🐶 Industry News
- Had the pleasure of chatting with Kim Hehir of Brutus Broth, a startup that makes bone broth for dogs. The idea for the company came after Kim's sister used a family broth recipe to nurse Brutus, a sickly rescue dog, back to health. When friends started asking where they could buy the broth, the lightbulb went off. In 2018, the sisters started beta testing their broth in two grocery chains on the east coast and the results were even better than they had hoped for. Today, most of the sales come through a network of 4,000 grocery stores, with 35% of sales occurring online.
Though sales are expected to hit $5 million this year, Kim and her sister are still the only two employees. Kim focuses on marketing, her sister is in charge of manufacturing, and they share sales calls. And because Kim lives in Hawaii and her sister is on the east coast, the business is practically a 24/7 operation. The company is self-funded, but they will be looking for a strategic investor soon. They also want to hire a mid-level marketing person to help manage the company's growth. Kim can be reached by pinging her on LinkedIn.
- Online insurer Lemonade is doubling down on pet insurance. The company first started offering pet insurance in July 2020. Now, it will offer new policies tailored specifically for puppies and kittens, which includes preventive care, microchipping and vaccinations.
- Vodafone, the large European-based phone network (similar to Verizon or AT&T in the US), has released a new pet tracker. Called Curve, the device attaches to a pet's collar and provides GPS tracking through a mobile app.
- Chewy is expanding its services for veterinarians by launching Practice Hub, a tool that allows vets to list products and sell pet meds on their clinic websites, with fulfillment handled by Chewy. This is another step forward for Chewy Health, the company's move into the pet health sector. In the past year, the company has launched a telehealth platform and a DTC online pharmacy.
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💰 Financing & Deals
- Wild Earth, a Berkeley, CA-based company that makes plant-based pet food, has landed a $23 million Series B round. The company initially gained recognition in 2019 when the founder closed a deal with Mark Cuban on Shark Tank. It raised an additional $11 million several months later that included investments from Mars Petcare and vegan investment fund VegInvest. The current round again includes Cuban and VegInvest, as well as a former Beyond Meat board member. Wild Earth has grown 700% in the past year and now has more than 40,000 customers in the US. The company's first dog food was made from Koji, a fungi protein used in fermented food in Asia, but has expanded its recipes to include ingredients like chick peas, oats and pea proteins.
- PetFriendly, a startup that provides a home delivery subscription service for flea and tick products, has secured $6 million in seed funding. The Omaha, Nebraska-based company was founded in 2018.
- VetPet Box, a veterinarian-owned pet subscription box service was acquired by Caitec, a Maryland manufacturer of pet toys and supplies. This is the second subscription box business acquired by Caitec since it received an infusion of capital last year from Fairchild Capital Partners. In August, it purchased KitNipBox, a subscription box service for cat owners.
- Britain's IVC Evidensia, the world's second-largest owner of vet clinics, is acquiring Canadian chain VetStrategy, which operates more than 270 clinics across nine Canadian provinces. The move will put IVC Evidensia at about 2,000 vet practices, closing in on Mars Petcare, the leading operator with more than 2,500 clinics in 20 countries. Plans for IVC Evidensia have been in flux recently: it had planned to go public on the London Stock Exchange, but instead decided to accept a private equity investment that valued the company at $15 billion.
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🤷♂️ Somewhat Relevant
- NPR takes a look at why caring for your pet's health is so expensive.
- Kevin O'Leary, aka Mr. Wonderful, reacts to a couple fighting over the direction of their pet grooming empire: "What are you, nuts?"
- Political consultant Karl Rove pens a farewell to his English cocker spaniel, the "best dog in the world."
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😸 I'm looking for pet industry pros to feature in this newsletter
Do you run a pet startup or invest in the pet industry? I would like to hear your story. Reply to this email and we can set up a time to chat.
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