D2C Pet Suppliers Sniff Out New Opportunities in Telehealth, Subscriptions

With high-earning millennials and baby boomers now representing an estimated 60% of the nation’s pet owners, it’s clear why the pet care industry continues to groom itself with new products and services, bucking inflationary trends.

Despite some major players like Chewy trying to turn a profit from brisk sales, spending on pet-related goods is up this year as the COVID-19 pet adoption wave needs care and feeding.

Pet Business reported in June that “Spending on pet food and supplies has increased in the past year, with 35 percent of pet owners saying they spent more on their pet in the last 12 months than in the preceding year. This increased spending is led by Gen Z (50 percent) and Millennials (49 percent),” the report said, noting the trend is likely to continue powered largely by these two demos.

What are they spending on? Dog lovers can opt for Get Joy Health, the new telehealth-like wellness service from direct-to-consumer pet brand Get Joy. In a Tuesday (Aug. 16) announcement, Get Joy said, “Beginning today, Get Joy Health is available free of charge to all active Get Joy subscribers. Customers can log into their portal, select live chat or schedule a video session, get their questions answered with convenient, empathetic and actionable advice so they can get back to living their best life with their canine counterpart.”

The portals can help pet parents — namely those with dogs — get advice on skin and coat health, behavior and training, wellness and preventive care. In the future, the company plans to offer its services as an annual subscription.

Also on the canine continuum, direct-to-consumer (D2C) pet firm Bark, whose BarkBox subscription became a popular option for pet parents during the pandemic, reported that for its fiscal first-quarter ending June 30, total revenue was 12% up year over year to $131.2 million, beating the company’s own guidance.

See also: Inflation Wags the Dog as Pet Accessories Fetch Fewer Sales

Bark still recorded a net loss of $15.4 million, improving on a $24.8 million loss in Q1 2021.

Dog Days of Summer Perk Up

Making a top box-office draw the face of its new healthier dog chow, D2C dog food brand Jinx announced in late July that Captain America himself, actor Chris Evans, will front the brand to bring awareness to healthy pet food options.

In that announcement, Jinx said, “In his role, Evans will be involved in the brand’s strategy and marketing campaigns, including a commercial campaign launching later in the year. The company recently closed a Series A funding round of $28 million and made its products available in over 2,000 Walmart locations, as well as on walmart.com.

Tails are even wagging at struggling pet brands like Chewy. Discussing the troubled brand’s prospects on an earnings call in March, Chewy CEO Sumit Singh said, “Each of us is looking beyond the present operating volatility and into the future with the firm belief that the secular trends of higher pet ownership and increasing online pet penetration will long outlast the near-term disruption that we see today from the pandemic and its aftereffects.”

Read: Amazon Looks to Take a Bite Out of Chewy With Revamped Pet Care Strategy