From Brooklyn Kitchen to Nationwide Subscriptions

Issue #268

November 17th, 2025

Quick Hits:

🛍️ Google rolls out agentic AI to select online retailers, including Chewy and a few others

📈 These 5 pet stocks are positioned for max gains

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan may hold the secret to the history of dogs

🔫 Dog accidentally shoots owner in the back (you read that right)

🐶 Classic canine name reclaims #1 spot for 2025 according to AKC

📱 Your pet is about to be added to the family group chat

🛳️ An inside look into the world's only cruise liner company that welcomes pets on board

🐢 Dog and ninja turtle are bff’s

The Founders Who Rebuilt the Pet-Food Playbook

When The Farmer’s Dog first launched in 2015, there was nothing glamorous about the operation. Brett Podolsky and Jonathan Regev were working out of a rented commercial kitchen in Brooklyn, cooking fresh dog food in small batches and hand-labeling each order. Their first “customers” were eight dogs belonging to friends and early testers. There were no marketers, no agencies, no pet-industry veterans advising them. Just two founders who were convinced that the dominant model for feeding pets was fundamentally wrong.

The conviction started with a personal issue. Brett’s Rottweiler, Jada, had been dealing with chronic digestive issues for years. He cycled through premium kibble brands that marketed “whole ingredients,” “ancestral recipes,” and “digestive health formulas.” None made a meaningful difference. Then a veterinarian made a suggestion that sounded almost too simple: just cook for her. Brett did. Jada’s symptoms cleared up. He put her back on premium kibble. They returned.

That contrast forced a realization: if fresh food could solve problems for Jada, it could work for millions of dogs.

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