International
Pet Product News
October 2018
Vol. 72 No. 10 Pet Product News International October 2018
EDITORIAL
Editor in Chief Jennifer Boncy
jboncy@petproductnews.com
Managing Editor Lindsey Wojcik
lwojcik@petproductnews.com
Senior Editor Carrie Brenner
cbrenner@petproductnews.com
Contributing Editors Barry Berman, Lizett Bond,
Sandy Chebat, Hilary Daninhirsch, Lindsey Getz,
B.C. Henschen, Clay Jackson,
Keith Loria, Ethan Mizer, Audrey Pavia
Art Director Sandra Schmeil
Eric Mack
Purrrfect Bark
Melissa Sturm
and Britt Sturm
Agri Feed Pet Supply
Randy Klein and Phil Klein
Whiskers Holistic Petcare
Lisa Rousseau
and Joe Lebeau
Lisa’s Doghouse
Connie Romano
Bark Out Loud Doggie
Boutique & Café
Rob Flanagan
Wag N’ Wash Natural Food
and Bakery
Cindra Conison
The Quirky Pet
Nancy Guinn
and Chris Guinn
Dog Krazy
Retailer of the Year Toni Shelaske, Healthy Pet Products
RETAIL ADVISORY BOARD 2018-2019
Chairman & CEO Peter Callahan
President & COO Carolyn Callahan
Senior V.P. Administration/ Treasurer Anna Blanco
Senior V. P. Finance and CFO Gerard J. Cerza, Jr.
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Products included in Pet Product News International are for
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endorsement by the magazine or its staff.
Pet Product Ne ws International (ISSN: 1935-6323) is published
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NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
There is a small room here at the headquarters of Pet Product News in New York that is slowly filling up with a resplendent bounty of some of the most exciting new
products the pet market has to offer—and we couldn’t be more
excited. It’s that time of year again, when we kick off the testing
phase of our Editors’ Choice Awards process to determine which
products will, ultimately, be named winners. While you will
have to wait until January for those final results, in this issue,
we are equally thrilled to present 60 finalists chosen from the
hundreds of nominees we received, which starts on page 39. It
wasn’t easy, but PPN’s editors sorted through these submissions
and chose the standouts among them. It won’t be until will
get through the final testing process
when we will be able to declare our 2019
winners with confidence. So stay tuned!
Also, coming your way in December will be our 2018-2019
State of the Industry Report, chockfull of up-to-date statistics
on the latest trends in the pet industry. We queried hundreds of
pet businesses late this summer and are preparing to present
that data for you, our readers, in our annual State of the Industry Report & Buying Guide, which will mail with our December
issue. You won’t want to miss it! In the meantime, below are
some excerpts from our 2017-2018 report, including first-time
reveals, that are worth checking out.
Teresa M. McCarter
and Brian Anderson
Happy Dog Café Boutique & Spa
Sue Hepner and Paula Jaffe
Cool Dog Gear
Trace Menchaca
Flying M Feed Co.
*The respondents included mostly independent and chain/franchise pet shops and aquarium shops, grooming businesses that sell pet supplies, and veterinary clinics, pet sitters,
trainers and other pet service providers that sell pet supplies. A small percentage of the survey’s overall responses come from farm/feed stores, grocery chains, mass merchandisers,
online retailers and gift shops, all of which reported selling pet supplies.
Survey Says:
Feed Me, Play with Me, Repeat
Pet Product News’ 2017-2018 State of the In- dustry Report, which ran in our 2018 Buy- ing Guide, revealed much about the latest
trends in the industry. The report was based on
the results of an exclusive PPN study conducted by Readex Research, a nationally recognized
independent research company. The survey,
conducted in the late summer of 2017, queried a
wide range of pet businesses*, from small full-line
mom-and-pops to pet store chains to grooming
salons, all of which sell pet supplies as part of
their business model.
We recently dug a little deeper into this intel
to isolate some specifics about the top-selling
product categories last year, with a focus on pet
businesses that identify specifically dog and cat
products as their main revenue generators, as well
as businesses that reported gross sales volume of
$1 million or more in 2016.
Here’s what we found:
Of the pet businesses that reported that 60 per-
cent or more of their sales are in the dog and cat
segments, 70 percent said that food is among
their top-selling dog categories—not
a surprising statistic given pet
food’s dominance in the over-
all market. Treats are the next
strongest dog product catego-
ry, with 67 percent of these dog
and cat supply retailers having
cited treats as a top seller.
More than half of them said
that toys are among their dog
category best-sellers.
However, it appears that
higher-grossing stores are even
more invested in dog food sales.
Slightly more than 80 percent of the respondents
that reported a gross sales volume of $1 million
or more said that food was a top-selling item. Sixty-six percent of the same group reported treats as
a top seller, and slightly more than half cited toys
as a leading product category.
Dog and cat specialty retailers reported only
marginally less robust cat product sales—and
food still came out on top. On the cat side, among
the pet businesses that reported that 60 percent
or more of their sales are in the dog and cat segments, slightly less than 70 percent said that cat
food was a best-seller in their stores. Additionally,
46 percent said that cat toys were sales leaders,
and 43 percent cited cat treats as top sellers.
The breakdowns for higher-grossing dog and
cat specialty stores ($1 million or more) were similar. Cat food is a top seller for nearly 80 percent of
the stores in this bracket, followed by cat toys for
41 percent and cat treats for 43 percent.
Be sure to check out the 2018-2019 State of the
Industry Report to see the results of this year’s
survey.
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