The volatility of the last few years may have led less ambitious com panies to put growth strategies on hold for a while, letting the dust settle to determine their next steps forward. This year’s fastest growing pet retailers, however, have accepted that the dust may never settle. Bolstered by the fact that according to an APPA survey from 2021-22, 70 percent of US households now own a pet, versus 56 percent when the first survey was done in 1988, these companies know there remains a strong appetite for reliable, safe and high-qual ity pet goods and services and are seiz ing the opportunities to ensure they are who pet parents turn to at all stages of a pet’s life.
Strictly by the numbers, Canada’s Pet Valu increased its store count the most this year, adding 99 locations across the country. Two-thirds of that portion of that growth was by acquisition; Pet Valu announced in February it was ac quiring—at the time—66 Les Franchis es Chico Inc. locations in the Québec market.
“Entering Québec marks a key mile stone in our mission to be Canada’s pre ferred pet retailer,” said Richard Malts barger, President and CEO of Pet Valu. “The acquisition of Chico is an excellent strategic fit for both companies, as we welcome a great brand with a terrific
group of franchisees and loyal custom ers to the Pet Valu family, with the op portunity to benefit from our scale, in frastructure and franchisee support. We look forward to supporting Chico’s con tinued growth within the province and serving Québec’s devoted pet lovers.”
Pet Valu reported it would be operat ing Chico as a separate subsidiary led by a Montreal-based management team, with Founders Pierre Charbonneau and Michel Joly remaining active in the busi ness, and it would also be preserving the Chico banner in Québec.
At the time of this report, there are now 645 Pet Valu locations and 79 Chi co stores. In contrast to store counts of both banners at the end of 2021—there were 625 Pet Valu and 63 Chico loca tions—that amounts to a 16 percent growth overall.
“I have long envisioned seeing Chi co expand across Québec, to provide a place for discerning pet owners to seek expert advice and high-quality products from dedicated, neighborhood-based franchise owners,” said Charbonneau. “Pet Valu is the ideal partner to support Chico’s continued growth across the province, given the correlation to our values and a strong track record foster ing close relationships with their fran chise network across Canada.”
According to a September report in The Global and Mail, Pet Valu’s market
share grew to 18 percent, rendering it No. 1 in Canada, past PetSmart, Walmart and even fellow Canadian companies Mondou and Ren’s Pets.
The company’s growth in 2022 stands in stark contrast to when Maltsbarger first took the helm in 2018 which pre ceded the closure of all US Pet Valu stores at the end of 2020. Maltsbarger explained to Pet Insight in 2021 that the growth had been aggressive south of the border and that the underperform ing stores, coupled with the onset of the Covid crisis, cemented the decision to put all company resources toward building up the Canadian business.
Giving further insight into Pet Valu’s more measured and sustainable growth strategy following its IPO in June 2021, he said, “Always when we look ahead, our primary focus is on being there for the devoted pet lover customers and the pets that they love. So, first and foremost, we do this through the de livery of compassion and expertise via our ACEs and franchisees every day. And much of the rest of our priorities for growth really are doing the support of creating more opportunities for our ACEs and franchisees to come into con tact with even more devoted pet lovers every day. We first do this with organic growth through new store openings.
see an opportunity for more than 600 additional stores in addition to our 616 operating stores as of the end of second quarter across the rest of Canada. And these range from urban cities where we could be on the first floor of multi-story pet friendly high rise apartment build ings, to small Canadian towns where we’re locating on Main and Main in a town as small as 3,000 to 5,000 people. The flexibility of our format, our ability to flex the size, the layout, the product packaging, to the local market really does give us a tremendous number of opportunities. From these opportu nities we expect to open 25 to 35 new stores per year across the next several years as we continue to grow our chain. We also grow through the expansions, remodels and renovations of our older stores where we are able to work with our local franchisees or in our corpo rate stores or store managers and ex pand some of our smaller stores, adding additional square footage, as well as adding in a really successful self-serve dog wash and grooming services. As we expand some of our smaller stores to larger stores, we add in these services and we’re also able to expand the prod uct breadth, giving us a great chance to go back and continually update our net work of stores, so that all of our stores maintain our current brand standards.”
The upshot is that now with multiple Canadian banners under Pet Valu— there’s Bosley’s by Pet Valu, Tisol and Total Pet in British Columbia, Paulmac’s Pets in Ontario and Chico in Québec, the company is within reach of most Cana dian pet owners. “These longstanding banners are deeply embedded in their communities and benefit from the scale of our national operating network,” Chris Wiens, Pet Valu Regional Direc tor of Corporate Operations, BC said. “A neat fact is that together with our fran chisees, we now operate more than 700 stores across Canada, putting us within a 5-kilometer vicinity of more than 72 percent of Canada’s population.”
Earthwise Pet:
Franchising leader Earthwise Pet grew by 84 store locations in the last year but netted the largest percentage growth of 112 percent in 2022 over
2021. At present, there are 159 store locations, compared with 75 from 2021. The company’s recent growth by acquisition started last year when it announced in August 2021 a strategic partnership with Pet Stuff America and Pet Stuff Franchising. A few months lat er, it had also acquired 18 Pet Pros loca tions in the Pacific Northwest.
While the aforementioned strategic partnership brought in a number of banners representing an array of pet goods and services Earthwise Pet’s strength and focus has always been on franchising. “The local owner aspect of it is, first and foremost, the most pow erful part of franchising,” Michael Seitz, CEO of Earthwise Pet said earlier this year. “There’s nothing like a customer coming in, having a poor experience and having the store owner reach out and talk to them and help resolve their situation versus some corporate staff in a totally different part of the country.”
As the industry grapples with how to support independent retail in an ex panding e-commerce landscape, Seitz said, “Franchising embodies indepen dent retail. Franchising gives us the advantage in the fact we have that lo cal presence, but we can also maintain some systems and standards and allow flexibility at the local level to adapt.”
It’s important to give franchisees the breathing room to tailor their stores to meet the individual needs of their com munities while the company looks at the bigger picture. “For franchising in general, the big benefit is that franchi sees can focus on day-to-day operations while the franchisor focuses on indus try trends, negotiations and making sure they’re still in business five or 10 years from now,” said Seitz. “So, we’re looking more at long-term trends. We have been an absolute forerunner when it comes to being able to adapt and fore see industry trends. That’s a key differ entiator with us. Another key differenti ator is that our franchise system allows for flexibility. So, we do have mandated products and brands that stores need to carry, but we also allow a substantial amount of flexibility that they can bring in their products that are regionally de manded.”
And there’s more growth on the hori zon. “In terms of the model and the
system, our goals are to help existing franchisees expand on their footprint, opening additional stores, to grow our mobile grooming van and mobile ser vice offering and then also a massive expansion of our technology play.”
Hollywood Feed: Hollywood Feed’s store footprint this year grew from 98 at the end of 2021 to 174 at present. A large portion of the increase came from its acquisition of 75 PetPeople locations earlier this year. While some internal movement occurred, Hollywood Feed still achieved a 78 percent growth currently operat ing 111 Hollywood Feed stores and 64 PetPeople locations.
CEO Shawn McGhee told Pet Insight earlier this year the acquisition made sense for Hollywood Feed after factor ing in company experience, product assortment, geographical market and overall cultural fit. “It starts with people and an alignment around the purchase of the customer and the customer ex perience with the people,” McGhee said. “Then we get into product. Within the pet industry, you have a pretty varied product assortment and product focus and strategy. In some of the larger cat egories you have people that are out selling fish, reptiles and small animals, which we don’t participate in, so for the most part, it’s much easier to do an acquisition with a group of stores that are aligned around canine and feline. Then it’s market. When you look at the market, it’s really the adjacencies with in the states and the adjacencies with in geography that start to make sense. Also, of course, product aligns around the customer and market and where the directive of the customer segmen tation is you’re looking at going after. And last, as I see it, it just has to be an overall good fit. All the components have to come together, and you have to have the right capital markets for it to make sense economically. You also have to have a willing participant in a sell er, along with a willing participant in a buyer, and I think that’s what aligned with this particular transaction.”
PetPeople’s established geography also facilitates Hollywood Feed’s growth strategy. “We gained more stores in
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Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio and Tennessee,” he said. “And then we added states—Il linois, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri and Pennsylvania—with this transaction. And all of those fall within our given supply chain. From a pure efficiency standpoint, falling within our supply chain makes transportation quite easy, and it is one of those things that drives an economic value of scale.”
Organic growth with the opening of new locations is always exciting, but at present, said McGhee, it is more time-efficient to grow by acquisition. “It’s two things: time is definitely one [benefit] because to go out and build 70-80 stores, it takes time. Therefore, it’s an opportunity to go into the new markets that we already discussed, but it’s also just a certain amount of scale, and we’re able to accelerate the timing just because it’s incredibly difficult to build stores in the middle of Covid, and this gives us an opportunity to enhance our total network,” McGhee said.
While more aggressive than how oth er pet retailers might be approaching growth, McGhee said the signals to take action have been there for a while and it’s a matter of acting on them. “What the pandemic did was accelerate the growth in the industry,” he said. “It probably pulled us forward a good two to three years. If you go in and you look at the macroeconomics of the pet indus try in general, over the next decade it’s supposed to more than double. When you talk about an industry going from say, a round number of $100 billion to $200 billion, the sheer size, stability and overall growth of the industry is going to attract larger and larger play ers with deeper and deeper investment [dollars]. By its nature, that is going to drive consolidation. The second thing is the demographics. The pet industry has been built by entrepreneurs. Many of those entrepreneurs are reaching ages in which they’re starting to think about estate planning and enjoying life on the golf course or the tennis court or whatever it is that makes them happy, and I think that’s creating that oppor tunity. The other side of it is when you look at the investment dollars that are
coming in through private equity, al most all them have a given timeline, and with those timelines come businesses that are bought and sold at a regular cadence.”
In its growth trajectory, however, Mc Ghee said it’s not lost on him what Hol lywood Feed stands for, both in what its customers and its own employees expect. “I’ve always been a believer that the low-cost producer is always going to survive and win, and Hollywood Feed has always been about making sure that we have a low cost overhead and we have a very efficient supply chain so that we’re here for the long haul,” he said. Through the last few years, “our goal was to maintain as normalized cus tomer experience as humanly possible in an incredibly difficult environment. I’m very proud of the team for being able to achieve that goal. It continues to be a difficult environment. Even though the masks have come down, the supply chain has gotten worse, again what we’re doing is trying to maintain a normalized customer experience at a very high level for the Hollywood Feed customers and now for the PetPeople customers. It really is a testament to our team we’ve been as successful as we have been throughout this cycle.”
Meanwhile, “we think there are other opportunities out there that may pres ent themselves to us, and we would be open to those acquisitions should they come at the right time and the right place,” he said.
Pet Supplies Plus:
It’s noteworthy that Pet Supplies Plus (PSP) led the industry in incremental new location openings, with 43 new doors. In total, the retailer’s store count increased by 57 locations—a 9 percent growth—jumping from 602 at the end of 2021 to 659 presently.
The pace seems to have been slow er than what CEO Chris Rowland had planned. “We opened just under 90 stores in 2021 and expect at least that many again in 2022,” he told Pet Insight in February. “We also have a new con cept that we will be rolling out this year, along with a new loyalty program, new POS, expanded distribution and several other major back of house initiatives. Our team is very nimble, and we’re able to balance supporting our network,
while opening new stores and expand ing our capabilities.”
However, the new store count does factor in the acquisition of 15 Wag N’ Wash locations, which was announced also in February. In this case, each brand would continue to operate as separate entities due in part to the fact they offer services and products that don’t always overlap. “PSP offers a con venient selection of services, prescrip tion fulfillment and a full assortment of pet products for all types of furry, scaly and feathery friends, including live ani mals, while Wag N’ Wash is mainly cen tered on self-wash, grooming services, and natural food options primarily for dogs and select cat items,” according to the acquisition announcement. “Both franchise systems have healthy unit economics as demand for pet products and services continues to grow and pet parents remain loyal to shopping local.”
Rowland said, “The acquisition pres ents mutual benefits for franchisees, neighbors and guests of both brands. PSP neighbors will see no change and will continue to receive the same neigh borly service and access to all the same products for all types of pets. Wag N’ Wash guests will continue to enjoy this fun and passionate brand’s specialty of ferings, but now will have access to an even greater assortment of products.”
Wag N’ Wash VP Kristen Risby said the acquisition adds value to all parties involved. “Our owners find joy in serv ing their communities and pets well,” she said. “Now, they can do this with en hanced resources. It’s a win for every one from the franchise owners to the guests and their pets.”
Rowland indicated that new and ex isting franchise owners would have the opportunity to open a store under the Wag N’ Wash or PSP name, depending on what makes most sense for the mar ket. At present, there are 645 PSP stores and 14 Wag N’ Wash locations.
PSP operates parallel business mod els in that it also continues to operate corporate-only stores too. This diversi fication provides flexibility and options to the company as it explores new av enues for growth. “Having corporate stores allows us to test and pilot ini
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tiatives before we roll them out to our franchisees,” Rowland explained earlier this year. “We often identify new loca tions that would make excellent cor porate stores and hand them over to interested franchisees looking for quick openings. Having a mix also insulates the overall business from any market fluctuations, although PSP has enjoyed an unprecedented 30 years of positive sales growth.”
Making PSP locations much more than just a pet store has driven much of its success. Rowland shared the com pany’s goals back in late 2021: “We will continue to expand our differenti ated offerings like grooming, pet wash, bakeries, boutiques and vet services to give our neighbors more reason to shop PSP,” he said. “We’re also busy running some tests on new concepts to keep the brand evolving to meet the ever-chang ing needs of our neighbors and the pets they love.”
This would likely include Pet Supplies Plus’ most recent foray into national news wires. In September, the company announced it was sponsoring a bid to set a new Guinness World Records ti tle for Largest Dog Wedding Ceremony at one of its Illinois locations. The goal was to raise $100,000 for K9 for War riors and a dozen service animal orga nizations and local pet adoption groups.
“This event is a perfect fit for PSP and gives us an opportunity to build awareness about our brand, while rais ing money for local non-profits and res cues,” said George Lennon, Franchise Owner of PSP. “Anytime we are able to contribute or give back to our commu nities is a plus—and what better way than a fun event to wed dog couples.”
Petland:
Despite having to battle a smattering of policy proposals in various jurisdic tions across the country proposing bans on the sales of live animals at retail loca tions, the company was able to open 17 new locations in 2022. That represents a 7 percent growth from 252 stores at the end of 2021 to 269 stores this year.
Petland has been very proactive in the last year or so shoring up its legal and public relations resources to com bat the notion that its stores work with
unethical puppy mills at a time when public opinion heavily favors retail ers who solely promote adoptions and work with rescues and shelters instead.
In January, the company named Eliz abeth Kunzelman as VP of Legislative and Public Affairs. Kunzelman is the daughter of Petland Founder Ed Kun zelman. “I am proud to announce that Petland, an Ohio-based company con necting pets and families for more than 50 years, formed a Legislative and Pub lic Affairs department. This newly cre ated Department will solely focus on promoting the truth about the Petland brand and our commitment to animal welfare to legislative, regulatory and governmental audiences,” said Joe Wat son, President and CEO.
During her 14 years at Petland, Kunzelman served in various public relations and communications roles within the company. She championed legislation to ensure the highest animal welfare standards and protected Amer icans’ rights to own pets. Prior to her ap pointment, Kunzelman was Director of Public Affairs for Petland and currently serves on the board of directors for the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PI JAC) board in Washington, D.C.
In the last few years, Petland launched both its Canine Care Certified Program and its Breeder Incentive Pro gram to solidify the company’s commit ment to working only with responsible pet breeders. The Canine Care Certified Program is administered by Purdue University, developed by Dr. Candace Croney, Director of Purdue Univer sity’s Center for Animal Welfare Sci ence, establishing rigorous standards of care to be followed by professional dog breeders and combined with reg ular, third-party, independent audits of breeder operations.
“Americans want the right to choose where they select their pet, and at Pet land, we are committed to providing these families with pets raised by re sponsible breeders,” said Watson. “Ev ery year Petland hosts breeder visits, sponsors educational symposiums and attends breeder conferences to support continued education efforts. We believe the Canine Care Certified program is the next logical step and are committed to helping grow the number of Canine
Care Certified breeders. Our goal is to eventually have all breeders supplying puppies to Petland stores fully compli ant with and certified by the program.”
The Breeder Incentive Program com plements the Canine Care Certified Pro gram to financially support professional breeders as they improve and upgrade their facilities to be in compliance. More Notable Growth:
Feeders Pet Supply in the Midwest saw six new store openings this year— jumping from 31 stores in 2021 to 37 stores this year—which represents a 19 percent growth.
Sharing his growth plans for 2022, CEO Brannon Dixon said last year, “We’re going to continue to expand our in-store services. We added grooming salons, and we’ll have around 12-13 grooming salons by the end of this year. We’ll push 20 to 25 grooming salons to tal by the end of next year’s expansion, and we’re going to start moving into doggy daycare and a couple of test con cepts. The in-store service expansion is a big focus for us. Obedience training, clinics, those kinds of things, providing full-service experience when customers come at any given time.”
Feeders Pet Supply announced in March it had acquired Happy Tails Pos itive Dog Training and would be ex panding training offerings at its then 31 stores. The business was previous ly contracted to work with Feeders Pet Supply by Owner Linda Laun, who planned to retire this year, presenting the opportunity. “For the past 25 years, Linda has led the operations of obedi ence training at Feeders Pet Supply,” said Dixon. “We are excited to build upon her success and continue the part nership with all the certified trainers.”
Elsewhere, Michigan-based Premier Pet Supply saw a 33 percent growth as it opened three new stores which takes its total store count to nine. The company’s focus wasn’t solely at brick and mortar, however. It announced in April it would be increasing home delivery capabili ties with OneRail’s last mile fulfillment solution. Owner Mike Palmer said, “In a small business, every moment is pre cious. It helps to know that during those times when our team is overextended, OneRail’s trusted delivery network can step in to save the day.”
Tractor Supply Company has served the needs of rural communities and agrarian lifestyle enthusiasts across the country for more than 80 years, which includes providing products and ser vices supporting the care of farm an imals. While there is clearly overlap, the company’s foray into the pet in dustry was much more recent with its acquisition of Petsense in 2016. In the eight years since, Tractor Sup ply has continued to grow Petsense’s store footprint while also strategically incorporating the pet specialty retail er into its long-term company vision to serve Life Out Here—an initiative adopted in 2020. Most recently, Trac tor Supply rebranded Petsense to Pet sense by Tractor Supply, cementing the update by expanding its Neighbor’s Club loyalty program to benefit cus tomers across both banners.
History:
The first Tractor Supply retail store opened in Minot, ND in 1939, the year after Chicago-based Charles E. Schmidt Sr. founded his mail order tractor parts business from his home. The company grew substantially in the next 20 years and went public in 1959 on the overthe-counter market, the same year annual sales reached $10 million. In 1963, the company opened it’s 100th store in Hutchinson, KS.
Through its history, Tractor Supply flipped several times between publicly traded and privately owned. In 1969, National Industries purchased con trolling interest in Tractor Supply Com pany, but the company became private ly owned in 1983 through a leveraged buyout. It wasn’t until 1994 that Tractor Supply Company went public again on NASDAQ. In that time, it also moved its headquarters from Chicago to Nash ville, TN.
Meanwhile, growth continued or ganically and through acquisition. In late 2001, Tractor Supply bid for 87 Quality Stores locations when the Mich igan-based company filed for bank ruptcy protection and successfully re branded them in 2002. It acquired Del’s Feed and Farm Supply in 2005. In 2011, Tractor Supply opened its 1,000th store in South Hill, VA with company sales
reaching $5 billion by 2013. In 2016, Tractor Supply announced it had ac quired Petsense which at the time op erated 136 stores across 25 states. And in 2021, the company also
“We both have a passion for exceeding customer expectations, for innovating in the category, for the importance of teamwork, and for putting in the work to do what it takes to succeed. Tractor Supply is a leader in the industry and certainly is a retailer of choice for many of their customers. While they have a diverse product assortment across many product categories—they also have made a clear commitment to the pet category which makes them more willing to invest in innovation, in growing their customer engagement, and in enhancing the overall customer experience.”
announced it was acquiring Orscheln Farm and Home for $297 million.
In this time, the company’s assort ment of private label brands across farm and pet categories have also gar nered a noticeable portion of its over all sales—about 29 percent of its total sales in fiscal 2021 and 2020. 4health, Paws and Claws, Retriever, Royal Wing, Strive and Untamed are among Tractor Supply’s pet brands.
The retail growth is supported by 11 distribution centers, either leased or owned, across the country. Most recent ly, Tractor Supply announced in January 2022 plans to build a 12th distribution center in Maumelle, AR.
Tractor Supply was added to the S&P 500 in 2014, the same year it became a Fortune 500 company ranked No. 480. Just about a decade later, the compa
ny opened its 2,000th store in White House, TN in 2021 and in 2022 it moved up the Fortune 400 ranks to No. 294.
Leadership:
Harry Lawton was appointed Presi dent and CEO of Tractor Supply Com pany in January 2020. He came to the company from Macy’s where he served as President from 2017 through 2019. Lawton brought with him leadership experiences from companies including eBay, Home Depot, Sealed Air Corpora tion and Buffalo Wild Wings.
Kurt Barton was promoted to evp –Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer in February 2019 but joined the Trac tor Supply Company in 1999 following six years as a Certified Public Accoun tant with Ernst and Young. In his time with Tractor Supply, Barton held vari ous roles including Internal Audit Di rector and Controller.
Robert Mills is evp, Chief Technol ogy, Digital Commerce and Strategy Officer, coming to the role in August 2018. Mills previously held leadership roles with Ulta Beauty, Sears Holding Corporation and The Allstate Corpo ration.
Seth Estep has been the evp – Chief Merchandising Officer since February 2020, having served as Senior VP, Gen eral Merchandising since April 2017.
Matthew Rubin was appointed Se nior VP and General Manager of Pet sense—rebranded Petsense by Tractor Supply—in February 2021. He’s held several leadership roles with compa nies including The Michaels Stores, Inc., Accenture plc’s North America Retail Practice and BJ’s Wholesale Club Hold ing, Inc.
Petsense by Tractor Supply:
Despite the rebranding and inclusion in Tractor Supply’s Neighbor’s Club loy alty program, the two banners will still operate mostly independently, Rubin told Pet Insight. “The things that are closest to the customer will remain sep arate and that’s done to really ensure that we have that pet specialty expe rience, both for our suppliers and our customers right, and our assortment is very complementary,” he said. “The
— Rick Ruffolo, Phelps Pet Products
overlap is not significant; it’s much less than half in terms of SKUs. That, for us, is critical to maintain that differentiation in that pet specialty feel, but our mer chants do work very closely together and pay attention to making sure from a marketing standpoint that our ac tivities are on brand and that we’re able to deliver that complementary assortment to our customers.”
The changes are more about wel coming more customers to the brand, Rubin said. “We’re going to maintain our pet specialty brands that are spe cific to the pet specialty channel at Petsense only, but the blessing of what we’re doing with our Neighbor’s Club Program is we are rewarding custom ers who shop Tractor Supply today who have never maybe even been in a Petsense or shopped on Petsense.com, to be able to get those brands and earn those same Neighbor’s Club points.”
While Tractor Supply’s direction for Petsense may not have been so pub licly announced since its acquisition, the parent company has grown the pet specialty retailer by roughly 50 stores, and Rubin said there are plans to inch close to 200 stores by the end of the year. There are 187 stores at this time.
“We have had such great success at Petsense over the last couple of years,” he said. “Certainly, we’ve had some tailwinds that have been beneficial: customers moving away from the cit ies, a little bit more towards ex-urban and rural environments where a lot of our stores are located, so that’s been helpful. Record high pet adoptions and the humanization of pets and the pre miumization of that category is certain ly helpful to the overall pet industry, but this connection, both in terms of brand ing and Neighbor’s Club, really helps bring awareness as we expand.”
Tractor Supply Company itself has also held a greater spotlight on pets this year with its Pet Appreciation Week event in September. With partners in cluding Seresto, Canidae and Miranda Lambert’s MuttNation Foundation, the company hosted a social media contest with more than $100,000 in prizes and raised adoption awareness and collect ed donations for rescues and shelters.
“At Tractor Supply, we love our pets. We want to do our part to help provide orphaned dogs and cats with much needed food donations. Our Pet Appre ciation Week provides an opportunity to support local rescue organizations,” said Kyle Murphy, VP Divi
“Tractor Supply is a solid partner because our values are aligned making it easier to reach our common goals. They are also very consistent in how they place orders making it much easier to plan on our end. The basis of both our mission statements is to work hard, have fun and make money by providing great products and legendary service. Our core values are also aligned. Some of those values include being ethical, respectable, responsible and willing to change. One of the main advantages is the fact that their customer base is very loyal and we can only reach those customers by partnering with Tractor Supply. They work very hard making sure their customers are happy.”
ing for leadership roles and careers in agriculture through the FFA. More than 1,400 projects have been funded through this partnership since 2016. This year, the company also supported the 95th National FFA Convention with a limited-edition T-shirt fundraiser and helped to fund a local FFA chapter in Wendell, NC, to be able to attend the convention in October.
“The Tractor Supply Foundation is committed to serving our local com munities when they need support,” said Marti Skold-Jordan, Manager of the Tractor Supply Company Founda tion. “We are thrilled to provide these students with an inspiring opportu nity to learn and the FFA Convention gives them that.”
To further encourage youth explo ration and education, Tractor Supply has worked with National 4-H Council since 2020 to raise more than $14 mil lion through its bi-annual Paper Clo ver fundraisers. The campaigns have impacted more than 69,000 students nationwide, providing hands-on expe riences in STEM, agriculture, healthy living and civic engagement.
sional Merchandising Manager of Pet at Tractor Supply. “This event allows us to spotlight shelters and provide them with the resources they desperately need while engaging our neighbors in support of our four-legged family mem bers.”
Community Outreach:
Tractor Supply Company is a longtime supporter of both Future Farmers of America (FFA) and the national 4-H program.
Since 1985, Tractor Supply, through initiatives such as Grants for Growing, has helped raise more than $12 million to support American youth in prepar
The spring 2022 Paper Clover cam paign yielded more than $1.2 million for the program. “For over a decade, Tractor Supply has been proud to part ner with 4-H to support the youth in our communities,” said Christi Korze kwa, then Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Tractor Sup ply. “Our customers and team mem bers have once again shown incredi ble generosity throughout this Paper Clover campaign. The funds raised this spring benefit many young people in our communities, and it is an honor and privilege to play a part in their futures.”
In 2022, Tractor Supply also em barked on its second year carrying its Support the Trades line of merchan dise designed by Carhartt. A portion of proceeds is donated to SkillsUSA, a nonprofit helping middle school, high school and college/postsecondary stu dents embark on careers in trade, tech nical and skilled service occupations.
“Along with our partners Carhartt and SkillsUSA, Tractor Supply is com mitted to helping close the trade skills
— Mark Pasco, Mammoth Pet Products
gap,” said Jeff Rietveld, Vice President, Divisional Merchandise Manager at Tractor Supply. “By purchasing the ex clusive Support the Trades merchan dise, our customers are able to join with us to further the training of tomorrow’s workforce.”
Other Recent News:
Along with these sustained pro grams, Tractor Supply has remained a responsive and agile supporter of communities that have had to deal with an assortment of natural disas ters in recent years. In September, the company partnered with Canidae to support local animal shelters im pacted by the devastating July flash floods in Kentucky and surrounding areas by collectively donating and de livering 1,560 pounds of dog food to local Kentucky animal shelters and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Canidae has been a partner of Tractor Supply since 2020.
“The effects from the recent flooding in Kentucky have been catastrophic. Our hearts go out to all of our team members, neighbors and communi ties impacted by the damage from the flooding,” said Rubin. “We are thank ful for great partners like Canidae can help the local shelters and animals that have been struggling.”
“We know what an incredibly diffi cult time this is for those affected by the floods, and we know the road to recovery will be a long journey,” said Dana Paris, Chief Marketing Officer at Canidae Pet Food. “Canidae is grate ful to partner with Petsense by Tractor Supply to help alleviate a little bit of stress and worry to those people and pets impacted by the floods.”
In late September, Tractor Supply an nounced it would be donating $100,000 to American Red Cross Disaster Relief to assist residents affected by Hurricane Ian, as well as those in the West impact ed by recent wildfires, along with those in the Applachian region still recovering from the flooding.
Select Tractor Supply stores in the path of the storm would be distribut ing gift cards to local organizations and shelters to purchase supplies such as pet and animal products, tools, tarps,
gloves, generators and more. Once the storm passed, Tractor Supply and its team members would be helping their neighbors however possible, whether that means ensuring stores are wellstocked with emergency supplies, mak ing those supplies more accessible or
cy financial support in the wake of nat ural disasters, serious illness, injuries or catastrophic circumstances and is funded by Tractor Supply and contribu tions from the generosity of other team members.
that shop Tractor Supply typically
treat their own pets and look for solutions themselves and we offer those solutions. This is a strong market segment for us, and we believe tractor supply to be the best partner to reach that population. We are the one-stopshop for pet health items and make a great partner with Tractor Supply. We have many of the same goals and values; outstanding service, top of the line products and caring about our customers. They offer market segment that we want to focus on and by working with them we can reach those customers in rural areas and help provide solutions that they may not find in other stores.
simply being available for support.
“So often, we feel that hurricanes and other natural disasters are out of our control, but there is comfort in taking action. The Tractor Supply Company Foundation is committed to doing our part to provide relief through the Amer ican Red Cross and through our stores to assist our neighbors when they need us,” said Mary Winn Pilkington, Pres ident of the Tractor Supply Company Foundation. “Tractor Supply is proud to support the communities we call home.”
The company is taking care of its own too. For employees impacted by the hur ricane, Tractor Supply provides access to an employee assistance fund called Here to Help. The fund offers emergen
Aside from disaster relief, the new est distribution center in Maumelle, AR broke ground in August, and plans are for the facility to be designed and constructed in line with criteria that address carbon, energy, water, waste and other environmental quality op portunities to qualify for LEED Gold certification by the US Green Building Council.
Its rooftop solar array system will produce an estimated 6 million kW of electricity per year, which will provide all the electricity needed for its opera tions, achieving a Net Zero energy rat ing. This system will save the equiva lent of almost 4,700 tons of carbon per year. Tractor Supply is currently work ing toward several Environmental, So cial, and Governance (ESG) goals, one being to achieve net zero carbon emis sions in its operations by 2040.
“This distribution center will be a vi tal link in our supply-chain strategy to better serve our existing stores and fu ture growth in Arkansas, Texas, Okla homa and surrounding states,” said Lawton. “Tractor Supply is committed to a more sustainable future, and our investments in Maumelle support a positive impact on the environment. We are grateful for the strong support for this project at the local and state level and look forward to a being a great community partner.”
At the truly local level, Tractor Sup ply was further celebrating farmers, growers, craft makers and artisans by hosting its first nationwide free Farm ers Market event al local stores in ear ly October. “At Tractor Supply, we take pride in supporting the communities we serve and are always looking for ways to connect with our neighbors,” said Kimberley Gardiner, SVP and Chief Marketing Officer at Tractor Supply. “Our customers are passionate about growing and producing goods, and the Farmers Market is a wonderful oppor tunity for us to support their talents and local businesses.”
The Pacific Northwest is home to a select group of retailers who make it their responsibility to educate pet owners on products and make pet food and supplies accessible and fairly priced. Once pet owners are more ed ucated with easier access to resources, they do better than previous genera tions in keeping pets healthy through diet, grooming and regular vet appoint ments, safe by knowing how to weed through misleading labels and false claims and mentally and physically stimulated through exercise, toys and socialization.
The Headstrong Hound is a single store pet specialty retailer in Portland. A woman owned business, The Head strong Hound promotes women-owned and BIPOC-owned pet brands front and center on store shelves.
“The Pacific Northwest market is unique because there’s such a passion for animals and their wellness and en richment, and so many people are cre ative and driven,” said The Headstrong Hound Owner Emily Elpusan. “The amount of creative local people making pet products and getting out there and making it their business is amazing. I’ve had a lot of local makers come in look ing to sell their treats, leashes, toys, and I love that.”
Hip Hound/Hip Hound Barkery, a single store pet specialty retailer in Portland, is a hybrid destination with a retail component focused on dog and cat supplies: holistic foods, treats, toys and apparel and a recently added pet bakery. “We love our dogs,” said Jenni fer Heckman, Owner of Hip Hound/Hip Hound Barkery. “They are our children, and we want only the best for them. The Pacific Northwest also has a very high concentration of dogs per capita so the market is great for business.”
Elpusan said the dramatic shifts in temperatures and weather conditions present challenges at times that are unique to the region. “I’m from south ern California so there’s not much that happens weather-wise that would af fect sales or shipments, where here I’ve experienced delays and slow sales due to ice, snow and heat waves,” she said.
In response to the dramatic rise in pet adoptions during the pandemic years, The Headstrong Hound adjusted its product offering to reflect the types of pets that were being adopted and the pets’ needs during specific life stages. “Really just making sure to have more puppy food and products available,” El pusan said. “I’ve occasionally teamed up with my local trainers and pet care pro viders to make sure the new pet parents in the neighborhood are well taken care of through hosting events.”
Hip Hound/Hip Hound Barkery piv oted to provide resources to help new pet parents start off on the right foot and influencing and guiding pet par ents towards specific foods to promote healthier and cleaner pet diets. “Some shift to promoting and offering more new Pet Packs to promote our food due to all the new pets in households,” Heck man said.
The Headstrong Hound has thrived in this market due to Elpusan’s efforts to network and become a community fixture. “The biggest reason my store is doing as well as it is in this weird time is the connections I’ve made within my neighborhood through conversations in and out of the store, participation in community events and getting involved in my area’s business association,” Elpu san explained.
Hip Hound/Hip Hound Barkery has succeeded in this market largely due to location. “We are in both a high-end neighborhood, our focus clientele and a destination street for visitors, so we get a nice mix of both,” Heckman said.
Operating in a dog-friendly city cer tainly hasn’t hurt business. In fact, the volumes of foot traffic are higher when people see Elpusan’s pet dog at the store. “It’s really been the best part of having this store. I get to see so many dogs and cats,” Elpusan said. “I bring my retired racing greyhound, Bowie, who’s also on the logo, to the store ev ery day, and it definitely attracts a lot of sighthound lovers to my store. I get so many Greyhounds, Silken Windhounds, Afghan Hounds and Whippets. I’m sure if it weren’t for Portland being as pet friendly as it is, my store wouldn’t be where it is now. I love meeting all my
Operating a pet specialty store in a dog-friendly city was a wise move for Heckman and even during turbulent times, pet owners still consistently fre quent pet stores and splurge on their pets. “It is very good for business,” she said. “We have had growth, even during Covid.”
Pet owners who frequent The Head strong Hound share values similar to Elpusan of which brands to support and are well-read on deliberately se lecting products from companies that are transparent. “I’ve met so many nice people who are just as obsessed with their dog as I am, so when they come in, I know they’re going to be looking for good products that are safe, effective and from companies that are honest and open about what they do and who they are,” Elpusan said. “More specifically, a lot of my customers are trying to focus on spending their money consciously by supporting the brands I like to highlight which are BIPOC, women-owned and locally-owned brands.”
Hip Hound/Hip Hound Barkery pet owners have high standards for what they seek in suitable pet food and treats for their pets. “High-quality products, holistic food/nutrition advice and grain-free treats,” Heckman said. “We just opened a Doggy Bakery, so we have regulars in looking to spoil their pups.”
All the Best Pet Care serves pet own ers in Northwestern Washington at 15 locations throughout Bellevue, Burien, Edmonds, Kenmore, Kirkland, Issaquah, Mercer Island, Redmond and Seattle. For more than 35 years, All the Best Pet Care has provided pet owners with a destination promoting a holistic ap proach to pet ownership.
Founders Susan and Ira Moss learned feeding their pet Akitas a diet high in meat and supplements was the key to keeping their dogs active and their coats shiny. When one of their Akitas was diagnosed with cancer, a holistic vet recommended feeding their dog a raw food diet. From then on, the Moss’ wanted to promote feeding pets high
quality food, treats and supplements to address their health inside and out. The flagship All the Best Pet Care opened in 1985 on Lake City Way stocked with nu tritious and specialty food for pets.
Susan and Ira’s son, Josh, and Deb Wilson, who has a decades-long career in the pet industry are now at the helm, continuing with the mission of educat ing pet owners about proper nutrition and the impact it can have on pets. “It’s the amount of unique innovation that makes the pet industry dynamic and vibrant,” Wilson previously told Pet In sight.
Wilson said working in this industry is rewarding because through educa tion and recommending products, “I am part of positive outcomes for dogs and cats that have long lasting health bene fits,” she said.
During a time when some pet retail ers were folding and struggling to re gain their footing amidst changes out of their control, EarthWise Pet leadership from their headquarters in Wenatchee, WA kept its head down and maintained focus on achieving its goals. Staying fo cused certainly paid off. The company succeeded in doubling the size of Earth Wise Pet to 159 locations in late 2021 through acquiring Pet Pros and forming a strategic partnership with Pet Stuff America and subsequently acquiring Pet Stuff Franchising.
In the summer of 2021, EarthWise Pet formed a “strategic partnership” with Pet Stuff America and Pet Stuff Franchising. Under the partnership, Pet Stuff America founder Lisa Senafe was named Chief Nutrition Officer for Earth Wise Pet. At the time, EarthWise Pet CEO Mike Seitz said the Pet Stuff Amer ica locations would ultimately become one of EarthWise Pet’s family of brands, which includes EarthWise Pet, Dee-OGee and GROOMBAR locations, depend ing on their service offering.
“It’s a very unique structure,” Earth Wise CEO Mike Seitz told Pet Insight in late 2021. “We were very particular about using the term ‘strategic part nership,’ because that’s what it is and it’s hard to call it anything else. It’s not a merger and it’s not an acquisition
even though there was an acquisition part of it. It’s different for sure. One of the things, just to throw a wrench and complicate things even more, is Lisa and Marcus [Lemonis] who essentially own outright Pet Stuff America, have a minority ownership in EarthWise now as part of the arrangement, so we are truly strategic partners in every respect with complete alignment. In terms of management control, it’s the EarthWise management team, which now includes Lisa.”
Seitz characterized the strategic part nership as “a dream team.” “We [Earth Wise Pet] are running the ship when it comes to franchising and they [Pet Stuff America] are now our largest franchisee newly empowered with the support of EarthWise Pet corporate team support as well as their own corporate infra structure,” he said. “Pet Stuff America, as a new franchisee of EarthWise Pet, still has 100 percent ownership in Pet Stuff America. They are a full-fledged franchisee, and in terms of how they operate the day-to-day operation such as personnel hirings, it’s their compa ny. As a franchisee of ours, they will eventually be migrating over to Earth Wise Pet, Dee-O-Gee, and GROOMBAR branded locations. It means when they add grooming or do remodeling, they’ll be brought up to our brand conversion standards. It’s a very unique arrange ment but in simple terms: we are the franchising wing and Pet Stuff America is the largest multi-unit franchisee of EarthWise Pet.”
“We are always looking for opportuni ties to expand and build the right team,” Seitz said in terms of how EarthWise decided to partner with Pet Stuff Amer ica. “First, the regional accretive nature of the relationship,” he said. “We didn’t have a strong presence up in the Great Lakes area and they do. What’s amazing is even when they acquired Dee-O-Gee before this process happened, we didn’t have locations in Montana at that time, so really the collective two concepts were regionally accretive. Second, the fact that Bentley’s was looking to fran chise, but they were in the early stages and they needed help on how to accom plish that. Third, the Bentley’s locations were essentially all retail and were ripe and ready to add services across the
board, and we knew how to do that. We brought to the table the ability to have a service model that we could integrate into their concept. We had the franchis ing expertise, and they had the footprint and the collective buying power.”
Later in 2021, EarthWise Pet ac quired Pet Pros, an 18-chain retailer in Washington. Since 1992, Pet Pros was owned by Harvey and Nancy Pe terson whose vision of the store was to teach consumers how to keep their pets healthy, provide above par customer service and have ties to the community. In 2016, the Harveys stepped back and let General Manager Georgann McConn oversee daily operations. The Pet Pros locations were bought by Zeke and Sa bino Arredondo, who said at the time of the acquisition they would rebrand the locations into EarthWise Pet fran chisees.
“Pet Pros was an acquisition by a franchisee of ours and is now the sec ond largest franchisee in our system,” EarthWise CEO Mike Seitz told Pet In sight at the time of the acquisition. “We are looking at expanding our footprint in specific targeted regions through ac quisition and Pet Pros was the natural regional accretive [retailer] as well as the perfect cultural fit. Harvey and Nan cy spent decades building an amazing legacy, and we were the right fit to hon or that legacy moving forward.”
With 20 locations across Oregon, Mini Pet Mart has been advocating for pet ownership for more than 40 years. The family-owned business promotes responsible care starting with the qual ity of products pet owners can choose from. “We are committed to your pets and their wellbeing, and all of the pet products we carry we believe to be the absolute best quality for your pet,” ac cording to the company website. “All of our products have been specifically cho sen by us to meet your pet’s needs.”
Forming bonds and friendships with pet owners and their pets is another fo cal point of creating a lasting impression at Mini Pet Mart locations. “We continu ally offer the best in service and prod uct availability,” said company leaders. “We know our customers’ needs and we
fulfill them time and time again. We are confident you will find exactly what you are looking for in our stores, and if you are not sure what you need our friendly and knowledgeable staff can help you. We stand behind each and every prod uct in our store, as well as the service we offer.”
Educating pet owners is fundamental in ensuring lasting and enjoyable pet ownership for both the pet parent and the pet. Company leaders believe with proper knowledge, pet owners will be equipped to make wise decisions on behalf of their pets’ safety and quality of life. “We are truly dedicated to your pets,” from the Mini Pet Mart web site. “All of our locations in Oregon are equipped with knowledgeable staff that can help you choose products to meet the needs of your pet. We believe it is important to educate our customers and offer them service that allows them to make smart decisions when it comes to their furry family members.”
As the company approaches 35 years in the pet industry, Mud Bay has been a reliable and trustworthy source of knowledge and guidance for pet owners who are simply trying to do what’s right for their pets.
“What has made Mud Bay successful over time is more than just specific busi ness practices,” Al Puntillo, who was ap pointed co-CEO in July, told Pet Insight late last year. “Mud Bay has benefitted from building an employee ownership culture, open book management and its long-term partnerships with manu facturers and distributors. But what has made the real difference is Mud Bay’s willingness to constantly work to rein vent itself, always having one foot in the present and one foot in the future.”
“Mud Bay’s values are simply a reflec tion of the values of two truly amazing human beings, Marisa Wulff and Lars Wulff,” Puntillo added. “Throughout the past 30 years, they have worked tirelessly to make sure that our values show up every day in the work we do. Our core values are Accountability: We follow through; Education; We em power with knowledge; Integrity: We do the right thing; Generosity: We help
others succeed; Responsibility: We use our best judgment and Fun: We create workplaces filled with laughter.”
When Covid hit, Mud Bay was impact ed operationally, strategically, financial ly and culturally, according to company literature. Mud Bay employees, “Mud dies”, and company leaders responded to the hardships of operating stores by focusing on three goals: keeping their commitment to pet owners by allowing them uninterrupted access to feeding their pets; reducing the spread of Covid and advocating for Muddies.
“Although we shortened store hours and closed some stores for short peri ods of time, we fulfilled our role as an essential business by continuing to feed about half a million Pacific Northwest dogs and cats,” said company officials. “Equally important, we were able to support Muddies with a variety of help ful Covid benefits. And, despite millions of customer transactions, we kept com munity transmission within Mud Bay to zero or almost zero.”
Despite the disruptions and hard ships that occurred throughout 2020, Mud Bay’s leadership, with feedback from several Muddies, realized and finetuned its Investment and Growth Strategy for the 2020s, its Customer and Market Strategy for the 2020s, the team’s plans for where Mud Bay will be in 2024 and a series of change ini tiatives to guide leadership in bringing that plan to fruition. By the end of 2021, Muddies were pleased to see that in spite of financial pitfalls that occurred in 2020, Mud Bay’s profits rebounded in 2021.
“Our profits in 2021 were strong enough to enable us to share a part of them with Muddies,” according to the Mud Bay website. “Our commitment to the Good Jobs Strategy had led to the decision to use MIT’s living wage calculator as the basis for determining pay scales. Annual investments in our Employee Stock Ownership Trust had grown employee’s ownership stake to more than 10 percent. And every Mud dy had had a chance to digest and give feedback on an ambitious vision the Mud Bay Muddies will work together to bring to life by the end of 2024.”
“Muddies have accomplished so many amazing things in the last eight
years that it is very hard to pick just a few accomplishments,” Puntillo said in late 2021. “But I am particularly proud of all the work that has gone into Mud Bay’s pet food certification process, Mud Bay Certified. For more than 30 years we have been touring production facilities and requiring the highest lev el of transparency from our manufac turing partners. Mud Bay Certified has pulled that entire process together into an annualized certification process and into customer-facing information that our customers can use and have confi dence in. I am also very proud of Mud Bay’s participation as one of the found ing members of IndiePet, a non-profit trade association created to support independent and neighborhood pet re tailers, which launched in November of 2020.”
For almost 90 years, Zamzows has been a fixture in Idaho’s Treasure Valley, encompassing Boise, Meridian, Nampa, Eagle, Star, Kuna, Caldwell and Middle ton, to consumers seeking a dependable and trustworthy garden and pet supply store. Zamzows was founded in 1933 almost on accident. Siblings August and Carl Zamzow were stowaways on a train headed from Minnesota to California. At a stop in Meridian, ID, August jumped off the train to grab lunch for himself and his brother. The plan was foiled when the train took off before August could jump back on. Stranded, August found work and made Meridian his new home. It’s there he met his future wife, Carmalita House. After enduring the Depression, the loss of one of their chil dren and pushed to sell their farm, Au gust, Carmelita and their four children bought into in a feed store in Boise, ID which they named Zamzows. Carmelita was inspired to take care of the animals residing in Southern Idaho.
Carmelita served as Zamzows advisor until she passed at 105 years old. To this day, Grandma Z, as she was affectionally referred to, is a brand Zamzows offers.
“Today, the Grandma Z’s brand, and the products that carry its name, hon or her passion for the highest quality ingredients, animal health, and value,” according to the company.
Leading suppliers in the dog chews category have contended with on going supply chain challenges in their own ways but are increasingly driv en by the consumer demand for safe, natural, digestible and domestically sourced and produced options. Collagen prod ucts have recently tak en the spotlight, and these manufacturers are taking advantage of the opportunity to both showcase this ingredi ent and provide more general education on chew options to ensure pet owners they’re giv ing their dogs the best quality products within their budgets. Some are also making an imal welfare and sustainability a signif icant part of their story to highlight the premium quality of their products.
partially or wholly made in China, ac cording to John Bosserman, Director of Sales and Marketing for Great American Pet Treats Company. “As traditional sup ply chains get interrupted, distributors are scrambling to find new products to
“Preventing food waste is one of the most impactful solutions to fighting climate change, and we are proud to report that so far, we have saved more than 715,588 pounds of food, with a goal of 3 million pounds saved by the end of 2025. We prioritize working with North American suppliers to find creative, sustainable solutions to build supply chains that repurpose food that would otherwise go to a food waste destination such as excess butternut squash after it’s been zoodled away.”
with our products that these points cor relate best to USA-made chews. Using locally sourced materials handcrafted in our local facility allows us to have more control of the quality and safety of our products. This way we ensure that the needs of our cus tomers are being met at with every chew.”
“Impact from both evolving consum er preferences and industry-side devel opments varies,” said Laura Lang, Pres ident of Jones Natural Chews. “Staying on top of trends and information that is circulating is important, and trends are remaining strong for USA and sim ple ingredient chews and treats. We feel best prepared when we are tuned into the industry developments. Right now, logistics issues seem to be sorting themselves out, slowly but surely. The unknown factors that we are closely monitoring are inflation and the state of the economy.”
“You look at the trends going on and you try to judge what the consumer is looking for,” said Jon Roska, President of Icelandic+. “For us, some of that would be things we’re seeing in the growth of collagen, but we always strive to be different and take things in a way that will elevate the experience for the con sumer. When we looked at that trend we said let’s take our highly nutritious fish skin and wrap that around a collagen chew coming from the US only. Doing things that are different and above and beyond allows you to differentiate your self on the shelf.”
There is an increasing reliance on imported products, particularly those
— Alex Waite, Shameless Pets
fill the gaps,” he said. “On the demand side, dog owners are actively exploring new chew products to take the place of others that are no longer available. We’re seeing an increased demand for collagen-based chews and treats as well as those that are made and sourced in the USA.”
Superior Farms Pet Provisions was at the head of the collagen trend, accord ing to Ken Wilks, VP Sales and Market ing. “Just before the pandemic struck, we were the first to launch collagen sticks with our ‘Beauty Chews’ line,” he said in 2021. “Our focus at the time was to meet or exceed both the palatability and durability of the traditional pizzle. Little did we know that, several months later, supply chain and labor challenges would result in a worldwide shortage of pizzle. Imitations occur quickly in the treat industry, and look-alike colla gen sticks are now available from oth er manufacturers. We’re proud to have contributed in some small way to re tailers’ ability to maintain sales of one of their top items in the treat category despite the pizzle shortage.”
Back to 2022, “The biggest impact on the chews category today is the demand from pet owners for more conscientious products,” said Tony March, Marketing Manager for Pet Factory, Inc. “Pet own ers want chews that will first and fore most be safe and beneficial for their pet, easy to digest and natural. We found
Campfire Treats, which launched as a company in 2017, has taken the desire for more conscien tious products and used it to fuel its mis sion to bring not only wholesome treats and chews to consumers but to do so with a heavy emphasis on animal welfare as well as sustainability. This past summer, the company attained plastic neutral certification through a partnership with repurpose Global. And earlier in the spring, Campfire Treats was certified by Global Animal Partnership (G.A.P.), one of the largest and most comprehensive animal welfare food labeling programs in North America.
“We have put a lot of focus on animal welfare,” said President Marko Wittich. “The more we learned about how farm animals are raised, the more we dis liked what we were seeing.”
The company resolved to pursue higher standards for animal welfare in 2021 first by pledging to adopt the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC) to improve the lives of chickens farmed for food. “From day one we’ve only used human-grade chicken sourced from American farms,” said Wittich. “This al ready sets us apart in an industry using mostly inferior feed-grade ingredients, often imported from overseas. But hu man-grade US chicken wasn’t enough for us. We want to publicly commit to the humane treatment of every chick en raised for use in Campfire Treats. By joining the Better Chicken Commitment we’re helping to end factory farming and build a more humane, sustainable and fair food system.”
Wittich continued, “Global Animal Partnership has been a major milestone for us. At that point in time when we joined the program, we were the 10th pet food manufacturer in the US joining that food label which you normally see at the Whole Foods meat counter. That’s been quite an important element also for our customers, finding new custom ers and finding new retail partners who are simply looking for treats and chews which follow the most stringent stan dards available in the country.”
Differentiation on the shelf—in this case, it’s sustainability story—has guid ed Icelandic+ since the company first started, said Roska. “We were literally founded as a trash pickup company,” he said. “Our trucks would go around and pick up the waste they’d normally take to the landfill. That really hadn’t been done before in a setting we were un der. It’s opened a lot of eyes to the fact that you really can create a sustainable story and you don’t have to dump these things. They can become part of some thing else, something special. Lamb horns is a very popular part that we have. It was going to the landfill before we started our work and brought that to market.”
Icelandic+ has gone beyond sustain ability, however, in fully utilizing and celebrating its name and the Viking her itage behind it. “Bringing Skyr, which is that really rich protein yogurt, into our new jerky bars—it took a year and a half of planning—but that Millennial shopper is going to be shopping for the next 40 plus years for their pet, they know what that is. That’s really where we’ve kept an eye on things and incor porated ingredients and made sure we’re staying on trend with what the consumer shopper is going to be look ing for. That’s a 1,000-year old culture that the Vikings originally brought over, and to be able to continue to add that value, it’s never been done before. Now you’re breaking down a new barrier like that. Bone broth was huge for a while and you’ve got marrow treats that can complement that. We’re being thought ful about what’s going on out there.”
For Shameless Pets, sustainability is baked into its company mission “to re
duce food waste by transforming or up cycling misfit and surplus produce into high quality pet treats,” co-Founder Alex Waite said earlier this year. “Preventing food waste is one of the most impactful solutions to fighting climate change, and we are proud to report that so far, we have saved more than 715,588 pounds of food, with a goal of 3 million pounds saved by the end of 2025. We prioritize working with North American suppliers to find creative, sustainable solutions to build supply chains that repurpose food that would otherwise go to a food waste destination such as excess butternut squash after it’s been zoodled away.”
Waite continued, “Although upcycled, nutritious ingredients are our passion. We take a holistic approach to sustain ability. All of our plastic packaging is made with 25 percent post-consumer recyclable plastic bottles and milk jugs, and 80 percent of our product line is made with solar energy.”
Manufacturers strive to remain open and responsive to their retailer part ners because of how unsettled the sup ply side of production remains. “Sourc ing exclusively from American farmers and ranchers has spared us some of the logistic headaches that many have faced in the last two years,” said Lang with Jones Natural Chews. “Our fill rate is 99 percent and that certainly lends us credibility with our retailer and dis tributor partners. They can trust that our product will be available for their shelves and that we will consistently offer new and exciting products in the chews and treats category.”
Veterans in this category are resting on their well-earned reputation of reli ability and trust to help their partners get through the current landscape. “We have outstanding relationships with our retail and distributor partners,” said March with Pet Factory. “For many of them we have been partnered up for decades since we started in 1989. We have been able to innovate within our category because of these relationships. The trust and commitment that they have had in Pet Factory has allowed us to evolve and grow in the industry.”
Bosserman with Great American Pet Treat Company describes them as a smaller, “boutique-style” manufacturer whose size provides more opportuni
ties to support retail partners. “We have the ability to customize our products and develop new flavor combinations which gives our customers unique com petitive opportunities,” he said. “We are also finding success in the private label side of the industry as many marketing companies are seeking a fast way to get into collagen treats without having to rely on foreign manufacturers.”
For now, Bosserman said the compa ny wants to continue its education for consumers to understand what makes their products unique. “We specialize in making small-batch, ultra-clean colla gen chews for dogs,” he said. “Consum ers need to know that not all collagen is alike. Most collagen, even for human consumption, is sourced from bovine, or cattle, hides. The hide needs to be processed in such a way that makes the collagen totally available to dogs. That includes processing with food-grade enzymes and mechanical action that actually changes the nature of the raw material, eliminating choking hazards and possibly contamination.”
It’s an objective that others share as well, especially at this point in the year. “Right now, we are focusing on edu cating pet parents on the terminology within our category,” said March with Pet Factory. “For example, what is the difference between beefhide and col lagen? Taking that helps our consumer better understand what truly makes our new premium chew products different from other brands in the industry. We want to continue to innovate and listen to the needs of our consumers and cli ents. We have been doing this for more than 33 years, and there are still many things we are learning and improving. But through it all, consumers can expect our products to use honest and true statements that have been tested and proven safe.”
Icelandic+ is headed into the last quarter of the year with more packag ing size options plus dynamic SKUs that further feature Skyr yogurt in its vari ous chews and treats and a renewed focus on cats, said Roska. The brand is launching three products tailored for fe lines. “They are soft nibblet chews and for the first time, we’re really bringing some soft treats to the marketplace that are totally nutritious,” he said.
The leaders within the grooming cat egory that continue to rise are the companies who tackled unexpected opportunities without hesitation, prov ing to themselves and retailer partners that when under pressure, these man ufacturers can swiftly deliver creative solutions—even going so far as creat ing products for retailers the company didn’t currently offer. The companies who stand out pay attention to what is happening within the grooming catego ry. Whether it’s providing a new puppy kit—an arsenal of supplies designed for puppy-related issues like potty-train ing and chewing—for households with pandemic puppies or supplies that de tangle, soothe itchy skin and chapped paw pads or attack odors, manufactur ers are aware of the fact there are more pet owners, and these pet parents are attempting to groom their pets at home. Suppliers are addressing two fronts: retailers who need to understand the products to speak knowledgeably and fill shelves and pet owners who have learned they can expect more from the category and are thoughtful about the ingredients they are grooming their pets with.
“We have launched new and innova tive product offerings that respond to today’s consumer preferences and de mands, such as our recent introduction of TropiClean Essentials, a new line of sulfate-free pet shampoos and refresh ing sprays in trendy extract blends,” said Amy Horton, Corporate Communi cations Manager. “We also look for op portunities to strengthen our core lines to maintain customer satisfaction and loyalty. For example, with the growing retail popularity of our TropiClean Per fectFur line of shampoos specifically de signed for each dog’s unique coat type, groomers were also seeing demand from their clients for these shampoos, so we recently made several of the Per fectFur formulas available in profes sional sizes. This allows us to serve pet parents when they take their pets to the groomers and when they bathe their pets at home.”
“Ingredient disclosure continues to be at the forefront as our company rallies for more transparency among
manufacturers and marketers,” said David Campanella, Sales and Market ing Director for Best Shot Pet Products. “Unfortunately, trending sustainability concerns are overshadowed by blatant greenwashing and fear marketing. The concerns appear more as misleading pandering for sales rather than genuine environmental concerns.”
Recent product launches and raising awareness these solutions are avail able to pet parents is one area of the grooming category Pet King Brands is directing attention towards. “Pet King Brands recently announced new rem edy products at SuperZoo 2022 which include new formulations of our pop ular ZYMOX Shampoo and Conditioner extending the line to include solutions with oat extract to help dogs and cats with extremely dry, itchy, irritated or sensitive skin,” said Debra Decker, Di rector of Marketing. “We also shared the good news about new species-specific ZYMOX products for cats and kittens, and a new look and formulation for our line for horses and livestock. In step with the company’s more than 25-year history of providing veterinarian-rec ommended dermatologic topicals that get their effectiveness from enzymes and not antibiotics, the new products will share the same proven advanced technology that has helped countless animals find comfort and relief.”
In the coming months, Andis is con tinuously working to bring new prod ucts to the market to help groomers in their day-to-day routine, said Michelle Eskowski, Andis’ Manager Global Solu tions, Animal Segment. “We are happy to announce the launch of our 8-Piece Adjustable Blade Attachment Comb set,” she said. “These combs were designed to work with our adjustable blade (siz es nine to 40) with stainless-steel tines designed to go through the coat easier. Andis is also working on new cordless products with exciting innovation we plan to launch later this year.”
At this point in 2022, Pure and Nat ural Pet is addressing added meetings post-SuperZoo and laying the ground work for next year. “Our development team is already focusing on products that will launch in 2023 that will round
out some of our current categories,” said Julie Creed, VP of Sales and Mar keting for Pure and Natural Pet. “We are also reevaluating all SKUs and looking for creative ways to improve sustain ability.”
One area of the grooming category Pure and Natural Pet Products is homing in on is continually teaching consumers there are resources available to treats cats to ensure a comfortable quality of life. “We’re really good about education and created a whole series that dove tails into each SKU,” Creed said. “We’re finding that there needs to be more ed ucation and products for cats that will keep them healthy and happy.”
“We are always looking at new tech nologies and we’re looking at continuing to grow in a thoughtful and meaningful way for our brand,” said Jenny Gilcrest, Skout’s Honor’s VP of Marketing. “We’ve been intentional about does this make sense? Does that make sense? We don’t want to go into a product category or a line just because it sounds good or be cause we think we can make money off of it. We want to make sure it aligns with is it the best in this category with the technology we have at our hands? Can we make something better than what currently exists? If we can’t, then it’s usually a quick no. We don’t want to be another me-too. None of our products are like anything else in our categories they’re in. With grooming specifical ly, there’s still some spots we can play in to be able to leverage that probiotic technology because it’s so unique and it really does solve a lot of problems and build health and wellness for pets over all. There are some things we’re looking at there for expanding the line to really be able to leverage that technology in new ways. We do have a couple of new products coming out towards the end of the year and then early next year. In that category we’re also looking at expand ing how can we continue to be a leader in grooming by sheer space on the shelf. We’re always innovating. There will be new things coming in 2023 that people can get excited about.”
“We never rest, we have a few inno
Grooming is more than just shampoo. We like to think of it as a total skin and coat care regimen. This includes clean and healthy ears, plaque-free teeth and gums, fresh breath, a moist & supple nose, and soft, abrasion-free paws.
Pure and Natural Pet® is cruelty-free, eco-friendly, and USA-made. We would love to be the company you can rely on for robust sales, great marketing support, product education, and a brand that you and your customers will grow to love.
vative pet-friendly options on the draw ing board, so stay tuned,” said Jane De Meulemester, VP of Finance for Banixx. “We also think there are several areas that could use extra attention and edu cation. Two immediately come to mind. One is Ringworm. There are so many treatments out there, some not very pet friendly at all but none seems to address the importance of treating the pet envi ronment along with treating the pet. We stress this on our Ringworm page and even put it on our Pet bottle label. Sec ond and this is a big one too. Pets with itchy, dry skin problems. There can be many causes and sometimes the source is due to multiple factors. Too often, the treatment is applied but the origin of the issue is never addressed. Admit tedly, determining the root cause can be quite difficult, but generally there is a list of ‘culprits’ that can be eliminated leading to some reduction to this pesky problem. It does take time and patience and we address the ‘culprits’ on our Itchy Skin Yeast Infection Dog page.”
Suppliers in the grooming space uncovered unexpected opportunities through listening to what retailers and pet owners needed and paying at tention to what was missing on store shelves. They stepped up with creative out of the box answers to issues that affected pets and filled gaps within the category with new products.”
“Supply chain hurt a lot of our com petitors,” Campanella said. “By lever aging our company’s 30 years of expe rience, history, and purchasing power, Best Shot successfully secured longterm supply agreements that guaran teed our ongoing commitments to our customers. There were some notable brand mergers and acquisitions with in the grooming category the past two years that unfortunately left some of their distributors feeling vulnerable and/or dismissed. Furthermore, many end-users became suspicious of now sourcing through a much larger busi ness entity and/or complained of losing the personalized service and relation ships of a smaller company. That spells opportunity.”
“The last few years have been difficult for everyone,” Creed said. “Anyone still
in business is a survivor. Most compa nies are learning to do more with less to streamline, and we have followed suit.”
Pure and Natural Pets has discovered noteworthy opportunities within. “Af filiate programs have provided some interesting growth opportunities with retailers outside of the traditional pet arena that we might not have reached using traditional avenues,” she added.
“Obviously during supply chain is sues, being a younger company than other brands in our categories, we were able to move very quickly and be agile in terms of filling shelves for our cus tomers when they weren’t able to get supplies from other vendors,” Gilcrest said. “We manufacture everything in the United States, so we didn’t have to deal with a lot of those supply chain issues that a lot of people did. We’re also very agile in terms of our ability to source, create and build new products as need ed. That was something that came out of the pandemic where one of our huge retail customers came to us and they were virtually out of one of their top selling items that we didn’t even make in that category. They asked us if we were able to make it. We were able to come up with something within about eight weeks and turn it around and now it’s our top selling SKU. That was a huge opportunity in the face of a chal lenge for our customers that we were able to follow through on and it turned out really well for us. Now it’s our No. 1 SKU. It’s Super Sour. Anti-Chew Spray that we focused heavily on at SuperZoo. It’s something we weren’t planning on making, but we saw an opportunity and we were able to solve a problem for our retailers who needed it when they couldn’t get it. We made something better, and we were able to fill that spot and it paid off for everybody.”
Category leaders have identified be ing available to their retailer partners as a top priority in their efforts to continue propelling the grooming space forward.
“At Cosmos Corporation, which man ufactures TropiClean and other brands, we manufacture 96 percent of our items at our headquarters in the greater St. Louis area,” Horton said. “Being central ly located and under one roof helps us manage supply chain costs and mini mize freight haul distances. We’ve also
dual-sourced major components and ingredients to manage supply availabil ity. We’re investing in equipment and automation and addressing other con tinuous improvement initiatives to help increase efficiency and manage costs. Maintaining clear communication and being positioned to respond to emerg ing customer needs has also been key to developing long-term, mutually benefi cial industry relationships.”
“Ongoing innovation is how we stay relevant,” Campanella said. “Working together is what propels the category forward. However, integrity is why our customers continue to believe and sup port us.”
“We are very accessible to our retail ers,” Creed said. “We participate in the major tradeshows and have constant communication from our sales and marketing team. We’ve propelled the category forward by launching new products in our key categories and by making enhancements that benefit our cherished family pets.”
“That’s something that we have real ly leaned into this year,” Gilcrest said of being available to Skout’s Honor’s re tailer partners. “Our grooming product line is just now hitting that wave where we have a more dominant presence on pet specialty shelves nationwide in Can ada and some of the international mar kets, we play in. We’re now at that place where we do have that placement and that is a challenge and that has been an important thing to us. We want to make sure we’re maintaining that direct rela tionship as much as possible because our product does have a unique tech nology aspect to it where it requires that education or even anecdotal infor mation about these products. Our tag line is that we make life-changing pet essentials so at this point we have so many testimonials and stories and just little tidbits that help at the retail level to be able to help associates differenti ate why our products are so special.”
“Banixx remains a lower priced but premium quality supplier of animal health care products. Moreover, Banixx exceeds with its retail and distributor partners by offering products that treat a variety of ailments as opposed to of fering a different SKU for each ailment,” said DeMeulemester.
Whether its preventative and sup plemental care or healing, the health and wellness category has been able to grow through leading manu facturers’ dedication to learning about what pets and their owners need.
In an interview with Pet Insight, NOW Foods summarized what the company has noticed in the category in comparison to pre vious years.
“We are seeing an increase in traffic to our website, which in dicates pet owners are doing their research on our products,” said a NOW Foods spokesperson. “We have a lot of information on the site to educate the consumer, which is helpful these days while it is more difficult to speak to store employees for advice.”
“NOW was very well positioned to manage all the challenges for a number of reasons,” the spokesperson said. “Our quality standards are incredibly high, so we already had procedures in place to protect against fluctuations in ingre dient quality that are common in times of rapid increase in demand. We have well-established relationships with suppliers. The family-owned company has no debt, so we’re in a position to add more equipment and take other steps to increase manufacturing capacity.”
Fidobiotics described the company’s experience at SuperZoo this year and what the team observed throughout the tradeshow.
“My expectations were low as I didn’t know what to expect,” said Fidobiotics Owner Mika Wheelwright. “Last Super Zoo was really small. This year, I felt that the show was back to its normal large size of exhibitors. However, it did seem to be not as jam packed with buyers as it was pre-Covid.”
“You do your best to meet with as many people, but lots of people like to come over at their leisure so hopefully they come over when you have some one that can chat with them,” she add ed. “Most buyers are really great about
coming back around if you are busy.”
The space is continuing to grow out side of industry tradeshows as well.
“The health and wellness category is growing,” Wheelwright continued.
ty to educate consumers and retailers about the difference of our premium, research-backed brand of VetriScience and how that supports what a consum er should be looking for in a high-qual ity, efficacious pet sup plement.”
In a previous inter view with Pet Insight, Archambault called at tention to the compa ny’s new supplements for senior pets and the importance of educa tion.
— Ken Cowan, BiologicVET“More and more companies are getting into the health and wellness category, especially dog food companies. After nine years in this business, we’ve rec ognized people are more aware of the microbiome and digestion and want to talk about it. They are more educated than ever.”
Pet Naturals mentioned the company has been affected by several factors, but mainly pet owners educated demands and concerns.
“The health and wellness category is being impacted by a number of lon ger-term trends that most people are fa miliar with—the humanization of pets, pet parents looking for more natural products, etc.,” said Derek Archambault with Food Science, partner company of VetriScience and Pet Naturals. “In the immediate time, there are things going on that are driving shorter term chang es—inflation squeezing their wallets is driving people toward value and lower absolute price points for example.”
“Our VetriScience and Pet Naturals brands have both been working on sup porting our retail and distributor part ners through education and marketing support while supporting the entire cat egory through robust marketing efforts to help drive sales at our partners,” he continued.
“As the health and wellness category matures, and especially our category of supplements, we see an opportuni
“When VetriScience provides education on our products through our Retailer Education Portal, we talk about supporting a pet’s health through sup plements throughout their lives,” said Derek Archambault during a previous interview with Pet Insight. “It is a diffi cult concept to market, since we can’t say a supplement ‘prevents’ anything, but we can talk about the systems that various supplements support and how that can help with everyday health.”
“Two things that really stand out in this area is providing education to our retailers throughout Retailer Education Portal and providing more options on supplement flavors and conditions,” Ar chambault said. “The education helps retailers understand our products bet ter and the flavor options make it easier for pet parents to give them GlycoFlex hip and joint and Composure behavior supplements every day, as it makes it feel more like a treat.”
“We focus on the effectiveness of our products through studied ingredients and clinically tested products, rather than focusing on price points and dis counts,” he continued. “We feel that it is important to be able to provide a high-quality product that works rath er than chasing specific price points. We want VetriScience to be accessible to as many consumers as possible and want price points that help more pets, but also want to balance that with great product that actually work, which will
“Consumers need to be educated on how raw materials for the brand are sourced and manufactured. It isn’t okay to just attest that you follow certain standards but actually implement them, so the consumer gets everything that is stated on the label at full potency until the expiration date. Following and implementing Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) is not the same as attesting to GMP.”
dogs feel better faster with this
treat that goes
save consumers money in the long term.”
VetriScience was able to on showcase its line of supplements for senior pets at SuperZoo and Archambault mentioned the pandemic put the show into per spective.
“VetriScience will be talking about our Golden Years line of supplement formulated specifically for senior pets, including a unique ocular health prod uct called ‘Clear and Bright’ and a muscle and mobility supple ment called ‘Strength and Stability,’” he said. “In addition to those products, we will be promoting our educa tion portal that is free to all retailers.”
Amazon to choose a product once they have the solution,” Cowan said. “If you are not available on Amazon with qual ity information you may be forgotten about. So, it is imperative to keep your Amazon pages under control and up-todate, not allowing every retailer to sell your product from a different page but
Insight
“When VetriScience provides education on our products through our Retailer Education Portal, we talk about supporting a pet’s health through supplements throughout their lives. It is a difficult concept to market, since we can’t say a supplement ‘prevents’ anything, but we can talk about the systems that various supplements support and how that can help with everyday health. We focus on the effectiveness of our products through studied ingredients and clinically tested products, rather than focusing on price points and discounts. We feel that it is important to be able to provide a high-quality product that works rather than chasing specific price points.”
“That like many things, the pandemic put trade shows into perspective—maybe they are more beneficial than we gave them credit for, but the efforts put into them by com panies and the organizers need to be held accountable for producing results for exhibitors,” he continued. “ it also made attendees think about how often they need to attend and how else they can get information and learning. For brands, it makes the need to keep an eye on multiple channels when promoting to the trade even more important.”
BiologicVET has continued to notice the growth within the category, but quantity doesn’t always equal quality.
“I see so many me-too knock-offs of pet supplements appearing in the mar ketplace,” said Ken Cowan, National Sales Manager for BiologicVET. “Every one is supposedly better than the last one. Often, they are identical coming from the same source basically confus ing the consumer more than ever. The majority send one message that is not following the science but just some marketing story.”
“It’s sad to say but when a consumer is looking for a product or a solution to a problem, they will typically end up on
— Derek Archambault, FoodScienceonly from the one you have created. It is important to keep the price the same as a brick-and-mortar store as well. Keeping this in mind with competitive pricing satisfies the brick-and-mortar retailer and the distribution partners.”
“Products tend to be the same as ev eryone else with a twist sometimes, so by not following the competition with new product development it has kept us unique,” he said. “Our new probiotic supplement that goes against what ev eryone says has proven to be very suc cessful unexpected opportunity.”
“Consumers need to be educated on how raw materials for the brand are sourced and manufactured,” he con tinued. “It isn’t okay to just attest that you follow certain standards but actu ally implement them, so the consumer gets everything that is stated on the la bel at full potency until the expiration date. Following and implementing Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) is not the same as attesting to GMP.”
Terri Entler, President of Healer’s Petcare, emphasized how fast the cat egory has grown over the years in an interview regarding SuperZoo with Pet
“Pet health is one of the fastest grow ing segments and that’s what Super Zoo is recognizing,” Entler said. “That’s why they put that health section in. We used to be just blended throughout in some of the other areas, but now they recognize that fact that pet health has become its own cat egory and they put us in health which is really great because veterinary costs are just going up and up. You try to find a vet erinarian these days or try to get in, it’s re ally challenging. Over the counter (OTC) pet health products are becoming really im portant. Consumers really need retailers to become more edu cated on OTC health treatments because veterinary costs are just going up, and pet owners need to be able to find ways to treat and manage their pets’ health, without necessarily having to go to a veterinarian.”
The company was able to showcase new products at the tradeshow this year: “a new sustainable way of looking at how supplements and vitamins and pills that you give your pets,” said Entler. “One of the things that’s a challenge for every person, even yourself, is remem bering every day to take them. Also, we use so much plastic so we’re converting all our vitamins to a soft pack, [which] is so much better for the environment— more recyclable and no plastic. Then you get a reusable bottle that you can put them in, and the bottle is connected to an app that reminds you ‘don’t forget to feed your pet its vitamin today’ be cause it’s important that we keep pets healthy. So, vitamins, just like humans, they’re very important. And then what’s really cool is that when it gets low in the bottle, it reminds you you’re just about to run out and don’t forget to go buy an other round or it auto ships [it to] you. It keeps you constantly in supply, so you never forget to give your dog its pills. That’s a new thing we’re excited about.”
Manufacturers in the litter sector have continued to dedicate their time to sustainable, comfortable litter options for pets and their owners. Lit ter has come a long way from ordinary pellets and bedding to provide cats and various small animals with safe and effective options. While supply chain issues have con tinued to plague the litter category, leaders are propelling the cat egory forward through their innovation and leadership.
Boxiecat litter has dedicated its time to providing natural, long lasting and effective lit ter. Recently, Boxiecat told Pet Insight in an earlier interview the company found Super Zoo to be a success and was able to showcase its new product lines.
natural, sustainable and biodegradable. Boxiecat Air is our ultra-lightweight, plant-based litter made with a mix of barley and wheat and doesn’t compro mise on performance,” she continued.
“At Boxie, our mission is not only to
“Natural products remain in the forefront for many consumers. Next Gen’s approach to help migrate consumers toward more natural and environmentally friendly solutions—like wood and green tea—is our primary goal and has been since 2004. Next Gen offers an array of natural cat litters using different solutions for odor control for single and multi-cat homes. Watching established clay cat litter makers invest in natural cat litter solutions demonstrates that they also understand the importance and growth of natural alternatives. One of the biggest hurdles for our customers is convincing their cats that this is the litter they should be using.”
— Janice Yamamoto, Next Gen Pet“SuperZoo was a huge success for Boxie and we are blown away by the positive feedback,” said Marketing Man ager Kelley Bond. “The amount of traf fic to our booth and orders we received well exceeded our expectations. This year we upgraded to a larger, more cus tomized booth to create a unique brand ed experience and allow us to showcase our full product lines of premium pet care products, including our brand new sustainable litter product, Eco Farm to Bo cat litter. The amount of attention we received at SuperZoo this year fills us with excitement and motivates us to continue producing top quality, high performing pet care products that pro vide a better experience for pet parents. We are grateful for all the support from our partners and customers for making this such a successful show.”
“As consumers continue to become more eco-conscious and mindful about their environmental impacts, the trend towards all-natural and sustainable litter products continues to rise. Boxie has already identified this consumer need and interest by carrying sever al different cat litter formulas that are
help you and your cat live your best life but to improve the health of the planet as well which is why we are excited to announce our newest, most sustainable litter product from start to finish—Eco Farm to Box cat litter. Eco is made of perennial rye and soft red wheat that is locally sourced from non-GMO farms five to 100 miles from our Midwest fa cility. Our farms practice sustainable, no-till farming to promote climate and soil health. A major third-party con servation study shows that one bag of Eco reduces your carbon footprint by 69 percent compared to conventionally farmed cat litter. Our Eco litter is bio degradable, and the packaging is fully recyclable completing a life cycle that is gentler on the planet. Eco is not only ul tra-sustainable and better for the envi ronment, but also a high performing cat litter that outperforms other brands. Keep odors away naturally with Nature Clump, and never worry about a messy litter box. NatureClump makes it easy to scoop and clean.”
Noba Animal Co. has been able to persevere through the difficulties it has contended with during the pandem ic years and continues to provide pets with high-quality litter options.
“The supply challenges are definitely the greatest impact on the litter cate gory,” said Roxane Popoviciu, Business Development Manager for Noba Animal Co. “Not only the raw material pricing going up but also the transport costs and challenges with the labor crisis. This being said, consumer preferences are also changing, tending to look for alternative, more eco-conscious litters. Most alter native cat litters are made of plants and making them as per forming as clay litter is the other challenge. Consumers are look ing for the best of both worlds: great clump ing similar to clay lit ter and dust free and biodegradability of alternative cat litter. The challenge here remains, although some litters are very close to getting there. The Noba Soy cat litter offers a look and feel of the clay litter granulometry with a power of absorption of 400 percent and its 100 percent plant-based biodegradable and compostable.”
Noba has consistently produced litter solutions in response to consumers’ de mands.
“By developing plant-based cat litter, we are answering the demand of cus tomers in this category,” Popoviciu said. “We also developed another category in the cat’s wellbeing with innovative products from liquid catnip oil to cat scratching posts and modules made lo cally with sustainable materials. We are very open to comments and ideas from our distributor partners and tend to work together in developing products that are designed to be very successful once they hit the store shelves. Noba has taken the opportunity in developing new products and expanding its catego ries. We have found great partners for raw materials in South America and ex panded in manufacturing our wellbeing
category products locally by acquiring and integrating a new manufacturing plant for cat scratchers and modules.”
“Today’s customers are very well in formed and are looking for sustainable and great quality products,” she said. “Noba’s products always were in this trend, and we are more and more focused in manu facturing locally to overcome the trans port challenges we faced these past years. We are look ing forward to see ing these new products hit the local and international markets.”
Next Gen International Group also mentioned the supply chain issues have been troublesome, but the company has continued to keep its partnerships close during these challenging times.
“I think the biggest impact on the lit ter category right now is supply chain issues,” said Director of Marketing Jan ice Yamamoto. “Being able to keep in ventory on shelves is a tough challenge.”
Prior to the pandemic, Next Gen Pet started gaining traction on a new for mula for its Timber Fresh line. The for mula was put on hold due to the pan demic. But now, Yamamoto says the timing is right to introduce their latest innovation.
“This formula incorporates a small amount of bentonite that allows us to make a wood-based litter with a finer texture (more like clay),” she said. “We had trouble launching earlier when the pandemic was in full swing, but now is the time. People are more open to new products in this category and Timber Fresh is a unique take on cat litter.”
As many leading companies were looking forward to SuperZoo, Next Gen outlined what the company prioritized for the show.
“The most consistent piece of feed back we received was that people missed being able to readily purchase our products,” said Yamamoto. “It was nice to see customers at the show to communicate that we had litter avail able to order.”
“Our primary focus right now is mak ing sure we have bookings to continue to maintain product availability,” she said. “So, far we have been able to se cure bookings and we’re looking for ward to having all of our products in stock at the same time soon.”
products with prospective and current customers, i.e., Corn + Wheat for future growth opportunities,” Renick said.
“Particularly with the introduction of Corn + Wheat, it was important to at tend SuperZoo to show a dedication to the introduction of our new litter. It was also nice to see peo ple face to face. We have missed you all.”
Helen Cantrell, Director of Sales and Marketing of Naturally Fresh Cat Litter, recognized that supply chain isn’t the big issue in the category.
“Natural products remain in the fore front for many consumers,” Yamamoto told Pet Insight in a previous interview. “Next Gen’s approach to help migrate consumers toward more natural and environmentally friendly solutions— like wood and green tea—is our pri mary goal and has been since 2004. Next Gen offers an array of natural cat litters using different solutions for odor control for single and multi-cat homes. Watching established clay cat litter makers invest in natural cat litter solu tions demonstrates that they also un derstand the importance and growth of natural alternatives. One of the biggest hurdles for our customers is convinc ing their cats that this is the litter they should be using.”
“Our wood-based litter offers ex cellent odor control in a lightweight package, but many cats are very picky and unless you start them on our litter from a young age, transitioning cats to our litter can be complicated. One of the best benefits of our new Timber Fresh formula is the success rate for transi tioning from clay to Timber Fresh,” she continued.
In an interview revolving SuperZoo, John Renick, a Pioneer Pet Products spokesperson, mentioned the company had been working on new innovation and product lines.
“In addition to discussing future growth opportunities and plans with each other in a more controllable booth space, I believe we were able to ful ly demonstrate and discuss our new
“For cat litter, supply isn’t a huge issue right now, but the sudden rise in freight costs does have a significant impact and poses some challenges,” Cantrell said. “Keeping up with con sumer preferences, both those that are evolving and those that always matter, will always be relevant. For instance, consumers consistently want the best odor-controlling cat litter. More re cently, however, sustainability and the demand for eco-friendly products and practices has become more central to both retailers and consumers, so it’s im portant to deliver on both.”
“Our retail partners are huge con tributors to our ‘how’ – how we can get Naturally Fresh in the hands of as many consumers as possible, and we recog nize the value of those partnerships,” Cantrell said about the company’s part nerships. “So, we work together consis tently to meet changing supply chain trends, which often require expanded communications and inventory posi tions. We feed off each other’s experi ence and expertise to improve upon our current efforts. That trust and efficiency combined allows us to grow within the industry.”
“We are fortunate to have a product that provides natural superior odor control. Having a cat litter that is all nat ural, upcycled, and is made from a natu ral resource is significant. It’s important for consumers to learn about the impact they’re making on the planet with their current choice of litter. Overall, as a rel ative newcomer to the cat litter cate gory, awareness is a high priority,” she continued.
“We are fortunate to have a product that provides natural superior odor control. Having a cat litter that is all natural, upcycled and is made from a natural resource is significant. It’s important for consumers to learn about the impact they’re making on the planet with their current choice of litter. As a relative newcomer to the category, awareness is a high priority.” — Helen Cantrell, Naturally Fresh
While reptiles and other animals that indulge in eating live foods are not pets for everyone, ownership of these animals has increased immensely along with the education surrounding their diets. Leaders have continued to increase consumer awareness around the live foods category to ensure pet owners are well-advised and edu cated when it comes to their animals and what they are feeding them.
Armstrong’s Cricket Farms started in 1945 when the founder’s son left some crickets in a bucket with sand and three weeks later, they discovered the crickets had repopulated. The fami ly’s discovery was not only exciting but also a presentation of an opportunity: joining a new industry. The company opened its first farm in Glennville, GA in 1947 and the second in West Monroe, LA in 1954. A year later the company produced more than 20 million crickets a year. Today, the company has grown to become one of the largest cricket farm ers in the nation.
difficulties.
“In the past few years, our ability to adapt to challenges has been our great est achievement,” he said. “Our abili ty to strike while the iron is hot gave Armstrong’s Cricket Farm an ability to
“Overall, we have a great relationship with all of our customers. We look forward to any and all feedback from our customers so that we can improve our product and service. Our mission is to ensure that our customers are satisfied and look forward to doing business with us. Our ability to adapt in recent years has been our greatest asset allowing us to strike while the iron is hot.”
— Brandon Armstrong, Armstrong’s Cricket Farm
grow while others have been left be hind. Armstrong’s Cricket Farm has been able to deliver our products to our customers through natural disasters and pandemics without interruption. Armstrong’s Cricket Farm has been able to continually serve its customers since 1947 and will continue doing so for the foreseeable future.”
and 80s, which is when the company re ally grew in popularity throughout the industry. Bassett’s Cricket Ranch sells more than 3 million crickets each week, which is supplied mainly to retailers in the pet industry. Russ Bassett, Dale and Dorothy’s son, is the current President and CEO along with his son Russell Bassett as Vice President. The company has become a major player in the category and has con tinued to expand its offerings.
As a category lead er, Timberline Live Pet Foods has been able to advance the category while promoting responsible pet ownership and provid ing pet parents with quality products and the education surrounding those products.
“It would seem that currently growth has stalled somewhat,” said Brandon Armstrong, Operations Manager for Armstrong’s Cricket Farm. “This is mainly due to the overall state of the economy. Our main goal during this time is to improve our operational ca pabilities to continue serving our cus tomers to the best of our ability.”
“Overall, we have a great relationship with all of our customers,” he continued. “We look forward to any and all feed back from our customers so that we can improve our product and service. Our mission is to ensure that our customers are satisfied and look forward to doing business with us. Our ability to adapt in recent years has been our greatest as set allowing us to strike while the iron is hot.”
While the obstacles faced have con tinued to be a factor for the company, Armstrong’s has been able to overcome and move the category forward—look ing at the silver lining, regardless of the
Armstrong highlighted what the com pany has been keeping as top priority, specifically when it comes to shipping and packaging.
“Our biggest projects thus far this year have been on improving our lo gistical capabilities,” Armstrong said. “With increased business over the past few years it highlighted our deficiencies and where we can improve the most. Working with our logistical partners we have been able to upgrade our in-house shipping capabilities and improved how our packages are processed through the different logistic companies that we use (FedEx, UPS, USPS). This has virtually eliminated the vast majority of losses during shipping that have been experi enced in the past and ensures that the customers are getting the best products in the best conditions from Armstrong’s Cricket Farm.”
In 1969, owners of Bassett’s Cricket Ranch, Dale and Dorothy Bassett start ed raising crickets as fish bait and dis tributing them to some pet stores. Ac cording to the company, there was an uptick in reptile ownership in the 70s
“We promote our category primar ily by providing quality food because it doesn’t matter how many people produce animals, if we can’t feed them properly and keep them healthy then it is kind of a moot point,” Andy Pettit told Pet Insight earlier this year. “You can produce all of the animals in the world, but if you can’t feed them properly, it’s not going to help the market. We focus very strongly on sustainability and so when I say sustainability, I mean sus tainability of supply. That’s protecting the future supply in lieu of immediate sales. When we are growing our output, you have to do that responsibly.”
“I could have sold a whole lot more X, Y or Z last month, but it would have hurt future production,” he continued. “I think promoting responsible hus bandry is key for us and then also pro moting the proper feeding methods for the customer to feed their animal for maximum longevity and health of the animal. Promoting nutrition, Vita-Bugs how to properly feed live food to avoid supplementation, relying primarily on supplementation for proper nutrition, naturally feeding animals is always go ing to be better than guessing on sup plementation. That’s what we’ve done to promote the category.”
Leading manufacturers that operate in the pet own brands space have the unique opportunity to demonstrate a depth of customer service that makers of national brands simply don’t have the opportunity to showcase. Embarking on a project with a private label manu facturer can be a daunting process that involves a profound amount of trust and communication, but those companies thriving in this segment are up to the task to ensure their customers are sat isfied every step of the way in the devel opment and execution of their custom ized own brand offerings. While private label might once have been considered a less expensive alternative to a nation al brand, these companies now ensure that they’re delivering top-quality prod ucts backed by the highest standards of supply procurement and food safety.
“In the past, private label brands have had a stigma of being ‘the less expensive alternative’ to any pet food, but that’s not necessarily the case any more,” Heather Govea, Chief Commer cial Officer for Alphia said earlier this year. “We’re seeing private label brands make incredible headway in the premi um category. We’re helping private label brands fill this premium gap while still offering a better price alternative for their customers.”
Consumers have likely encountered —and even purchased—products by PrideBites but never known of their ori gin, given they’ve worked with partners as worldly as Purina, Tito’s Vodka and Starbucks. “We are the go-to supplier for custom pet products, also known as owned brands,” said President Sean Knecht. “We’re all-encompassing. Cus tomer service for us is No. 1, and we hold that in high regard, and we guar antee all of our orders. So, if it doesn’t look exactly like the approved design sheet that we worked together on with our clients, we either remake it for free or we give them a full refund. Guaran teed. And during the process because a lot of people are nervous while trying to create their own products, we provide a very transparent process. All our clients get pre-production sample images for approval. We update them every step of the way to provide a sense of calm
during what could be a big project for them.”
Alphia has similarly upped its cus tomer service game in light of continu ing supply chain hiccups to reassure its partners. “As we face supply chain chal lenges, whether it be ingredient avail ability or timeliness, we’ve partnered closer with our customers to under stand the growth needs of their busi ness, and we’re working closer with our suppliers to meet those needs,” Govea said. “Where needed, we’ve also been able to provide alternatives for mate rials in short supply by leveraging the technical skills of our R&D and engi neering teams to ensure we continue to deliver the great quality products that pets enjoy today without disruption.”
Alphia CEO and President David Mc Lain told Pet Insight in 2021, “One of the things that we’re trying to do is show them our value as part of their brand team. We’re going to offer industry in sights. We’re going to offer consumer insights. We’re going to offer innovation strategies and line extension strategies. I think if we continue to do that well, it will further redefine what it means to partner with a co-manufacturer and get us closer to brand leaders and ultimate ly to consumers.”
These days, PrideBites’ clients are often smaller, independent enterprises, and because consumers are increasing ly looking to support local, small busi ness, the company is fielding increasing queries for creating customized prod ucts for them, said Knecht. “There’s this sort of cultural movement going on, on social media and with Millennials, where they love to support local,” he said. “They love to support small busi ness. And a lot of these small business es are reaching out to us to create their own line of products that they can have full autonomy over. So, they are in con trol of the entire process from design, size, color, shape, etc., instead of just flipping through a catalog and choosing products that everyone else and their competitors are using. They get the full autonomy to create their own from scratch, with low minimums, in quan tities they’d already be buying if they were buying off the shelf anyway.”
Further, PrideBites doesn’t typically work with traditional pet retailers but rather, “a lot of dog-friendly destina tion spots,” Knecht said. “For example, there’s a big movement encouraging visitors to bring dogs to breweries, win eries and hotels. When you walk into your hotel room, there’s a bed, there’s a placemat, there’s a dog bowl, there’s poop bags, there’s a leash. There are full amenities so you don’t necessari ly have to bring your own poop bags, leash and stuff. The hotel is providing it. Or if you’re going to a brewery with friends, you don’t want to leave your dog all day by itself, you can bring your dog and there’s merchandise for you to buy for your dog, bring home, or even to use while there so your dog doesn’t get bored, to keep the dog entertained. That’s where we are really seeing where this owned brands category is really taking off.”
This growth trajectory is directly con nected to the fallout from the pandemic. “We actually grew during the pandemic due to people adopting dogs and now, again, this movement of the dogs are the new children, the new Gen Z’s children,” said Knecht. “They’re bringing them on vacation and buying them special birth day gifts and birthday cakes and buying them gifts when they go on vacation, and we are providing for these destina tion brands to have the opportunity to sell their own brand of product so when you are visiting X place, you don’t have your dog, but you want to bring your dog home a souvenir; we give that op portunity.”
The growing popularity of destina tion brands has set PrideBites’ course for further product development while keeping a keen eye on cost for its cus tomers. “Finding ways to create new products that people haven’t seen that can be easily customized,” said Knecht. “As well as trying to navigate this world of logistics and manufacturing and real ly focusing on trying to keep our costs down and not raising our prices. We’ve yet to raise our prices during the pan demic, and we’re really focusing on making sure we can keep our prices the same.”
Stand out among the competition and build customer loyalty by creating, revising or expanding your store's pet food brand.
Alphia offers retailers the resources to innovate the right products and manufacture them safely at scale.
health begins in their gut. The ingredients they consume impact their comfort and energy levels along with the appearance and condition of their skin and coat. Premium food man ufacturers have expanded their efforts of teaching pet owners about the im portance of ingredients to include con sidering the manufacturing process of their pets’ food and the types of formats of food. Manufacturers and retailers’ efforts to influence pet owners to turn over the bag and read the label and real ly scrutinize what they’re feeding their pet has made an impact. Pet owners expect more from the premium foods category and are exploring raw and fro zen options and can distinguish which canned and dry foods do more for their pets and which are produced with filler ingredients.
“The continuous evolution of the ed ucation of consumers has had a great impact of the premium foods category,” said ZIWI’s Marketing Manager Jessica Krueger. “With the growth of informa tion on pet nutrition becoming so easily accessible, pet parents are learning the ins and outs of what goes into their pet’s recipes and are educating themselves on how specific diets can impact their pet’s health. Consumers have learned that not only the method of manufac turing, but the ingredients and the rates of their inclusions, all play a part in the health and wellness of their animals.”
Diamond Pet Foods points to the dis connect between burgeoning demand for premium foods and limited supply capabilities as having the greatest im pact on the premium foods category. However, companies like Diamond Pet Foods are invested in uncovering new ways to honor commitments to their re tail partners.
“We, along with others in the food industry, are faced with the reality of meeting growing demand during a time of unprecedented supply issues,” said John Kampeter, Vice President of Mar keting and Sales for Diamond Pet Foods. “While this has been difficult for many in the industry, our production facili ties are working hard to meet demand while ensuring that our operations con tinue efficiently. In addition, we are in
constant communication with our sup pliers, and our ongoing focus is to bring quality pet food to our Taste of the Wild and Diamond families.”
“Education is having a huge impact on the premium foods category for ev eryone,” said Jiminy’s Founder Anne Carlson. “Higher prices naturally lead to more questions. Educating consumers is even more of a priority for Jiminy’s though as we feature a completely new protein. Once a pet parent understands they can have great nutrition coupled with sustainability, they warm up to our insect protein really fast. It’s a fan tastic message—fight climate change while feeding your pet—and it’s easy to wrap your mind around it. The trick is finding the right loudspeakers for that message.”
Premiumization of the category cou pled with consumers who want to feed their pets less processed foods is having the greatest impact on the raw frozen food category, said Geraldine Brouwer, VP of Big Country Raw. “We’re trying to coin the term ‘raw,’” she said. “It’s some thing you see on literally every packag ing from canned food to kibble, every thing has the word ‘raw’ on it, and we’re truly raw. It’s the premium choice for consumers. Everyone wants to feed less processed foods to their pets. There’s a ton of great research and studies that have been coming out about what our pets need. And they need to eat health ier, less processed foods is ultimately what it comes down to, and raw is the best of that. We’re at the top of the pile and getting people off of processed, dry, extruded kibble and up the chain starts with seeing better quality products hit the shelves with pet specialty retailers. You see lots of bone broths, you see lots of toppers—they are hugely popular, there’s lots of freeze-dried treats and toppers. You’ve got good quality kibble brands that are coining the term ‘raw’ —raw coated, raw infused. Raw every thing, but raw is really what consumers are looking for. That’s what’s really driv ing our business forward.”
“The premium natural category is the largest and fastest growing segment in the pet food industry, and Wellness Pet Company believes this is driven primar
ily by the desires of Millennial and Gen-Z pet parents, who are expected to make up 58 percent of American pet parents by 2025, according to a Packaged Facts Pet Owner Survey from 2019,” said Well ness Pet Company CEO Reed Howlett. “Mintel reports recently found that pet wellbeing really emulates the needs and wants of humans, leading to more opportunities for customization within the category. The report also found that younger consumers, especially aged 25-34, are more likely to rank a variety of factors as influential when it comes to choosing where to shop, compared to consumers aged 55 and older. Plus, 83 percent of 18 to 44-year-olds enjoy when brands help them to celebrate special occasions with their pet, mak ing it more important than ever to offer products that pet parents can feel good about serving their dog or cat.”
“We believe pet parents should be in volved in the development of new food and treats, which is why we’re continu ing to listen to pet parent research as we strive to engage the next generation,” he added. “Our focus is on developing out comes-driven nutrition at the nexus of nature and science and creating prod ucts that can help pets and pet parents fulfill a shared life of wellbeing.”
When confronted with obstacles in re cent years, ZIWI seized the opportunity to reflect on the company’s capabilities and strengths and listened to feedback from its partners on what was missing in the category. Identifying opportuni ties during a time of hardship allowed for ZIWI to move forward and stay con nected to its audience. “No one in the pet industry dodged adversity and chal lenge throughout the pandemic. ZIWI especially,” Krueger said. “With capac ity and logistics challenges, we had to make difficult decisions in our business, placing priority on our Peak Originals line of air-dried products, which have been tried and true. We found oppor tunity here in taking the time to focus on what we do best, and really reach out to consumers and partners and find out what gaps there still are in the in dustry, enabling us to pour our efforts
into R&D. What remains constant is our commitment to our home New Zealand and continuing our sourcing of ethically and sustainably sourced ingredients to create products that provide Peak Nu trition Without Compromise.”
Diamond Pet Foods views challenges as an opportunity to rise. When plans to get products on store shelves were thwarted, Diamond Pet Foods solved the issue by expanding its manufactur ing capabilities. “At Diamond, we have been evaluating and adapting to the growing demand for pet food, and we’ve risen to the challenge by taking the op portunity to expand our pet food man ufacturing capabilities,” Kampeter said. “The facility we acquired in Frontenac, KS, is already hard at work producing our dry kibble formulas; and we have also recently begun construction on a 700,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Rushville, IN. This facility will bring more than 170 jobs to the area by 2024. Our ongoing focus is to provide quality pet food to consumers by expanding our Diamond family to meet those needs.”
“I believe a challenge and an oppor tunity are one and the same and, philo sophically, Jiminy’s directly aligns both,” Carlson said. “Maybe call it a choppor tunity? Jiminy’s founding arose straight from the biggest challenge facing us to day—climate change. Opportunity lay in the goal of reducing greenhouse gas es through the unique solution of insect protein in the pet world. We realized you can fight climate change through dog food and treats by bringing it to scale. It’s a simple solution, yet it’s still far off the radar of most people. That’s been to our advantage as we’ve been able to build a complete portfolio of foods and treats our way for our loyal customers. This has given us a long runway to ramp up production while ensuring enough product in the here and now to satisfy our base. Their commitment to a better earth has paved the way for new cus tomers to discover us and now we can all really speed up the process. Now’s not the time to flinch.”
Big Country Raw realized one of its greatest strengths is owning its distri bution network and selling directly to
retailers. The company continues to invest in that. Big Country Raw opened distribution centers in the West and East in Calgary and Ottawa and are look ing to expand another distribution cen ter in British Columbia. “We found that we need to rely on our own distribution to get the product to market and to con tinue to direct selling relationships,” said Brouwer. “That’s something that we’re continuing to do. We also manage our entire business. We manufacture, we handle the distribution and all of the customer interaction. We do all of the education, we’re the whole business. In doing so, we have the strongest rela tionships not only with our retailers but with our end users, the customers who end up buying and using our products everyday with their pets. That helps to make sure the products we’re bringing to market, the price points we’re at, we’re close to the market, so we can respond and make sure the products that we have are addressing what our customers are looking for. That helps us with innovation, for sure.”
“As mentioned, it’s not surprising that our categories grow so quickly, with new products and categories launching weekly,” Howlett said. “This next gener ation of pet parents looks for credible brands they trust and has greater inter est in feeding premium food, treats, top pers, and supplements to feel confident their pets’ needs are met. We want our products to stand out and taste great, of course, but also create natural nutri tion that provides physical, mental, and emotional benefits that pets can feel, and pet parents can see. We call it the ‘5 Signs of Wellbeing’: healthy skin and coat, optimal energy, digestive health, healthy eyes, teeth and gums, and im munity. Regardless of flavor preferenc es, specific health needs, or age, the goal at Wellness Pet is to offer leading cat and dog products that will address your pet’s specific concerns while tasting great and make pet parents feel better about the recipes they have selected.”
The pandemic years have reinforced that the industry and its community is stronger together and can accomplish more with the right partners. In the premium foods space, manufacturers are accessible to retailers as they all do their part to drive the category for
ward. “As a family-owned manufactur er that prioritizes nutrition over fads, and long-term partnerships over quick success, FirstMate will add value to your store shelves and be the team that works alongside you and your compa ny to ensure indie retailers and pets remain healthy and thrive for years to come,” Matt Wilson, Director of Sales and Marketing previously said.
“ZIWI puts our partners and retailers at the forefront of our decision making,” Krueger said. “We are only as successful as they are, and with our commitment to setting up our independent pet part ners to succeed, we ensure we provide multiple avenues that will set stores and distributors up with the tools they need. Our dedicated team members commit themselves to working closely with our partners to identify areas where we can assist, whether that be through social media, promotions and POS materials.”
“As a family-owned company, we val ue our relationships with independent retailers and our distributor partners,” Kampeter said. “Our regional repre sentatives work hard to continue our long-standing relationships with our retailers that are approved through a rigorous process and focus on meeting our mutual goals of providing quality nutrition to pets at prices their owners can afford. Additionally, we work close ly with our suppliers and distributors, who are also held to stringent food safe ty and ingredient quality protocols.”
By sourcing ingredients domestically, Jiminy’s was able to side-step supply chain hiccups and mitigate the impact of delayed product on its retailers. “Our supply chain has been robust and that’s by design,” Carlson said. “We didn’t foresee the pandemic and the related supply chain snarls, but we’ve sourced ingredients as close to our manufactur ers as possible from day one. This en sures the freshest ingredients for Jimi ny’s food and treats. It also increases our sustainability by cutting down on the extra fuel expenditures and green house gas produced by longer distanc es. These days buying in North America is buying local. And it’s very on-brand for us. I believe our relationships with retail and distributor partners are rock solid.”
The human-animal bond has sever al outlets but playing with owners through toys has been a huge contrib uting factor to growing bonds between pets and their parents. Whether it’s heavy chewing large breed dogs or smaller, less destructive pets, category leaders have added to their product of ferings to ensure all types of pets have a toy that is right for them. Manufacturers have agreed that education surround ing the category and finding the right toy for pets is important. Alongside this, pet parents that have either continued to work from home or work in office, are able to curb boredom with interac tive toys and innovations from category leaders’ product offerings.
According to Mammoth Pet Products, the category has remained resilient.
“Consumers generally drive the de mand based on buying brands with a proven track record,” said Mark Pasco. “Mammoth Pet is one of those brands which keeps the consumer coming back because they know they can count on the quality and design. “
Alongside this, “Mammoth Pet works very hard to remain available to its re tail partners because without them, it is very difficult to reach our consumer base,” Pasco said. “I would describe our relationship with our retail and distrib utor partners as very good. We work very hard building these relationships and have had many of them since our beginning.”
Mammoth Pet Products have learned a lot over the years while looking for op portunities within challenges.
“The last few years have been hard on everyone,” he continued. “Mammoth Pet has one of the best teams in the indus try and for that I am forever grateful. We have learned quite a bit over these past couple of years with the challenges that we faced and has forced us to grow and become a much stronger company. The opportunities will continue making us even stronger for many years to come.”
Savina Singh with JoJo Modern Pets said an increasing demand for eco-friendly products has had the big gest impact on the toys category.
“The humanization of pets in the US, Canada and Europe is changing the
landscape of how pet owners want to interact with the world as pet-prod uct consumers,” Singh said. “They are aware of their carbon footprint and that extends to their pet family’s impact as well. They want materials that are safe for their home—those that are non toxic, that won’t give their pets a rash and won’t pollute a landfill. They want transparency, products they know were produced in a way that didn’t harm the person making them in a faraway fac tory somewhere. We pride ourselves on our manufacturing relationships. We know our products are produced in clean, fair-wage facilities. We have walked the shop floor; we know the fac tory owners and bosses.”
“Eco materials have more accessibil ity than before,” Singh continued. “For example, jute has been around for mil lennia and is the second most produced plant-based fiber in the world, behind cotton, but has been largely ignored in western countries. It’s tough, durable, called the ‘Golden Fiber’ as it’s sustain able, biodegradable and renewable. Nobody wants more plastics in their life—we just don’t see the demand and don’t really use it for our products. We support our retail partners, large and small, by listening to the demands they hear in their stores, then by designing these products and sourcing the mate rials responsibly.”
While continuing to propel the cat egory forward, JoJo Modern Pets has been able to remain available its retail partners.
“We have great relationships with our retail partners,” said Singh. “One way we maintain our business is to stay true to our founding ethos. Through in dustry changes this past decade we’ve always offered innovative, high-quality products while maintaining our ethics.
Starting our line of eco toys and treats is a natural evolution and we don’t think anybody has found it surprising to come from us. Nobody has said to us, ‘Stop, we don’t want eco products, we need more plastics.’”
JoJo Modern Pets puts into practice the company’s beliefs as they pertain to responsible stewardship.
“In each of our major categories, we
are looking for the best ways we can support our eco initiatives,” she con tinued. “During the shutdown, we took time to reevaluate our product offer ing—where can we make a difference? When we looked at our data, we saw the demand creeping up in our eco-friendly products. We worked to offer our retail partners a new and innovative toy line. We decided to increase our investment in alternative materials like recycled and upcycled fabrics, organic cotton fill, coconut fiber fill, jute, renewable resources like natural rubber and up cycled vegan friendly leathers, bamboo wood and more. We are sourcing from places that won’t cause deforestation and those who reduce toxic waste.”
“The pet industry is the sixth largest polluter in the world,” Singh said. “It’s insane, more pollution comes from our industry than most countries. Our in dustry needs to find a balance between profits and environmental impact.”
“We’re focused in three distinct yet related areas: 1) Reduce our environ mental impact. We are increasing our sustainable material consumption to cedar, jute, rubber, natural rubber, and recycled materials; 2) Reduce plastic waste. Plastic is not infinitely recycla ble; we need to use what’s been pro duced and stop creating more. Each pass in the recycle process releases mi croplastics into the environment. Going natural is key for us, and finally 3) Up cycling. We’re creating lines that use the upcycling of factory-level human food waste into treats. We’re in the process of creating a new brand called Good Dog Vibes of upcycled treats in PB&J and Ba con and Egg treat flavors. The brand is fun, bright and eco-friendly. We’re ex cited.”
JoJo Modern Pets is working to reduce its carbon footprint, emissions, materi al consumption and analyzing how that translates into its product offering.
“We have an ambitious goal to be car bon neutral by 2030,” she continued. “We’re looking into new materials like coconut fiber fill, natural rubber, re cycled and recyclable products. We’re looking at the impacts and offsets for
is
our production facilities and our trans port routes.”
Project Hive Pet Company has con tinued to move the category forward through innovation surrounding con sumer demands. “We are currently see ing the pet toys category evolve due to changes in consumer demand,” said Me lissa Rappaport Schifman co-founder of Project Hive Pet Company. “For exam ple, buyers are becoming more interest ed in toys that are Made in the US and are more sustainable. Mission-driven companies like ours are also gaining a lot of traction as part of a broader trend: people are changing how they shop. They want to purchase with a purpose. Since the Covid pandemic, we’ve also seen a growing demand for more inter active toys to keep dogs engaged while people are working from home. That’s why people like our Hive Chew Toys and Treats that fit together—they can occu py dogs a long time. On the industry side, there are cost increases across the board, so everyone’s bracing for price increases. Ocean freight in particular has increased, so it’s worse for overseas manufacturers.”
“Right now, we’re working on some exciting, innovative toys that tie our products even more closely to our mis sion of saving the bees,” she continued. “That’s what we’re trying to educate consumers about the broader issues of how our lives—and the lives our pets— are so intricately tied to the health of the bees and the health of our planet.”
Mark Hirschberg with Multipet ac knowledged the increasing demand for products has greatly affected the cate gory. “I think what is having the greatest impact is the demand for product,” said Hirschberg. “There are various drivers in the industry. There’s pet wellness is very big, toys that give back to causes is very big, interactive toys as well. So, I think those categories are impacting the toys category.”
“We think all of our relationships [with our partners] are great because we were able during the pandemic and post-pandemic when there were short ages, we weren’t perfect, but we were able to keep a lot of inventory in stock and keep a lot of the shelves filled for
customers,” Hirschberg added. “I hope they are grateful for that because it was not easy, and it is still not easy—it is still very challenging. Logistics and costs are very tough. So, I think that we were good, and we are good at it.”
When it comes to innovation, Multi pet is “always looking for different fab rics and materials that have not been in the market yet. So, we can remain to be different. We have to continue follow ing the trends, but I think that most pet owners are savvier than they were in the past and are educated. I think that the minute they see a good product that is descent quality and has sustainable aspects, they know they can jump on it,” Hirschberg mentioned when speaking of education and pet ownership.
Meowijuana has remained focused on its commitment to sustainable and du rable toys. The company also has been faced with supply chain issues but has been able to move the category forward regardless. “On the pet parent side, we continue to see a greater demand for pet toys that are engaging, more fun for both pet and pet parent and come with more expectations like higher quali ty, natural, organic and sustainable/ eco-friendly,” said Scott Ragan, Man aging Partner and CEO of Meowijuana.
“On the supply side, Covid and this pe riod after have been more disruptive to supply chains and sourcing for many companies making the delivery of the toys that meet these higher expecta tions ever more expensive to provide.”
“Meowijuana has been very fortunate over the past few years,” said Ragan. “We have great retail and omnichannel partners who enjoy what we do and have collaboratively partnered with us to materially expand our assortment while we have maintained very strong fill rates. This has required all of us to expand the planning timelines—every thing is just taking longer to complete but with collaboration we have been successful.”
“With expanding supply chain chal lenges such as higher costs and longer lead times, it has required us to look at each step in our innovation and manu facturing process and look for improve ments—how can we meet pet parents’ needs for quality, creativity and sustain ability. This has been accomplished by
small changes in materials, packaging, down to the box our goods go to our partners in, all of which help to bring a superior cost-effective product to our customers.”
Ragan mentioned the company had a great experience at SuperZoo this year and is looking forward to the future. “SuperZoo was a good show,” he said. “We enjoyed the energy that seemed to be in full swing at the show. We were able to meet face-to-face with several potential partners and move things for ward beyond a Zoom call; that will be very productive for us in 2023.”
“On the cat front, we see continued growth for the category driven by new creativity and innovation,” Ragan con tinued. “We also believe as the category grows and matures, there is an increas ing opportunity to educate pet parents about the different types of toys, the different usage occasions and how and when they can use different toys to en hance natural wellness and emotional bonding with their pets.”
StarMark Pet Products has remained a leader in not only the category but also Made in the USA toys. The com pany recently told Pet Insight about its new product launches. “StarMark has launched four new TPE toys and one corresponding injection molded treat that are all made in our Hutto, TX man ufacturing facility,” Emily Benson said, Managing Director of StarMark. “Two of the toys are in our mental stimula tion category and utilize a proprietary treat inside, and two are tug toys for interactive play between pets and their parents.”
“With the offshore supply chain challenges, we have seen a significant demand for Made in the USA toys, and this increased demand has necessitated diversification in our manufacturing ca pabilities.”
“We leverage the knowledge we gar ner through daily interactions with dogs and pet parents at our Animal Be havior Center to drive our product de velopment,” Benson said. “Our handson, real-world approach has allowed us to create unique and thoughtful pet par ents, as well as continue to grow. Over the last four years, StarMark has more than doubled our in-house manufactur ing capabilities.”
1. PLMA Show
Nov. 13 - 15, 2022
Donald E. Stephens Convention Center Chicago, IL www.expoeast.com
2. National Hardware Show
Jan. 31 - Feb. 3, 2023
Las Vegas Convention Center Las Vegas, NV www.nationalhardwareshow.com
3. Natural Products Expo West
March 7 - 11, 2023
Anaheim Convention Center Anaheim, CA www.expowest.com
4. GROOM’D
March 9 - 12, 2023
Georgia International Convention Center College Park, GA www.atlantapetfair.org
5. Global Pet Expo March 22 - 24, 2023
Orange County Convention Center Orlando, FL www.globalpetexpo.org
6. SuperZoo
Aug. 16 – 18, 2023 Mandalay Bay Las Vegas, NV www.superzoo.org
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remaining locations to be completed the end of this year.
How will this change the merchandising organizational chart?
The following conversation discuss es the Petsense rebrand to Petsense by Tractor Supply and a variety of other topics. For context, we have included a brief overview of the changes released Aug. 18, 2022:
Tractor Supply Company, the larg est rural lifestyle retailer in the United States, announced Aug. 18 its award-win ning loyalty program, Neighbor’s Club, will be adding new services for members and new ways to earn through its pet-ex clusive retailer, Petsense—which will now be rebranded as Petsense by Trac tor Supply. The company anticipates the expansion will deepen relationships with existing customers and help attract new pet customers to both Tractor Supply and Petsense by Tractor Supply.
The latest updates to Neighbor’s Club, which currently has more than 26 million members, are designed to meet evolving pet customer demands by adding ways to earn new services such as free pet washes and grooming. The expansion of Neigh bor’s Club benefits to Petsense by Tractor Supply, which began on Aug. 22, allows customers access to a wider selection of brands, supplies and more at Petsense by Tractor Supply locations. The Tractor Supply app also offers a “My Pet” person alization which provides a differentiated digital shopping experience for pet cus tomers like VetInsight, connecting pet parents with a veterinarian for guidance and recommendations, and Tractor Sup ply Rx, a feature that gives customers the ability to order pet medications through Tractor Supply. Petsense by Tractor Sup ply locations are freshening things up and will have a friendlier and welcoming experience. The new external signage and internal décor has been unveiled at the Murfreesboro, TN location with the
No it’s going to remain totally sepa rate. The things that are closest to the customer will remain separate and that’s done to really ensure that we have that pet specialty experience, both for our suppliers and our customers, and our assortment is very complemen tary. The overlap is not significant—it’s much less than half in terms of SKUs— so, not to mention species because we’ll take care of reptiles and fish, and you can come in and get crickets for your geckos and your bearded dragons. So that, for us, is critical to maintain that differentiation in that pet specialty feel, but our merchants do work very close ly together and pay attention to making sure from a marketing standpoint that our activities are on brand and that we’re able to deliver that complementa ry assortment to our customers.
This is really about welcoming more customers to the brand. The Tractor Supply brand is incredibly strong. We have over 80 plus years of great cus tomer service, and taking care of com munities that, frankly, in a lot of cases, had been underserved. That’s where Petsense stores are mostly located as well. We’re in those markets that are underserved by traditional pet special ty, and we want to be that hometown pet store with the reach and strength of a national retailer to make sure we’re able to convey value to our customers, but that’s why it’s such a complementa ry effort.
That’s where the team members re ally are so critical. We spend a lot of effort to make sure that our team mem bers are well trained. That they greet customers with excitement every time they walk into the store and really help advise them on products that are right for them and maintain that true pet spe cialty experience. Our team members, they get excited, and they make it mem orable and ensure that whether it’s carrying that heavy bag of dog food out to the car or knowing their pet’s name or having a treat in their apron when a customer comes in and talking to the real customer—who is four-legged.
That’s what we get excited about, it’s
what our team members get engaged about, and we want to make sure that as big as where we grow, and we’ve said to the market publicly we’re going to continue to grow, that is not going to change and making sure we’ve dedicat ed those resources to support a true pet mission in those markets.
Community is an important part of what we do and where we are. If you think about where our stores are locat ed, markets that are a bit underserved in the pet specialty space; and for good reason, there’s less rooftops in pet own er households, and if I had a 20,000square-foot store, I might think differ ently too.
But that’s where our store fits really, really well. We give those customers op tions and they’re not just having to go to mass or buy everything online, but real ly be able to give them a true experience in those markets. Our team is involved with local shelters, our team is involved with local humane societies to do adop tion events and all those things so it’s really part of the community, rather than just selling goods. Looking at brands and brands that were only available at Petsense, will they now be available at Tractor Supply?
No. We’re going to maintain our pet specialty brands that are specific to the pet specialty channel at Petsense only, but the blessing of what we’re doing with our Neighbor’s Club Program is we are rewarding customers who shop Tractor Supply today who have nev er maybe even been in a Petsense or shopped on Petsense.com, to be able to get those brands and earn those same Neighbor’s Club points.
Now we have a solution. We can only fit so much pet food in a Tractor Supply store. You have to take care of the other four walls of the building and all those other categories. We service multiple pets in Petsense. If you have a bearded dragon and a dog, at Petsense we can ful fill that need, but now those customers that are loyal Tractor Supply Neighbors Club, those members can earn loyalty points at Petsense and redeem them at Petsense as well. So if you bought a zero turn mower at Tractor Supply you
can earn those points and re deem them on dog food and vice versa. If it’s your first entry into Tractor Supply maybe through a Petsense by Tractor Supply, now we have the ability to welcome that customer, get them signed up in our Neighbor’s Club pro gram, have them earn points on products they buy every day and then for lawn and garden needs or other needs they may have for their land and property, be able to go to a Tractor Supply and uti lize those points for real value. How does distribution work for Petsense?
We partner with a variety of different distributors and direct partners. We have a combination of how we get products to our stores and that’s an ever-evolving process. And our merchants really do a fantastic job of working with manufacturers and distributors to ensure we have compet itive pricing and, more importantly, and in this constrained environment, some of the public pet retailers have talked about the challenges with supply chain and so on, that we’re able to ensure that our stores get dependable supply. That used to not be so hard but the last year and a half has been, and having the strength of Tractor Supply partnered with us makes all the difference in the world, the amount of buying power and influence the company has and use that for good with our partners and build really strong relationships with those manufacturers and be able to satisfy the needs both of Tractor Supply and Pet sense. I grew up in merchandising early in my career and things have evolved from the old ways of buying; some of the new ways of buying and I firmly believe that this is critical to being suc cessful and merchandising these days, is building those long standing vendor partnerships where it’s not just a com mercial relationship of buy/sell but re ally thinking about the customer using data, information on how the customer buys, what products they’re not buying, for example, so that when you do target emails and other types of communica tions, signage in the stores, all of that
can be used to generate better returns for both the manufacturer and us.
How many locations will Petsense by Tractor Supply end the year with?
We are at 187 today. We haven’t an nounced the number publicly, but we will be opening additional stores this year, getting us closer to 200 stores by the end of the year.
The number we have put out there publicly is up to 500 locations that we’re looking to expand to and believe that we could do it, and we believe we can do it in the markets that are needed and where our services and products and team members can really help ben efit those communities
What does this mean for future expansion plans for Petsense?
We have had such great success at Petsense over the last couple of years. Certainly we’ve had some tailwinds that have been beneficial; customers moving away from the cities, a little bit more to wards ex-urban and rural environments where a lot of our stores are located so that’s been helpful, record high pet adoptions and the humanization of pets and the premiumization of that catego ry is certainly helpful to the overall pet industry, but this connection, both in terms of branding and Neighbor’s Club, really helps bring awareness as we ex pand. As we open up stores in new mar kets that may have not heard of the Pet
sense brand because even though we’re national, we’re reasonable with our marketing spend and judicious about our costs and so on—so being able to utilize the strength and power of the Tractor Supply brand, we believe, will give us an economic advantage in new markets. It will also really help with that expansion and take care of the custom ers that are already shopping Tractor Supply with the Neighbor’s Club Pro gram and everything that goes with that and continue to really serve pet parents through those relationships.
We’re focused on how they want to be taken care of and that means the products they need to buy. As I men tioned earlier, at Tractor Supply they do a fantastic job of carrying a great assortment of pet products. But some brands are pet specialty brands and they won’t even fit in a Tractor Supply, so to be able to carry—no pun intend ed—the long tail assortment that just won’t fit in a Tractor Supply store, and we’re almost 6,000 square feet just ded icated to pet. To be able to go into new markets and satisfy that need and do it at competitive pricing with real value, those customers can embrace it and whether they use it on the pet products or they use a Tractor Supply to buy stuff for their lawn and garden, that’s why we think that this tie up from an expansion standpoint is truly helpful, not only the Petsense business, but the Tractor Sup ply business overall.
