🐶 Industry News
- MetLife, the large Fortune 100 insurance company, is getting into the pet insurance business. The company will offer telehealth concierge services to its customers and will cover pre-existing conditions for pets switching coverage from an existing pet insurer.
- Profile of the six European pet tech startups in the latest Purina Unleashed cohort.
- General Mills pet food & treat sales were down 20% compared to a year ago. The company believes the decline was due to pet owners stocking up on pet food last year because of the pandemic. In May, General Mills bought Tyson Foods pet treats business for $1.2 billion.
- Mars Petcare has launched a plant-first dog food brand called Karma. The food is more than 60% plants, supplemented by chicken or fish.
PetAirapy, a maker of UV disinfection lights for the animal care industry, has rebranded as Aerapy Animal Health. The change reflects its growing usage by facilities that contain animals that might not fit under the "pet" umbrella.
New industry report on Chinese pet trends finds a fast growing market worth about $46 billion, with thousands of pet stores opening every year, and a few big retailers, such as iPet Town and Jack Pet, trying to become the PetSmart and PetCo of China.
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💰 Financing & Deals
Wagmo, a NYC-based pet health startup, closed a $12.5 million Series A round. The company was founded in 2017 and initially sold wellness programs for dogs and cats. Now the company also offers pet insurance, stand-alone wellness plans, and a combination of the two products. The 14-person team has seen 20% monthly user growth since the beginning of the pandemic.
Mella Pet Care, a Chicago startup has landed $1.2 million in financing led by Pet Health Innovation Labs, a pet health & wellness hub backed by Australian pet retailer PETstock. Mella is creating two smart underarm thermometers for dogs: one for vets and one for pet parents. Previously, Mella won the 2021 Purina Pet Care Innovation Prize. PETstock is a popular pet retail chain down under, with over 160 stores and 30 vet clinics across Australia and New Zealand.
Dutch Pet, a San Francisco-based pet telehealth startup, has landed a $5 million seed round. The company has been lobbying states to remove restrictions on the scope of medical treatments veterinarians can perform online. The founder, Joe Spector, previously founded Hims & Hers, a human telehealth company that sells prescription drugs online. Investors include Forerunner Ventures and comedian Jimmy Fallon.
SwedenCare, a Swedish provider of pet health supplements, has acquired Vetio, a US-based contract manufacturer of supplements, for $181 million. Early this year, SwedenCare acquired Rx Vitamins, a nutraceutical specialist with a focus on pet brands for $23 million. SwedenCare is on track to exceed $100 million in revenue in 2021.
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🤷♂️ Somewhat Relevant
- The veterinary staff at a Seattle-are vet clinic has voted to unionize.
- Chinese police are asking the public to adopt dogs that failed a police dog training program.
- Interesting profile of how search and rescue dogs find survivors in disasters such as the Miami tower collapse. It typically takes about two years for the dogs to learn how to sniff out human breath or body odor.
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