a manager that has to show up to work every day.’ We just got back from Global Pet Expo, and we ended up taking eight managers out there. The first day we got there early, and we just spent the day in the pool. And just to be able to see them take a deep breath and a few of them got back and they were making social media posts about how we are their family and I was like, that’s what we try to instill throughout the company. How would you characterize your manufacturer and distributor partnerships, and how could they be further improved?

I like to think we have really good relationships and partnerships with our manufacturers and distributors. Being in the business for 40 years, our main thing is making sure our bills get paid and usually we’re way above terms so that’s helped to really make people come through for us.

I could say a lot of my manufacturer reps and a lot of my distributors have become some of my closest friends over the years. I think that’s what makes the industry so different from a lot of industries is it’s still extremely relationship-based. It’s not an industry that is ever going to truly thrive via Zoom meetings and over the phone and conference calls. We need trade shows. We need the partnerships with our manufacturers and distributors. What career accomplishments are you the proudest of?

I would still say Elm is probably top of the list. Being able to work literally hand in hand everyday with just my brother and my father. It’s always interesting to talk to other business owners that have been in family businesses and they’re like, ‘We don’t know how you do it.’ My dad, my brother and I literally work in an office all day together, and it’s just the three of us because the rest of our office, the girls, are downstairs, so it’s completely separated. It can be a little difficult at times, but the fact that my dad, my brother and I and my whole family are still so close even with all of that, is a pretty big accomplishment.

INTERVIEW

Tell us how your career path led you to the pet industry. How did you come to your current position with the Pet Sustainability Coalition?

I grew up on a small hobby farm in northwest Indiana near Lake Michigan. Here I gained a love of the outdoors as a young child, often shadowing my dad as he tended to the farm. Both of my parents cared deeply about making the world a better place; my mother spent her career as a welfare case worker and my father owned his own construction business. I had a dynamic educational experience that included several years in an experiential charter school where I embraced my curiosity about the natural world while also providing humanitarian aide. For example, I helped build an elementary school in a rural village in Belize and completed a short residency at a regenerative cacao farm before the age of 16. I then changed gears dramatically and attended a private college-prep school for the remainder of high school, then completed a BA at the University of Colorado in Environmental Studies. After undergrad, I guided backcountry expeditions of teenagers into the wilderness to complete trail service projects, became an interpreter at the Sand Dune National Monument, and then managed a non-profit corporate volunteer program in Chicago. By the time I was 25 I realized I needed a master’s degree to make more impact with my career and so I completed a Masters in Sustainability and Environmental Management at Harvard. One of the great icons of sustainable business is Hunter Lovins, and after relocating to Boulder, CO, I joined Natural Capitalism

Solutions where I began applying sustainable business concepts with its corporate clients. I soon met Chris Bentley, Co-Founder of I and Love and You and previously Aspen Pet. With his passion and vision for a sustainable pet industry, and my sustainable business skillset we set out to transform the pet industry. What do you enjoy the most about working in the pet industry?

The pet industry is grounded in a deep sense of caring for all living things, which makes the industry warm and welcoming. In addition, the pet industry is perfectly poised for sustainability adoption because it serves Millennial consumers (the first generation willing to pay more for sustainable products), and has an ambitious community of early adopters who have helped lead PSC’s mission forward. What trait(s) in yourself do you attribute most to your success?

Creative problem solving, optimism, and perseverance. In my decade of experience working with pet businesses, I have found the majority of business leaders are drawn to opportunities that create wins across the board. Sustainable business practices are proven to make businesses more profitable, while also improving the lives of people and the planet. However, there is no onesize-fits-all sustainability program that works for every business and therefore, our ability at PSC to develop creative solutions for every business while also maintaining a sense of optimism around the state of the world and persevering so that we successfully compete with the myriad of business priorities have been key to our overall success. Who do you consider to be your biggest advocate or advisor?

PSC’s volunteer Advisory Board is a major place of strength for me. Not only do they help create a shared vision that reflects the needs of our industry,

but they are also personal advocates and mentors for a young entrepreneur. Chris Bentley, my co-founder is my biggest champion, continually supporting me not only to grow PSC but also as a personal friend. Stephanie Volo, (Earth Animal) and Spencer Williams (West Paw), some of PSC’s Founding Members and board chairs have also helped provide vision, strategic structure, brand identity, and importantly, have helped lead the way through their own businesses to prove that environmental and social practices catalyze business success.

Can you give us a brief overview of the origins of the Pet Sustainability Coalition?

In 2013, the Pet Sustainability Coalition made its debut presentation to a room of 20 CEOs at Global Pet Expo. Within 30 days, PSC solidified eight Founding Members that made a 10k investment including KONG, Petco, Cardinal Pet, West Paw, Planet Dog, Worldwise, Only Natural Pet, and I and Love and You. This initial funding allowed PSC to hire me as the full time Executive Director. Our organization started by offering Founding Members access to a suite of business tools developed by our partners at Natural Capitalism Solutions as well as sustainable business consulting and roadmapping to help companies set goals and strategies. The organization started growing slowly for the first several years as our Founding Members completed projects and created case studies to share with the industry. When Millennials became the largest pet owning generation, demand for sustainable businesses and products increased with more than 90 percent of pet industry professionals reporting increasing expectations and only 22 percent reported their program as ef-

“A successful approach to sustainability takes a more integrated approach where companies baseline their overall performance first, then build improvement plans, engage relevant teams to take action, and then report back throughout the company.”

— Caitlyn Dudas, Pet Sustainability Coalition

r Cont'd on Pg. 46

Caitlyn Dudas Executive Director Pet Sustainability Coalition

Interview: Caitlyn Dudas, Pet Sustainability Coalition

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fective. Between 2019 and 2022, PSC has experienced more than 50 percent growth year after year and now serves about 200 companies including brands, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, suppliers, and producers. Our team has grown to 10 full time staff and we have expanded our vision to include sustainable ingredient sourcing, sustainable packaging, and diversity, equity and inclusions.

How did you first become involved with the Coalition?

I met my Co-Founder Chris Bentley through my work at Natural Capitalism Solutions where I was helping to build the original PSC sustainable business toolkit. His bigger vision was for the entire industry to access these tools and together Chris and I developed a pitch for Global Pet Expo 2013.

Why is sustainability an important component of the pet industry?

Sustainability is an important component of every industry. Businesses require three primary forms of capital to succeed—natural capital (resources), human capital (labor), and financial capital (money). Thriving businesses manage all three of these resources as critical components of profitability. However, traditionally, business has not taken this triple-bottom line approach, and instead has focused on shareholder returns as its ultimate indicator of success. Meanwhile, the natural and human capital businesses rely on become depleted which leads to increasing costs to their business, to society, and the planet. Not only is it imperative for all businesses regardless of the industry to adopt sustainable business practices if they truly want to achieve business success, but the pet industry’s consumer base is also demanding sustainability more than ever.

How does the Coalition educate stakeholders on why sustainability is not only important for the environment but also vital to growing their businesses/brands?

There are now hundreds of studies that show that sustainable business practices improve profitability. At the Pet Sustainability Coalition, we under-

stand that sustainability is more than the right thing to do—it also delivers business value from reduced costs through efficiency improvements, increasing attraction and retention of talent, increasing brand value, decreased risk through supply chain transparency and increased resiliency overall in market downturns. PSC delivers education in all sorts of formats from monthly webinars, to a full business toolkit, multiday conferences and workshops.

Why is an organization like the Pet Sustainability Coalition necessary in the pet industry? What was missing from the industry that the Coalition addresses?

More than 90 percent of business professionals are experiencing increasing expectations for sustainability while only 22 percent report their sustainability program is effective. Therefore, the Pet Sustainability Coalition is the goto source to help companies measure their current environmental and social performance and develop a feasible but ambitious roadmap for improvement. Most pet companies in today’s market have developed marketing claims to align themselves with consumers who are looking for purpose driven businesses. The Pet Sustainability Accreditation also provides the industry with a third party verified standard for sustainable businesses in the pet industry. What were some of the projects or initiatives the Coalition took on in 2021? What are some of the results you can share?

The Pet Sustainability Coalition saw another fantastic year of growth in 2021. With growth to 200 member companies, our tools and support services empowered our largest community of members yet to take measurable action toward a future for pets, people, and planet. PSC hosted the first ever sustainable packaging event for the pet industry attracting more than 450 virtual attendees. In addition, we completed the retailer collections of more than 8,000 pounds of pet food and treat packaging in more than 120 storefronts and launched extensive testing to find new life for the 300 million pounds of used plastic packaging created each year for pet food and treats. We saw more than

a 30 percent increase in completed sustainability projects by our member community while also increasing community engagement within our member community through the development of our first member cohort groups that meet regularly to share successes and challenges.

What are your top goals or areas of focus for the Coalition in 2022?

In 2022, the Pet Sustainability Coalition is excited to ignite the industry to take thousands of actions through our first formal Earth Day challenge. We will also expand our sustainable packaging programming to move the industry toward sustainable packaging by 2025, and our project team is expanding our expertise in carbon foot printing and sustainability reporting. We are expanding our presence at InterZoo and SuperZoo through formal partnerships with World Pet Association and ZZF and are excited to return to an in-person Impact Unleashed event, our inspiring two-day conference in Boulder this fall. What are the top issues that often become roadblocks for a company that would like to incorporate more sustainability initiatives in their business plans?

Many companies have small sustainable side projects that don’t have clear ownership, outcomes, or accompanying communication strategies. A successful approach to sustainability takes a more integrated approach where companies baseline their overall performance first, then build improvement plans, engage relevant teams to take action, and then report back throughout the company. In addition, businesses often have commitment from the c-suite down to entry level employees to ensure that the program maintains its momentum and is integrated into other metrics and systems used by each business. PSC has built membership benefits to support companies to move to a successful model, and we continue to assess what tools, education, and support our community needs as sustainability advances rapidly in our industry. Members receive access to education, tools, case studies, sustainability experts, project managers, and more to ensure companies can do good, better.

SAVE THE DATE

It’s been a wonderfully productive few days! We hope you’re enjoying reconnecting with your community of pet pros face-to-face, hearing business-boosting advice from industry leaders and of course, seeing (and touching) all of the latest and greatest pet products up close. Now, instead of “goodbye” on Thursday, let’s say, “catch you later” and start counting down the days until we meet again. Same place, new year.

AUGUST 23 - 25, 2022

EDUCATION: AUGUST 22 - 25, 2022

MANDALAY BAY | LAS VEGAS, NV

MARK