March 25, 2022

Petzyo, Spot & Tango, Petfluencers

🐶 Industry News

– Spoke with David Latimer and Kayla White of Petzyo, a Melbourne startup that ships premium dog food throughout Australia. In 2018, David was an engineer living in Myanmar, when he read about the popularity of US direct-to-consumer pet businesses. Aware that this model had not yet reached the 26 million pets in Australia, he decided to launch Petzyo after securing seed funding.

David landed his first customers by handing out free samples at dog parks (which he still does to keep close to dog owners). He has done a bit of everything for the business, including cooking, packaging food and making deliveries. Today, the business has several thousand customers and has seen sales grow by 6x over the last 16 months. The company is also exploring an expansion into pet meds and insurance. Petzyo will be raising funds soon, and David is looking to connect with investors and companies familiar with pet insurance and online pharmacies. David can be reached via email or on LinkedIn.

– Interesting article on the petfluencer industry, where a single sponsored post can cost up to $15,000. A large social following, however, does not guarantee a successful campaign. And most pet brands now believe that partnering with petfluencers is a necessary marketing tactic.

– Two chances for pet startups to get onto retail shelves:

• Hy-Vee, a US grocery store chain with over 285 locations in the Midwest, is accepting submissions for its Pet Product Summit, which will consist of 15 to 30 minute virtual presentations.
• Pet Circle, a large online Australian pet retailer, is looking to partner with US pet brands. The pet industry in Australia is worth $15 billion, with two-thirds of households owning a pet.

💰 Financing & Deals

• Spot & Tango, a direct-to-consumer dog food startup, raised $51.75 million through recent Series A and B rounds. The NYC-based company, founded in 2014 by a husband-and-wife team, grew sales 250% last year.

• Sundays for Dogs, another DTC dog food company founded by another husband-and-wife team, raised a $10 million Series A round. Started in 2020, the remote-only company is backed by Imaginary Ventures, which also funded Smalls, a DTC cat food startup.

🤷‍♂️ Somewhat Relevant

• Petco CEO says the pet industry is inflation proof.

• Profile of Joe Spector, the founder of veterinary telehealth startup Dutch.

• Nestle Purina to stop selling pet food in Russia.

💼️ Pet Industry Jobs

• Director of Lifecycle & Retention – Sundays for Dogs (Remote)

• Talent Acquisition Manager – Spot & Tango (NYC)

• Associate Director, Pet Health – Chewy (Boston)