Deals & M&A.
Who's buying whom in pet retail — acquisitions, funding, ownership changes, and what each deal actually bought.
Pet M&A Volume Fell 13%. Valuations Rose. That's the Signal.
Deal count dropped harder than dollar volume, and the spread between the two tells you who has leverage in 2026.
4 min read · Aug 25
Hundreds of Independent Pet Stores Will Celebrate the Same Weekend. The Question Is What You Actually Do With It.
The foot traffic bump is real. The durable asset is what you do with the contact afterward.
3 min read · Aug 24
Friskies Built a Hobby Shop That Sells Zero Cat Food
A three-city tour with custom trading cards, 3D-printed figurines, and blind boxes. No retail partner named.
3 min read · Aug 19
Fera Pets Is Betting Longevity Science Sells Better Than 'Joint Support'
The vet-founded brand is positioning around cellular health and metabolic support, not the joint-and-digestion playbook.
3 min read · Aug 17
650,000 Pounds of Dog Food Set a Credibility Floor Most DTC Brands Cannot Clear
650K pounds to Vegas rescues during show week. The donation math that matters for specialty buyers and emerging brands.
3 min read · Aug 17
The Farmer's Dog Became a Buyer, and Fresh Brands Now Owe You an Answer
The Farmer's Dog acquired Woof, PetIQ bought MYOS, and the M&A pattern is accelerating. What it means for fresh brands and the stores that stock them.
4 min read · Aug 17
Petz Cobasi Pulled Three Growth Levers and Still Decelerated to 7.8%
The largest pet specialty chain in Brazil leaned on private label, faster delivery, and sales incentives. Revenue growth slowed quarter-over-quarter.
3 min read · Aug 17
Jollyes Named 160 Target Towns, and Your Lease Comp Moved With It
When a chain names 160 target sites publicly, every landlord in those markets now has a comp they didn't have last week.
3 min read · Aug 15
BARK Shrank Revenue 23% on Purpose, and Your Leverage Went Up
The company deliberately shrank its subscriber base, hit profitability, and changed the negotiation for every buyer stocking DTC brands.
4 min read · Aug 13
Native Pet Hit 13,000 Doors in Three Years. The Number That Explains How Is 390.7%.
The brand grew nearly 400% while proving a clean-label claim can carry enough consumer pull to justify the shelf space.
3 min read · Aug 12
Inaba's Format Explosion Tests Whether Lickables Can Carry a Full SKU Stack
Inaba wants meal slots, chew slots, and multiple pack sizes. The shelf-space calculus changed.
3 min read · Aug 12
VAFO Bought a Brand That Ships Past Your Shelf Entirely
The manufacturer behind brands on your shelf now owns a channel built to reach the same customer without you.
5 min read · Aug 12
Canada's Largest Pet Retailer Lost Its Index Seat While Revenue Grew
S&P told the market that top-line growth without margin discipline no longer counts. If you run a store or pitch one, that bar moved.
4 min read · Aug 11
A Thai Manufacturer Expanded Margin While Your Co-Packer Raised Prices
A Thai pet food manufacturer expanded gross margin 4.7 points while reporting the same input-cost pressures. That is the line to read twice.
3 min read · Aug 7
Five Animal Health Companies Grew. Your Shelf Saw None of It.
Five major companies reported double-digit growth. The products driving it don't stock in your aisle.
4 min read · Aug 6
Woof Is Teaching Your Customer at a Campsite, Then Sending Them to You
The enrichment brand is placing welcome kits at eight glamping properties, on a shelf you thought you controlled.
3 min read · Aug 5
Two Consolidators Bought Wet-Food Capacity and Called It Brands
Assisi and United Petfood bought production lines in markets where you cannot easily add them.
3 min read · Aug 4
Charterhouse Bought 150 Animal Health Brands, Dental Among Them
Charterhouse bought Animalcare Group and took it private. The playbook that kept those SKUs stable has flipped.
3 min read · Aug 3
What the Functional Ingredient Premium Actually Buys You
Postbiotics, medicinal mushrooms, microalgae, insect protein, the premium is real. The question: does the retail lift justify the space?
6 min read · Aug 2
Gimborn Bought the Plant-Based Litter It Used to Source Outside
The Biokat's maker acquired the Italian specialist it used to source from. First in-house plant-based production in 171 years.
3 min read · Jul 31
An ESOP Doubled This Feed Store's Share Value in Three Years
West Lebanon Feed's share value doubled in three years after converting to employee ownership. The retention math is the point.
5 min read · Jul 31
6.5% of Transactions Were Birthdays. Now There Is a Brand for It.
An independent store found 6.5% of transactions involved birthday asks. So they built a brand around it.
4 min read · Jul 30
Tractor Supply Cut Guidance and Called Pet Improved. Both Are True.
The rural retailer improved sequentially, then lowered full-year guidance anyway. That's the signal, not the contradiction.
4 min read · Jul 30
Win World Wants One Cage to Cover Dogs, Cats, and Birds
Win World's new Small Universal Cage consolidates dog, cat, and bird housing. The question: does 'universal' actually sell?
2 min read · Jul 29