BetterBone adds medium Wishbone and GO fetch design to fill two shelf gaps buyers named

A buyer is deciding whether to give BetterBone more facings or hold the planogram as it is.

BetterBone by Blue Standard is launching two products that the company says customers asked for: a medium-sized Wishbone for dogs weighing 30 to 60 pounds, and GO, a fetch-compatible chew built for tossing, training, and water play. Both are plant-based, made from the company's Vernovo material, and designed to wear into soft flakes rather than splinter. The medium Wishbone fills a size gap between the brand's existing small and large options. GO brings the same material to a classic bone shape that floats and is lighter than the original Wishbone.

The company says it developed both in response to customer feedback. BetterBone products are stocked at more than 4,000 retail locations in over 30 countries, according to the announcement. Additional flavors for both SKUs are expected in the first quarter of 2027.

The size gap and what it was costing

The medium Wishbone targets dogs in the 30-to-60-pound range, a weight bracket the brand's existing small and large sizes did not serve cleanly. A customer with a dog in that range was choosing between a chew that did not fit the dog's size and chewing needs.

That is a lost sale the store can measure. If you stock BetterBone and you have a returns log or a customer-request file, pull it and count how many times someone asked for a size between what you had. If the number is above zero and you are giving the brand two or three facings already, the medium Wishbone is the safer add of the two launches because it captures a sale you were losing, rather than testing a new use case.

The GO chew is riskier because it is asking the category to do something different: serve the fetch-and-toss occasion. GO floats, it is lighter, and it has a shape built for throwing, so the company is positioning it for active play. That works if your customer base includes people who take their dogs to the park or the beach and want a chew that doubles as a fetch toy. It does not work if your buyers are treating the chew aisle as a rawhide replacement and nothing more.

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The planogram decision and what being wrong costs

If you already stock BetterBone, you are deciding whether these two SKUs justify more facings or whether one of them takes a slot from a competitor. The medium Wishbone is the easier call: if you have the small and the large, adding the middle size is a fill-in, not a gamble. Give it the same depth as your other Wishbone sizes and watch the turn for 60 days. If it moves, it stays. If it sits, you know the gap was not as wide as the customer-request log suggested, and you pull it without losing much.

GO is harder because it is asking you to commit to a use case, not a size. If you are going to stock it, put it in a spot where a customer shopping for fetch toys will see it, near the rubber bones and the floating retrievers, not buried in the chew aisle next to bully sticks. Test one density (the company offers Light, Moderate, and Hard) and one flavor (Veggie, Beef, or Venison) and give it the same 60-day window. If it does not move, the cost is the margin you could have earned on whatever you displaced, plus the labor of resetting the fixture twice.

If you do not stock BetterBone yet and a rep pitches these two as the entry point, ask what the brand's turn rate is in stores similar to yours. The medium Wishbone and GO are line extensions, not proof the core line works. A brand launching two SKUs at once in response to customer feedback is a good signal, it means they are listening and they have enough volume to justify the tooling cost, but it does not tell you whether the original product sells in your market. Get the data on the small and large Wishbone first, then decide whether the medium size and the active-play design are worth the shelf space.

Our read: the medium Wishbone is the fill-in, GO is the test

The medium Wishbone solves a problem stores were already seeing: a customer with a mid-size dog who could not find the right fit. That is a straightforward fix, and if you stock the brand, it is worth the facing. GO is a different kind of launch because it is trying to move the category into a new occasion, and that only works if your customer base includes people who use chews the way they use fetch toys. The medium Wishbone is capturing a sale that was already trying to happen. GO has to create the sale, and that is harder.

If you are deciding between the two and you can only add one, take the medium Wishbone. If you have the space and the customer base for both, test GO in the fetch section and give it 60 days to prove it belongs there. The failure mode is not catastrophic, you reset the planogram and move on, but the opportunity cost is real, so make sure the data supports the add before you commit.

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