Pets

Implications - Lax rules around pet care in-office, including programs that allow for paid "pet leave," as well as workplaces designed around the inclusion of employees' pets, are becoming increasingly common. This shift comes as startups seek out talent with perks that distinguish them as more relatable to most Millenial employees. [More]

Implications - Probiotic-infused foods and supplements for pets are on the rise, as pet owners seek to find easy ways to enhance the health of their beloved dogs. Probiotics' gut-healthy nature offers the benefit of preventative care, potentially restricting the impact of future illnesses that pets may have. [More]

Implications - As North American consumers seek out ways to treat their pets like human members of the family, pet brands are offering festive edible items to be gifted to consumers' beloved cats and dogs. Just as people can enjoy foods like wine and cookies over the holidays, their pets now have the same luxury. This shift comes as consumers seek to better balance their pets' treatment with the time they spend away from them, as they juggle increasingly busy personal and professional lives. [More]

Implications - The ability to customize products to meet the requirements of individual consumers is adapting to focus on consumers' daily routines for their own convenience. The customization of products that are part of a busy professional’s morning routine enables them to focus on their work-related or personal priorities, and begin their day without getting bogged down in details. [More]

Implications - Rather than medicate pets dealing with pain, anxiety or sleep disorders with prescriptions, some pet owners are turning to CBD-infused snacks to ease these ailments. Where the cannabis industry was once largely considered a recreational one, this shift indicates that it is further on the trajectory of being associated with all-encompassing lifestyles and daily rituals -- a fact which has been heightened by activism, legalization, and aggressive re-branding campaigns. [More]

Implications - Direct-to-consumer personalization has been a boon for brands in industries like food or style, but startups are applying the personalization made possible through DTC to products beyond that traditional scope. Through interactive online surveys and questionnaires, upstart pet food brands offer personalized pet meal plans reminiscent of modern health and fitness offerings for people. By extending personalization to other areas of consumers' lives, products become more indispensable than their similar, generic counterparts. [More]

Implications - Pet brands are using the function-based advantages of technology to help remove pet odors from the home, whether through purifying systems or tech-based cleaning. As pet-owning consumers juggle their many responsibilities, these emerging technologies provide the convenience they require to create more balanced lifestyles. [More]

Implications - Technology and streamlined services have entered the pet industry in the last few years, and this permeance has inevitably brought out products, services and apps that are customized to the individual needs of pets and their owners. Pet care becomes increasingly personal as brands try to assuage consumer guilt, since in recent years the work-life balance has skewed heavily in the favor of the latter -- at times leaving responsibilities like focused pet care behind. [More]

Implications - In a curious progression of direct-to-consumer marketing by way of social media influencer campaigns, Insta-famous dogs are parlaying viral buzz into prosperous brand partnerships. This intriguing progression speaks to the evolving nature of the pet economy, while it also serves as an example of how influencer marketing is expanding beyond the more obvious iterations in fashion, beauty and experiences such as music festivals. [More]

Implications - A reminder of the ever-expanding nature of the pet accessories market, consumers seek to up the investment in the lifestyle of one's canine companions. This progressions speaks to the freedom with which contemporary consumers have to create their own realities, and additionally highlights the new expanded budgets many consumers are carving out for non-essential dog perks. [More]