Tracking Pet Startups
& the Pet Tech Industry
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🚀 Paws Holdings aiming to be the Chewy.com of Europe
Paws Holdings, a London-based online pet food and supply retailer, has been making bold moves to achieve its goal of being the top European pet ecommerce business.
The company recently bought the online pet store Fetch.co.uk from Ocado Retail, a large, UK-based online supermarket. The acquisition will increase Paws' customer base to over 500,000 and push sales to more than £55 million ($75 million USD) in 2021.
Paws also owns Pet-Supermarket.co.uk, MedicalAnimal.com, Paws.com and PetMeds.co.uk.
Paws also announced that it has raised a £7 million ($9 million USD) investment round from high net-worth individuals and family offices in order to grow its business.
In addition to selling to UK pet parents, Paws does business in France, Germany, Austria and The Netherlands.
The European pet market is estimated to be worth $41 billion euro ($50 billion USD.) By way of comparison, the US pet market is estimated to be worth $80 - 95 billion.
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💰 Pet care acquisitions
Manna Pro, a St. Louis-based maker of pet food and supplies, is buying Bullymake, a direct-to-consumer dog subscription box that ships chew toys designed specifically for power chewer dogs.
Manna Pro has been aggressively growing through acquisitions over the last couple years, buying Hero Pet Brands (supplements & grooming) in 2019, Promika Pet Brands (flea & tick) in 2020 and Doggie Dallies (supplements) in 2020.
Manna Pro has deep pockets, as it was bought by the Carlyle Group, a billion dollar private equity firm, last year.
Other recent pet care acquisitions
- BrightPet Nutrition Group, a provider of premium pet food and treats, has bought Ohio-based MiracleCorp, maker of freeze-dried dog treats under the Stewart brand.
- Dane Creek Capital, a Canadian merchant bank focused on the pet industry, has purchased Growlies, a pet retail store that is also a top provider of raw pet food in Canada.
- L Catterton, a large private equity firm, is selling Inspired Pet Nutrition, a UK pet food manufacturer, to CapVest Partners, a London-based private equity firm. L Catterton has significant experience in the pet sector, with investments in Butternut Box (London-based dog food subscription service), Just Food For Dogs (maker of human quality dog food) and Petlove (largest online pet store in Brazil).
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📰 Other News
- Petco filed its S-1 form to go public on the Nasdaq. The company is pricing its shares at $14 to $17 and values itself at almost $4 billion. Petco is aggressively going after online sales, with its chief digital officer eligible for a $4.3 million annual bonus if certain ecommerce sales goals are met.
- Pooch and Mutt, a fast growing, London-based dog food startup, has received a several million pound investment from from the VAFO Group, its manufacturing partner.
- A Texas veterinarian has filed a lawsuit that could shake up veterinary telemedicine. The vet claims that a rule requiring him to examine a pet in person before giving medical advice online violates his First Amendment rights.
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