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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:

• According to the American Pet Products Association, about 85 million homes in the US own a pet.

• Europe's pet care market was valued at over USD 35.7 billion in 2020 and is expected to witness a 4.0% CAGR from 2021 to 2027.

• Pet ownership has increased from 56 % to 68 % in the last 30 years.

• According to some estimates, the pet industry is currently worth a whopping $225 Billion and is one of the only recession-proof markets.

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

Main Story

How Ruffwear Became The Category Leader It Is Today

If you own a dog, you’ve probably heard of or seen the outdoorsy dog brand Ruffwear.

But do you know how the biggest brand in performance dog gear got its start?

Well, grab your dog treats, and let’s dive in:

All it took to spark an entire industry into existence known today as “performance dog gear” was one thirsty dog and one creative person (oh, and a lot of hard work).

The story of Ruffwear begins in 1992 when Patrick Kruse, the founder, was mountain biking in the Los Padres National Forest with his friend Liz and her dog. While on the ride, Liz needed to give her dog some water, but all she had was a water bottle and a plastic bag. She ended up holding the bag while Mokie (her dog) drank, but as you can imagine this was less than ideal, as the water would constantly spill. Liz challenged Patrick to come up with a solution to this problem, and that's where the idea for Ruffwear's first product, a collapsible waterproof bowl, came about.

Luckily, Patrick had been creating and inventing things for dogs since he was a young child. His first invention was a backpack for his dog - he went to the Army-Navy surplus and bought some Navy gas mask bags. He took these little satchels and sewed two of them together and a makeshift backpack was born.

His second invention was a little two-wheeled dog cart that gets pulled behind the dog and attaches to the dog with a harness which he created using some old fashion ingenuity and scrappiness.

Fast forward to adulthood, Patrick, already an avid outdoorsman and dog lover, went to work on his new challenge. Frustrated with the lack of options in the marketplace, he decided to create his own gear that was both durable and functional.

Patrick had prior experience designing paddle sports apparel and accessories through his company Salamander Paddle Gear. He set out to create a waterproof bowl that could hold food and water for dogs and yet pack small for outdoor adventures. After many months of research, development, and testing, the business began with the first product, Oasis, a collapsible bowl.

In 1994 Patrick took the Oasis Bowl to Summer Market Outdoor Retailer, one of the largest outdoor trade shows. They were the only company that was focusing on dog products in the outdoor retailer show at the time. A buyer from LL Bean was strolling the grounds and saw Patrick’s product, he loved it and understood its value straight away. He placed an order for 96,000 bowls over the next 12 months (8,000 a month). That year, Outside Magazine included the Oasis bowl in their holiday gift-buying guide and Ruffwear was off and running.

However, it wasn’t a walk in the park, as they faced many challenges along the way. One of the biggest ones was the lack of awareness among potential customers about the importance of high-quality gear for their dogs. When you are that new to the market, you need to invest time and money in educating dog owners about the need for durable, well-made gear through different channels such as product descriptions, educational content, and sponsorship of events & competitions.

Over time, Kruse managed to build a strong brand identity for Ruffwear, emphasizing the company's commitment to quality, functionality, and durability. This helped to establish Ruffwear as a trusted and respected name in the outdoor gear industry and allowed the company to expand into new markets and reach new customers. Patrick differentiates by saying “It wasn’t customer service, we were customer-centric”. They were focused on serving their customer’s needs by creating high-quality gear and offering the best service possible.

Ruffwear created the ability for dog owners to take their dogs with them on backpacking trips and all types of adventures. Once it got easier to hydrate your dog, allow them to carry their own gear, and give them all the weather protection possible, there was no reason not to bring your furry adventure companion along.

While they may have started out with one product, today Ruffwear sells everything from harnesses, bowls, accessories, life jackets, toys, beds, and much more. What started out as a small company in Bend, Oregon has developed into a category leader as the most popular name in the outdoor dog space and a full-fledged company that boasts an impressive line of technical products that consumers (and dogs alike) love.

Just like Northface started as an outdoor brand but made the crossover into urban wear, great products often find multiple markets as they evolve out of their initial vertical. Although Ruffwears’s bright-colored harnesses started out as an outdoor performance product, they eventually found their way onto the backs of city dogs as well.

Today, Kruse leads product development and Ruffwear’s success continues to grow and expand its global presence. With products sold in over 50 countries worldwide, the company is determined to stay “true to its passion for enhancing and inspiring exploration for outdoor adventurers and their human companions” as their website states.

Recently, Brandan Hill, former Head of Product Development, took over the leadership team as the incoming President of Ruffwear.

Hopefully, he can keep those tails wagging for many more years to come.

What’s Happening

• Deals!!! - Today and tomorrow is Amazon Pet Day a 48-hour event with thousands of products on sale.

• Smalls raises big - Smalls, a human-grade fresh cat food brand, raised $19m in a Series B funding round that closed in mid-2022. The company has now raised a total of $34 million, according to Tech Crunch.

• Join the cult! - Cult Food Science acquires sustainable food brand - Because Animals.

• Brick & Mortar- Mars-backed premium pet nutrition brand Bundle x Joy secured $1m in seed funding in order to expand from a strictly direct-to-consumer play into stores.

• Membership-based care? - Felix & Fido a tech-enabled vet service, recently raised $4 million led by PSL Ventures. Their goal is to modernize how veterinary care is delivered.

• Dogs 2.0 - NYC mayor Eric Adams has unveiled a "robot dog" which is being added to New York's crime-fighting armory. Based on all the Sci-Fi movies we’ve seen, what could possibly go wrong?

• Meowijuana - Some puns you just can’t beat, so why even try? a new catnip promises to take the edge off with a line of catnip products packaged like, you guessed it - Marijuana.

• The perfect marriage? - Uber Eats & Petsmart have partnered up. Petsmart is the first national pet retailer on Uber Eats.

• The rent is too damn high - A new bill in Colorado aims to help with the financial burden of pet rent. The bill proposes pet rent can only be 1.5% of the full rent amount, or $35, whichever is higher. The maximum pet deposit will be $300 and it must be refundable.

Biz 101

So you are passionate about pets and your unicorn is taking its first steps (yes, we know unicorns can fly, this is a metaphor you silly goose), but now what?

One of our goals is to support new entrepreneurs entering the pet space. Every week, we will share some practical advice and insights to try and help you grow your business. You can’t say we don’t look after our pack!

This week’s topic - know your market

Babysitting ferrets? Doggie hotel? Christmas snacks for horses? Before you start, ask yourself, do you know your market? You don’t need to be the next pink panther, but here are some thoughts/considerations as you take your next steps.

• Competitors - Are you launching in a major city? A small village? Antarctica? Doing some online research is advisable in order to gauge your direct competitors. Nothing crazy, Google, Facebook groups, WhatsApp/Telegram groups about services in the city, friends and word-of-mouth, specific websites (Rover), etc.

  Do you have 73 other competitors (yeah, could be a bit difficult to differentiate) or are you the only one (could be hard to sell if no market exists)? Knowing this could tell you more about whether there is demand for your service. Here is a cute one - have you thought about asking the local vet for recommendations? And yes, you can use AI if you want to…

• Pricing - Great, so there are a couple of competitors, but not too many. You think you can carve a niche. How much should you charge? Think about two elements here - competitors and your clients. Try and benchmark to see how much your competitors charge and why (will people pay a premium for their pooch to get daily facials while at the dog sitter?) What is your unique selling point (USP)? are you qualified? do you have experience which is more valuable or are you the “economic” solution? it’s very likely there is room for all, just figure out your USP and stick to it.

  Secondly, think about your target audience. Do you live in “Hedge-fund-ville”… cha-ching!! Think about your end customer. Pets are like babies. In fact, they are better than babies sometimes. Spending is more emotional than rational.

• Seasonality - Is your business likely to experience seasonality? Do you need to plan for it? Here is an interesting example - Boarding. During school holidays a lot of families travel, which means you may get a lot of inbounds then, so you need to plan/prepare for it. While everyone else is competing for the ugliest sweater and downing egg nogs like a frat initiation party, you need to take care of 2x your usual capacity and make sure both fur babies and fur parents are happy.

Share-Worthy

• Doggie smalls -  Pearl the Chihuahua is officially the world’s smallest dog according to World Guinness Records. At 3.6 inches tall and 5 inches long, she is about as long as a dollar bill.

• Move over Labs, there’s a new king in town - For the first time in 31 years, the Labrador Retriever has been unseated as the most popular dog breed in the US, according to the American Kennel Club’s 2022 registration statistics. The new top dog in town is the French Bull Dog, commonly referred to as the Frenchie.

• Gentle giants - Watch as these amazing Great Danes help patients big or small in this Minnesota hospital.

• Bone-Fide baller - A UK lady paid $10k to fly her dogs from London to NYC on a private jet.

• Your dog is your +1 - You can officially bring your dog to outdoor dining says the FDA. Although read the fine print - Only in areas where state and local laws and the restaurant allow it, so really there’s not a big difference from what is currently acceptable. However, it seems like we are moving in a good direction. We should take a cue from Europe.

• I just called, to say - A new study suggests that pet parrots that are allowed to make video calls to other birds show signs of feeling less isolated.

• This dog is sad that the dog park is closed - Trust us when we say you have never heard a dog cry like this before.

• Mud treatment - Russell Brand recently shared a picture of his dog Bear enjoying some mud time.

Community Pics

Luckily for us humans, we don’t have to sniff butts to get to know each other. In this section, we want to highlight our growing community by sharing pics of all of our favorite companions.

Meet Tako (16) & Shasta (9) - A Pitbull mix and a Pointer mix. Both are adopted. Both have very different personalities. Tako loves the outdoors, Shasta loves sleeping on the couch but they both love treats, snuggles, and the occasional puppuccino.

You reached the end, you deserve a treat 🍖

Be part of the pack - follow us on social media (links below) and fur - ward this to your best human friend

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One final question - What do you call a pile of cats? A meowtain! Get it??? Ok, enough puns, we’ll show ourselves out.

The Woof is a weekly newsletter covering the pet industry