Every story we've run.
72 stories on the business of pet retail. Browse by section.
Pet Fair Asia Sold Out. What US Specialty Missed.
The 2026 show closed its exhibitor list. Your supplier booked their booth. You haven't decided if you're going yet.
4 min read · Jul 22
What IndiePet's Origin Story Says About the Gaps Legacy Trade Groups Left Open
The group formed because retailers who incubated emerging brands needed operational systems existing organizations weren't providing.
5 min read · Jul 22
Delaware Backs Off Pet Store Closure Bill, But the Amendment Bans New Entrants
The amended bill keeps current operators alive but blocks new stores and family transfers. Other states are watching.
6 min read · Jul 22
Store Brands Just Hit 23.8% Unit Share While National Brands Lost Volume
PLMA's midyear data shows store brands hit an all-time high in unit share while national brands declined. The pet care number is the one to watch.
6 min read · Jul 21
Freshpet Names New President as Co-Founder Steps Back After 20 Years
Scott Morris is moving to an advisory role. Nicki Baty takes over as President and COO. What that means for the refrigerated set.
4 min read · Jul 21
TikTok Shop Just Reported 60% Pet Growth. Here's What That Changes for Indies.
One pet product sells every 15 seconds on the platform. Mars posted 454% growth. Here's what that velocity changes for specialty.
5 min read · Jul 21
Zoomark's 2027 Floor Plan Just Told You Which Categories European Distributors Are Betting On
When a trade show dedicates permanent zones to categories two years out, it's not a guess, it's a supply-chain bet your assortment should account for.
5 min read · Jul 21
Franchise Grooming Just Entered Your Zip Code With a Membership Wedge
A membership grooming franchise just opened in Montclair with plans for 26 locations statewide. Here's what that means for your referral network.
6 min read · Jul 21
Austin and Kat Bets Mushroom Powders Can Carry Margin CBD Used To
The Seattle CBD brand just launched a full mushroom line at the same price point, betting retailers will stock a second wellness category without cannibalizing the first.
6 min read · Jul 21
Pet Insurance Consolidator Just Stacked Its C-Suite. Here's What That Means for Your Checkout.
When a company stops announcing acquisitions and starts announcing presidents, it's done integrating and ready to sell.
5 min read · Jul 21
ADMC Adds Savage Cat Nationwide. Freeze-Dried Margins Just Got Tighter.
When a distributor commits full-footprint, it's a bet on category velocity. Here's what that means for your freeze-dried assortment.
6 min read · Jul 21
Pet Retail's Ownership Map: Every Deal Since 2020, and What It Bought
From Petco's IPO to the bankruptcy and rebirth of Pet Supplies Plus's parent, we mapped every deal that changed who owns a piece of pet retail since 2020 - buyer, target, price, and what it actually bought.
7 min read · Jul 20
How Independent Pet Stores Outlived the Chewy Panic
In 2018 and 2019, trade press and retailers alike braced for e-commerce to gut the independent pet channel. Chewy's own numbers, and what surviving stores actually did, tell a more complicated story.
6 min read · Jul 20
Why Apartment Renters Just Became Pet Insurance's Easiest Sale
Healthy Paws bought the lease-signing moment. Here's what that means for the conversation that used to happen on your sales floor.
6 min read · Jul 20
Vetericyn Bundles Common Complaints Into Kits, And Bets You'll Stock Them
The company grouped its products into problem-first bundles. Whether that lifts your revenue or just fragments shelf space depends on one thing.
5 min read · Jul 20
The Pet Distribution Roll-Up: Every Deal, 2019-2026
Phillips, Animal Supply Company, Pet Food Experts, and Central Garden & Pet spent six years buying, merging, and re-merging pet distribution into fewer, bigger networks. Here is every verified deal, and what it means for the store still counting cases by hand.
6 min read · Jul 20
The Premiumization Decade: How Price, Not Volume, Grew Pet Retail
APPA's numbers show a pet industry that grew from $95.7 billion to $158 billion in six years. Pull the unit-level data from Circana and NielsenIQ, and much of that growth looks like price, not volume.
7 min read · Jul 20
The Recalls and Rules That Reshaped Pet Retail Since 2018
From the FDA's grain-free investigation to New York's ban on pet store animal sales, the last eight years changed what an independent store can stock, say at the register, and legally sell. Here is the verified timeline and what each event actually changed.
7 min read · Jul 20
Costco Just Made Chemical-Free Tick Gear a Buyer Decision Problem
A specialty tick mitt just became a Costco value pack. That sentence should make every buyer who carries tick prevention sit up.
6 min read · Jul 20
The Pet Store Count, 2019-2026: Who Opened, Who Closed, Who's Left
Petco trimmed its fleet, Pet Supplies Plus nearly doubled its store count, and one overleveraged regional chain lost most of its stores in a matter of days. Here is what the verified footprint data actually shows.
7 min read · Jul 20
How Fresh and Frozen Rewired the Pet Aisle, 2019-2026
Freshpet's branded fridges, frozen raw's takeover of the freezer aisle, and General Mills' and Mars' 2025 entry into fresh all point to the same shift: refrigeration became the pet aisle's most contested, most capital-intensive real estate.
7 min read · Jul 20
Why Your Dog Supplement Shelf Drives More Questions Than Sales
Pet parents are more informed than ever. So why are ingredient lists alone failing to close the sale?
6 min read · Jul 20
Vitakraft's Rebrand Won't Fix Your Assortment Problem
The European brand surveyed 15,000 people and promises simpler shelf decisions. Here's what that means for your velocity.
4 min read · Jul 20
Pet Trade Shows Since 2020: The Recovery, and What a Floor Buys You
SuperZoo and Global Pet Expo both went dark or virtual in 2020 and 2021. Five years and several attendance records later, here is what the recovered floor is actually worth to a store or a brand, and how to work it.
7 min read · Jul 20