Bye Bye Kibble 👋

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Why did we decide to cover the pet industry? Well, it’s no secret that in recent years, our pets (especially dogs) have become more than just an extension of our family, but part of our actual family.

This growing bond has brought innovation and a boom in products and services catered to our four-legged family members, and we wanted to tell the stories of not only our best friends but of the people driving this industry forward.

The pet sector has been exploding in recent years, here are some numbers to back it up:

• Longer pet lifespans drive a larger investment in increasingly complex drugs, which could make the pet pharmaceutical market top $25 billion by 2030.

• The United States is the largest pet market in the world, accounting for nearly 40% of global pet care sales.

• In 2023, a total of $143.6 billion in sales is projected in the U.S.

There’s never been a better time to enter the pet market!

Our Main Story

What is in your dog's bowl?

Before we dig into raw and cooked dog food, let’s back up and better understand how we got to this common dry food known as kibble that the vast majority of our dogs still eat today.

A brief history: During World War 2, there was a shortage of metal, which was needed for making cans to hold dog food. As a result, the production of canned dog food was severely limited. In response, companies began to produce dry dog food, which could be stored and transported more easily. Over time, dry dog food became more popular, as it was easier to store, had a longer shelf life, and was more convenient for pet owners to feed their dogs.

There - history lesson, done!

Popular to contrary belief, dry dog food was created at a time when it was a necessity and simply remained a mainstay for economic reasons, rather than what was best for Fido.

Since we’ve established that the original idea behind dry dog food was not to increase our dog’s overall health but out of necessity - it seems natural people would look to alternatives for their beloved family members.

In recent years there have been a ton of new categories that have popped up, no longer are kibble and canned food the only two options on the shelf.

If you go to the pet store you will probably find different options such as - air-dried, freeze-dried, mixers and toppers, grain-free, dehydrated, baked kibbles, coated, semi-moist, vegan food, and more…

However, let’s differentiate between the two most popular versions:

Raw dog food - Usually describes any type of dog food that uses raw, uncooked ingredients, such as meat, organs, bones, fruits, and vegetables. It’s designed to mimic the high-protein diets of your dog’s ancestors.

Fresh dog food - Similar to raw as it contains fresh whole ingredients, including meat, fruits, and vegetables. However, fresh food goes through a cooking process while raw food doesn’t.

From small startups to the big dogs, many have been trying to enter this lucrative space with their own DTC subscription service or retail packages. You might have noticed the fridge section in your local pet store has likely expanded from no fridges and freezers to many fridges and freezers.

However one of the main inhibitors for consumers has been the hefty price tag that comes with these healthy alternative subscription packages.

A bag of kibble (between 20 - 35 lbs) varies and can range between $35 - $80 and should last around 2-3 weeks depending on the size of your dog and their diet.

The prices for raw or fresh cooked also vary wildly depending on your dog (size, age, health requirements, etc…) and can range between $20-$80 a week.

Currently, premium fresh frozen food, only accounts for about 2% of the market, however, as awareness of the health effects of food on pets continues to grow it may eventually outpace other categories including kibble.

While some vets still do not suggest raw foods for dogs, many dog parents are advocates and say they’ve seen significant positive changes in their dogs (present company included) overall health.

With all the advances and new categories that have become popular, there are still a handful of corporate behemoths that control the vast majority of the marketplace.

The top dog food producers in the US according to petfoodindustry.com 

With $37 billion in revenue (over 42% of the market) Mars who owns over 50 brands, not to mention veterinary clinics and hospitals is by far the biggest pet food company in the world. Here are a few of the brands under the Mars umbrella:

IAMS, Pedigree, Royal Canin, Sheba, Eukanuba, Cesar, Whiskas, Evo, Greenies, Nutro, and many more.

Last year Mars acquired Champion Petfoods for an estimated $2 billion (not confirmed) the Canadian company behind ORIJEN and ACANA, two very popular premium natural and grain-free pet food brands.

Some independent retailers are worried this new acquisition will impact the quality of this Canadian premium dog food, however, there is no proof that Mars has or intends to change anything in the ingredients (so far).

Additionally, Mars owns the largest chains of veterinary clinics and hospitals in the US:

• Banfield Pet Hospital (1,050 hospitals)

• Blue Pearl Pet Hospital (40 hospitals)

• VCA Animal Hospitals (more than 925 hospitals)

While the Nestles and Mars’ of the world still control the majority of the market there are a lot of new independent startups that are looking to bring innovation into the space. While there are too many to name, here are some of the more notable brands in the raw food/fresh-cooked food space:

• Instinct

• The Farmer’s Dog

• Stella & Chewy’s

• Ollie

• Nom Nom (acquired by Mars)

The trend towards raw or fresh-cooked dog food is a reflection of the growing awareness and concern that pet owners have for their furry friends. By providing their dogs with a diet that is more natural and free from harmful additives, pet owners are able to promote their dogs' health and well-being. Over the last 5 years, raw dog food has seen a 147% increase in purchasing patterns and is projected to keep growing and expanding into new markets.

We are in no way telling you to change your dog’s diet; every dog is different, and you should always consult with your vet and do your research. If you do decide to change their diet, do so gradually and not overnight - unless you are eager to experience violent diarrhea which can be caused when you switch your dog’s food.

What’s Happening

• Not so big in Japan - Japan’s cat and dog population decreased by more than 1.5% between 2018 and 2022. The dwindling numbers are attributed to the economic situation in the country and the regulations impacting breeders.

• Your dog’s best new(AI) friend? - Meet Companion, a new AI device billing itself as “your dog’s automated, always-available playmate.”

• Pet food brings in the $$ for Nestle - Purina (owned by Nestle), a leading provider of pet nutrition, posted 14.4% year-on-year growth in the first quarter of the year.

• Massachusetts gets a new dog bar - Park 9 is a brand new dog bar concept that just opened up in the heart of New England. The bar is designed for both humans and their non-beer-drinking 4 legged companions.

• An eagle and a vet walk into a business meeting - Giant Eagle Inc. has partnered with Allivet.com, one of the nation's leading digital pet pharmacies, to incorporate its PetRx platform as an online solution for the grocer's customers with pets. Read more here.

• The poop economy - AnimalBiome, a biotech firm from Oakland, is paying people $100 a month for every pet they enroll in their program. The company uses screened feces from healthy pets to support ailing cats and dogs suffering from issues related to microbiome imbalances in the gut. We did the math, at 3 poops a day, that’s about $1 a poop, Poo-ching!

• SKU launches pet accelerator - With the massive growth that’s happening in the pet industry. SKU has unveiled an accelerator program completely dedicated to the pet care industry.

• Fi 3.0 - The popular collar just got an update, amongst some of the upgrades the one that stands out is the live tracking possible.

• Organic For Your Pet - EU moves forward in the labeling of organic pet food. The draft rules clarify that pet food can be labeled as organic if at least 95% o it in terms of weight of its agricultural ingredients are organic.

• More Organic News - California Dog Kitchen announced the first ever USDA-Certified organic fresh dog food.

Biz 101

Asking for money

Welcome to the second week of The Woof’s BizTips. Let’s change gears a bit - last week we wrote about doing the research when you are thinking about launching a business in the pet industry. Early stage stuff. This week, we’ll cover “asking for money”. We’ve all had those clients who take ages to pay. If you are anything like us, we usually find it a bit awkward to ask for money (unless it’s from a loved one - no issues there). It gets even trickier as you try to build your clientele and reputation. To try and be helpful, we gathered some tips for people across the industry about ways to ask for money.

Tips of the week:

1. Send your invoice a bit later - When your clients ask “So how much do I owe you?” You reply with a number, then proceed and provide payment details over email or jot it down and mention that the invoice would follow. Wait a couple of days before sending the invoice and then use the follow-up to your initial email with the actual invoice: “Hi Big John, following up on my previous email, here is the invoice with payment details in the bottom. If you want to let me know when payment is made, I will confirm receipt”.

2. Use of accounting software - How do you manage your finances? Do you use Excel? Google sheets? A lot of us do. It’s simple, and, well, free, but you could also consider using something like QuickBooks or Xero. If you use one of these accounting tools, you can set auto reminders or manually send invoices reminding your customers of payments… nothing like an automated indirect email to do your dirty work!

3. Coming to the end of the … - Thank god for taxes! Wait, what??? So, you decided to email your customer a reminder, why don’t you use your end-of-month/quarter as a reason to ask for payment? After all, we all need to confirm to our accountants that payments were made so they can track it for our tax return, don’t we….? Oh, don’t have an accountant, no worries, feel free to use our imaginary one, Clifford.

4. BCC emails - This is one of our favorites. Peer pressure is magical. You can always bcc a couple of clients (or maybe even just one…) into your reminder email with a bit of a direct email… ”hello all, your invoices are still pending, and I would be ever so grateful if you could settle them in the next day or so”. You could also add in some tax requirements from Clifford. Point is, once people know they are in the “Bad group”, well, they want out quickly!

If your pet business is in service provision, this week’s section will be more relevant for you. There is a decent chance you will provide your service before getting paid. If you sell a product/good, like pet food or pet accessories, you may get paid before shipping anything, so a bit less risk (or awkwardness!) here, but still, you may find this interesting/useful. Mic drop. We out!

Share-Worthy

• This dog flies better than you - Last month a miniature long-haired dachshund named Fifi went viral for flying business class from Hong Kong to Istanbul snuggling under blankets and looking comfy AF. Yes, were clearly jealous, you can check out Fifi’s Instagram here

• The Royal Corgis - A new photo exhibit in London just launched. It features the late Queen Elizabeth II and her beloved corgis.

• Best office ever! - Barkbox has made their new New York office about as dog friendly as possible. If I were a dog, I would want my human working here.

• Meet your new guide to Italy - Recently Lou the Chihuahua went viral for visiting Italy with more style than your average fashion blogger. Honestly, this is the only guide we would hire.

• Is your pet a Yoda lookalike? Chewy is currently looking for a Yoda lookalike for the rest of the month of May. If your pet is a Yoda doppelgänger they may be featured in a campaign that is out of this galaxy.

• Your next date may include a dog - AI was asked to predict the next biggest trends of 2023, and in addition to pet dating being at the top of the pile, this is what it came up with. 

• Grandma did a 180 - Watch how this grandma went from being scared of her daughter’s dogs to falling in love with them.

• Dogs with dementia also have trouble sleeping - New Study has found that just like humans, dogs with dementia sleep less than dogs with healthy functioning brains.

• Thanks to ChatGPT, Spot can now talk - Spot, the famous robodog from Boston Dynamics can now talk and answers questions due to the engineering team plugging different AI functions into it. You better give Spot a belly rub when he asks for it or else…

• Finding new language - When your dog is just too smart you have to speak like 15th-century majesty in order to “fool” the 4 legged genius.

Community Pics

Don’t forget - if you want your pet (dogs, cats, hamsters, baby dragons, etc) featured, send us their picture with their name, age, breed, and a 1-2 sentence description and story to [email protected] and we’ll do our best to feature your pet.

Let’s meet Kiki:

Kiki. a.k.a Kiki-pup. a.k.a kikstrarella. a.k.a jigga-hound… ok, ok, we’ll stop. We are told there are about 17 more names. Kiki’s breed is a prince-mallow half-princess, half-marshmallow. She is 11, a rescue, and the best companion anyone could ask for (yes wife, I said it).

You reached the end, you deserve a treat 🍖.

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Hey, why did the koala bear refuse to share his eucalyptus leaves? Because they were so high koalaty.

Pure gold, we know!!

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