Pet Startups That Are Changing Pet Care in 2024
According to American Pet Products Association (APPA) data, pet-related expenditures surged 11% in 2022 compared to the previous year. The total sale of pet products was $136.8 billion, of which $58.1 billion was spent on pet foods and treats and $35.9 billion on Vet care and care products.
Today’s pet parents treat pets as family members and are willing to spend more on high-quality products and services. They seek solutions that are as unique as their pets, ranging from customized nutrition plans to health monitoring tools, ensuring a proactive approach to pet wellbeing.
With technological advancements and a deeper understanding of pet health and behavior, the pet care industry has moved from one-size-fits-all solutions to highly personalized and tech-driven care models.
A number of startups are emerging in personalized pet care, working to make pet lives healthy, comfortable, and long. These emerging companies are working on solving long-existing pet industry problems, from healthy pet food options to proactively detecting health anomalies and training programs to smart wearables and tracking devices.
For the sake of easy reading, we have kept this list short, covering only a few noteworthy pet startups.
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Petlibro
Petlibro is a California-based startup that was established in 2019. It offers a range of remote-controlled automatic pet feeders and water fountains, with innovative designs catering to the daily routines of pets and their owners. Pet parents can control its products via a mobile app.
The company launched the Capsule Automatic Water Fountain in May 2021 to encourage pets to drink more water by mimicking the flow of a natural spring. The design addresses the issue that pets, particularly cats, often overlook still water. The fountain’s adjustable height makes it accessible for pets of various sizes, and its 5-layer filtration system ensures the water is pure and clean, reducing the risk of urinary tract infections and other dehydration-related diseases.
Petlibro has prioritized design and innovation in its product lineup, focusing on user-centered, functional, and responsive solutions.
Tractive
Established in 2012 by Michael Tschernuth, Michael Lettner, and Michael Hurnaus, Tractive is an Austrian pet tech startup working on GPS tracking devices for four-legged friends. The company’s innovative solutions include real-time location tracking and pet activity monitoring to prevent loss or help find lost pet(s) and promote health. Its technology integration focuses on enhancing pet care through user-friendly devices and apps.
The company has raised a total of $37.7 million in funding over six rounds, including a $35 million Series A round on May 26, 2021. The lead investors backing this startup include Guidepost Growth Equity and Monkfish Equity.
Tractive offers GPS-tracking devices with health, sleep, and behavior monitoring solutions for dogs and cats. Their products, like the Tractive GPS DOG LTE and Tractive CAT Mini, along with their mobile app, provide pet owners peace of mind by providing real-time location tracking.
The mobile app includes many features to help pet parents ensure the safety and wellness of their pets.
The company devices are equipped with LTE connectivity, ensuring a long range and the ability to update the pet’s location to the owner’s phone from anywhere in the world. The devices are waterproof and designed for various pet sizes and types of uses or adventures, ensuring durability and versatility.
The devices require a subscription that covers the fees associated with the built-in SIM card, offering unlimited data and range. Different subscription plans are available, providing flexibility to the users based on their needs.
Digitail
It is a veterinary tech startup that offers AI-integrated cloud-based PIMS, an app for pet parents, and data analytics. The company successfully closed a $11 million Series A funding led by Atomico on Jan 12, 2023. Company investors include the byFounders, Gradient, and Partech, showcasing strong confidence in its business model and future prospects.
Digitail’s platform is designed to improve workflow and efficiency in veterinary practices by ensuring that information is synchronized and accessible in real time, allowing veterinarians to focus more on pet care and client relationships and less on administrative tasks.
One of the founders, Ruxandra Pui, is recognized as one of Forbes’ 30 under 30. HER featured her in Forward’s article, emphasizing the impact of her and her team’s work in transforming industries with AI innovations.
Vetevo
Vetevo is an innovative startup founded in 2018 in Berlin, Germany, by Mareile and Felix, with the aim of simplifying the process of providing comprehensive care for pets.
The company offers multiple products and services in pet healthcare, including home test kits, personalized pet monitoring apps, and in-house laboratories. The mobile app provides digital health monitoring, smart reminders, and connected medical services and lab tests for dogs, horses, and cats.
Pet owners can easily purchase the test kits from the company’s website, collect samples of their furry friends, and re-send the kit to Vetevo lab. The test results will be shared on its mobile app. The startup claims the fastest (within 12 hours) and highest precision in its test results through AI-supported analysis.
Vetevo has raised a total of €4M in funding over three rounds. The last funding was secured from a Seed round on Dec 19, 2019, from IBB Ventures. The amount was strategically invested in high-value marketing and influencer campaigns, propelling its customer base to over 200,000. The funding was facilitated by Uncapped, which provided flexible capital solutions to support Vetevo’s fast-paced growth.
Scrumbles
This London (UK) originated pet nutrition startup offers pet food and supplements focusing on nutrition and health. It raised £6M in funding over 1 round in a Series A funding round backed by the Business Growth Fund.
The startup was founded in 2018 by husband-and-wife team Aneisha Soobroyen and Jack Walker (Co-founder). The Scrumbles was born from their personal experience with their pets’ digestive issues and the lack of high-quality, affordable pet food options. It is the second B-crop-certified pet food company in the UK.
Scrumbles tackle several key problems in the pet food industry, including fillers, artificial additives, and low-quality protein sources, leading to digestive issues and health concerns, lack of transparency in food ingredients, and reducing the environmental impact of pet food.
Its pet food recipes have high-quality, high-protein, human-grade ingredients, including fresh meat, whole grains, vegetables, and probiotics.
The pet nutrition startup claims its products are allergen-free, without salt and sugar, and have no artificial colors, preservatives, or additives. The company discloses all ingredients and sources on its packaging and website, empowering consumers to make informed choices. Scrumbles also offers a variety of recipes for different dog and cat breeds, ages, and activity levels, ensuring optimal nutrition for each pet.
Pet parents can conveniently order food online and receive automatic deliveries through a personalized subscription plan of Scrumbles.
PrettyLitter
PrettyLitter is a pet wellness company founded in 2015 that focuses on improving feline health through its innovative cat litter. The startup is known for its lightweight silica/crystal-based cat litter designed to monitor a cat’s health. The litter changes color in response to the pH level, alkalinity, or presence of blood in a cat’s urine, providing early detection of potential health issues. This product is unique in its ability to indicate health problems through a color-changing mechanism, offering peace of mind to cat owners and enabling early intervention for health issues.
Daniel Rotman is the founder and CEO of this California (US) based feline health startup. Consumer products giant Mars Inc. acquired the startup in 2021.
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Japhy
Established in 2017 by Thomas Chabrier and Francois Puigsarbe, this is an innovative pet care startup based in Paris, France. The company provides customized nutrition solutions for dogs and cats.
Understanding the unique dietary needs of each pet, Japhy offers personalized food options based on weight, breed, age, allergies, physical activity levels, etc. The company has a subscription-based service for customized pet food made in their two French factories in Mayenne and Castres.
The startup has attracted significant attention and support, securing a total funding of €8 Million over two rounds. The last funding raised by the Japhy was in Oct 2020 from a Series A round funded by Aglaé Ventures and Capagro.
Younikat
The startup, established in 2015 in Munich, Germany, by Tessa Zaune-Figlar and Valerie Henssen, is committed to providing healthy dietary solutions for dogs. Younikat developed VEGDOG, the first 100% vegetable and gluten-free complete dog feed with the help of specialist veterinarians and laboratories to address feed allergies in dogs. It offers subscription-based plans for its products.
The company has raised a total funding of €3.5M in over two rounds. The last funding secured was from a Series A round in Nov 2022. Three investors fund Younikat, of which SFO and Green Generation Fund are the most recent investors. The third one is Katjes Greenfood.
Mammaly
Co-founded by Alexander Thelen and Stanislav Nazarenus in 2020, this Cologne-based startup is emerging as a leader in Germany’s digital pet health space. It focuses on developing snacks to help reduce issues developed in dogs with age, combining health and food tech to enhance pet health.
The company creates innovative, science-backed, holistic nutritional solutions for furry companions. It is proud to be a Certified B Corporation committed to meeting high social and environmental performance standards, transparency, and accountability. The startup operates in several European countries, including Austria and Switzerland.
Mammaly has raised €17 Million in funding over two rounds. The latest funding of €14 was secured from a Series A round on Sep 13, 2023. It is supported by three investors: Attila Balogh, Five Seasons Ventures, and IRIS Ventures.
Supertails
Founded by Varun Sadana, Aman Tekriwal, and Vineet Khanna in June 2021, it is a full-stack tech-enabled pet care startup based in Bangalore, India.
The startup provides a one-stop solution for pet supplies, healthcare, and training. Its platform offers over 10,000 SKUs and 200+ partner brands in pet care, including pet food, treats, accessories, and grooming products.
Supertails also ventured into veterinary diets, pet pharmacies, online veterinary consultations, and behavioral training services. Henlo is its direct-to-consumer pet food brand, along with an app.
The company has clocked an Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) of ₹50 Crores in the 18 months from its inception. It has raised a total of $13.4 Million in funding over three rounds, with the latest funding being raised on Nov 9, 2022, from a Series A round. This pet care startup is backed by 18 investors, including Ankit Nagori, DSG Consumer Partners, Fireside Ventures, Alteria Capital, and other individual investors.
The global pet care market size in 2022 was valued at USD 235.32 billion and expanded to USD 246.66 billion by the end of 2023. This upward trajectory is forecasted to reach USD 368.88 billion by 2030 with a steady Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5.92%.
New technologies and innovations in pet care, such as health monitoring devices, personalized pet nutrition, and digital veterinary services, are some of the key factors driving this industry’s growth. As pet owners continue to seek the best products and services for their pets, the industry’s future appears promising, with a strong emphasis on quality, innovation, and technological integration to cater to the evolving needs of pets and their owners.
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Authored By – Naveen Kumar, Marketing
