On the Shelf.
Categories, velocity, and merchandising — what's moving on specialty shelves and why.
Tito's Is Donating 100% of Its Dog Toy Licensing Revenue
100% of Tito's licensing revenue goes to charity. That changes the buyer's math when the rep pitches this line.
4 min read · Aug 11
Why a Territory Manager Hire Tells You Nothing About Your Shelf
A personnel move with no pricing shift, no distribution change, and no new retailer program attached.
2 min read · Aug 11
Nulo Put the Sensitivity Diet Vets Used to Own on Your Shelf
Limited ingredient diets used to mean a vet script. Nulo is shipping a retail-shelf answer mid-September.
4 min read · Aug 10
The Risk in VICTOR's Cheaper Freeze-Dried Cat Line Sits in the Planogram
The company's betting there's a customer who wants the format but won't pay premium. If they're right, it changes the planogram.
3 min read · Aug 10
PetIQ Put an NFL Running Back on Its OTC Wellness Chews
The company is betting lifestyle credibility beats clinical claims. If it works, more brands follow and the category gets tighter.
3 min read · Aug 10
Farm Chains Are Building State-Level Density, and Pet Is the Filler
The farm-store chain is building state-level density, and pet is part of the basket it uses to do it.
4 min read · Aug 10
Your Co-Packer's President Moved Up. Lock Terms Before the Structure Does.
Scott Salmon moved to enterprise strategy. Jacob Rogers runs the pet division now, and your account terms sit in between.
3 min read · Aug 8
Seasonal Pet Merchandise Is a Margin Play Most Indies Call Fluff
51% of consumers plan to decorate. 23% dress their pets. And most independents will leave the endcap empty.
5 min read · Aug 8
Petcurean's Wet Extension Asks Whether Good Gravy Earns Its Own Facings
Petcurean's wet food launch is exclusive to Pet Valu through 2026. The format extension question: does brand equity carry, or fragment?
4 min read · Aug 7
Supreme Source Moved Into Kroger, and Your Four Feet Got More Expensive
American Pet Nutrition put Supreme Source in grocery chains. Same brand, different channel, different math for your shelf.
4 min read · Aug 7
Glacial Multiplied Freeze-Dry Capacity 7x. Watch the Supply Wave.
A contract manufacturer removed the biggest constraint in freeze-dried pet treats. The consequence hits your shelf this fall.
3 min read · Aug 7
Does Wild-Caught Herring Earn Its Own Facing in Your PureBites Block?
Does wild-caught herring earn its own facing, or does it split velocity across the proteins you already stock?
3 min read · Aug 7
A Garden Centre Bought a 38-Year Aquatics Specialist
The buyer is not another fish retailer, and that is the tell for every single-category store.
4 min read · Aug 7
Suppliers Are Rebuilding Backyard Poultry Assortments Again
A new brooder from a supplier that's been adding to its poultry line. That's a vote the category still moves.
2 min read · Aug 6
What SuperZoo Ordering Actually Buys You: 15% Off, Plus 10% More
15% off select products, plus another 10% when you add new SKUs to the same order. The stacking is doing deliberate work.
2 min read · Aug 6
Seven SKUs Aimed at the Two Segments Legacy Brands Keep Losing
Seven new SKUs aimed at small-dog formats and protein-forward recipes. The timing puts them in the same decision window as every other brand.
3 min read · Aug 6
I and love and you Hired a Premium Operator, Not a Mass One
The consensus says professionalization. The hire pattern says a bet on premium cat.
4 min read · Aug 6
You Stock Small-Pet Bedding. Do You Know Which Local Rescue Actually Uses It?
carefresh distributed bedding to rescues across North America. The play most stores miss: finding out whether one is local.
2 min read · Aug 6
Brands Are Outsourcing the MAP Enforcement They Cannot Staff
Complete Compliance is a white-glove program where brands hand off the entire MAP policing process. The hire signals a structural shift.
3 min read · Aug 6
SuperZoo's 2,000 New Products Aren't the Story. The Five Categories Getting Pitched Are.
Connected care, sustainability, lifestyle, wellness, enrichment, the debuts aren't spreading evenly, and that changes the buyer's job.
4 min read · Aug 5
Your Plush Wall Has a Margin Decision, Not a Product Decision
Pet Food Experts is running promo pricing on Tall Tails and Territory through August. The question: does the turn justify the reset?
3 min read · Aug 5
Hundreds of Indies Ran National Pet Shop Day Events. Nobody's Saying Whether It Moved Product.
Johnson's called the community response everything they hoped for. They didn't release comp sales, basket size, or any metric that tells you whether it paid back.
3 min read · Aug 4
Redbarn's First Toy Is a Chew Cross-Sell With a Fixture Problem
The family-owned chew company launched a holder for its bully sticks. Now buyers have to decide: chew aisle, toy aisle, or endcap?
4 min read · Aug 4
Hill's Exited Private Label and Paid Two Points of Growth for It
The company exited private label manufacturing and Science Diet dog softened. That's real shelf space, and someone's about to fill it.
3 min read · Aug 4