On the Shelf.
Categories, velocity, and merchandising — what's moving on specialty shelves and why.
Standlee Wants Hay Merchandised Like a Supplement
The company is positioning forage around education and quality. That creates a specific economics question for independents.
3 min read · Aug 4
A 130-Decibel Leash Has a Shelf Placement Problem
The merchandising call: leash aisle where it competes on price, or impulse zone where the safety story can actually land?
3 min read · Aug 3
PetAg Went Into 2,000 Tractor Supply Doors With Your Endcap Set
The brand you built your puppy nutrition set around committed inventory to 2,000 chain doors. There is a call to make.
3 min read · Aug 3
Do Occasion SKUs Earn Permanent Facings or a Seasonal Endcap?
The Honest Kitchen launched bake mixes. The real question: do occasion SKUs earn permanent facings or seasonal rotation?
3 min read · Aug 3
Petco Put an Off-Price CFO in Charge of Its Audit Committee
Jeffrey Naylor's resume is off-price retail and inventory discipline. That's not the hire you make for growth, it's the one you make when the board wants tighter margins.
4 min read · Aug 3
One Percent of Every Bag Goes to the Red Cross. Run the Margin Math.
The donation model gives you a cause story without negotiating your own charity partnership or sacrificing margin.
3 min read · Aug 3
Terriers Are Selling in 11 Days and Your Small-Breed Logic Is Dated
Pets4Homes data shows working breeds overtaking doodles for the first time in years, and the SKU mix that worked in 2023 stops working now.
4 min read · Aug 3
Subscriptions Hit 15.3% at Pets at Home. Product-Only Is the Decline.
The UK's biggest pet chain expanded clinical staff to drive subscriptions. A single-location store still has a version of this.
3 min read · Aug 2
The $580M Manufacturer Behind Your Private Label Is Betting on Lickables
i-Tail's treat segment surged 36.5% while wet food grew 4-5%. The margin gap most US specialty buyers are missing.
4 min read · Aug 2
Pet Supplements Added $237 Million. Joint Health Is Not Where It Sits.
Joint health leads the category, but it's not where the acceleration is. The velocity sits somewhere else.
4 min read · Aug 1
BetterBone Built a Fetch Toy Out of Its Chew Material
The company's betting one SKU can replace two. The float feature is the tell, and the fall launch gives you time to watch returns.
2 min read · Aug 1
If You Cut Supplement Facings in Q1, Swedencare's Q2 Says You May Have Been Early
Swedencare posted 4% growth after a slower start. If you trimmed the category earlier this year, the signal has changed.
4 min read · Aug 1
Austin and Kat Are Hedging CBD With Five Mushroom SKUs
The Seattle brand that built on premium CBD sourcing added five mushroom SKUs. The format question decides whether it works.
3 min read · Aug 1
Dog Owners Did Not Cut Back. They Changed Where They Buy.
APPA's new data shows dog spending held while the channel mix shifted underneath it.
4 min read · Aug 1
Ecofurball Built a Free Product Education Library Retailers Actually Use
An independent site explains pet product materials. Retailers are using it to answer the questions brand sell sheets skip.
4 min read · Aug 1
Petsport Is Replacing Button Cells With USB-C Across Its Light Toys
The company is ditching button cells for rechargeable power, which touches your shelf and your battery order.
2 min read · Aug 1
Hollywood Feed's Eighth South Carolina Store Is Density, Not Growth
Eight stores in one state isn't expansion. It's density. And density is a different play with a different risk.
3 min read · Jul 31
Elanco's Impact Report Draws a Channel Line in the Fine Print
The animal health giant told you who it is building around. Read the report for what it does not say about retail.
2 min read · Jul 31
Brands Keep Hiring Indie-Channel Operators to Run National Sales
When a brand hires someone whose whole track record is distributor and indie retailer relationships, they're about to ask more of that channel.
3 min read · Jul 31
A $28 Recipe Deck Tests Whether Pet Stores Can Sell Cocktail Napkins
The pricing is real. The question is whether lifestyle merch turns in a pet store or only competes for shrinking impulse space.
5 min read · Jul 31
Open Farm's Biggest Ad Buy Ever Comes Without a Number
The company won't say what it spent. The campaign messaging says plenty about what specialty brands are willing to trade for scale.
4 min read · Jul 30
PetVivo Paid $75,000 to Walk Away From PrecisePRP
The settlement extinguished all prior obligations except two cash payments. If you stock regenerative therapies, this changes your supplier-risk calculus.
3 min read · Jul 30
Vet Clinics Are Becoming the Test Lab for Retail Payment Expectations
PawPay turns insurance into point-of-care payment at the vet. That expectation doesn't stay in the exam room.
3 min read · Jul 30
Play9's Roolo Mini Targets the Margin Hole in Small-Dog Enrichment
The treat opening redesign matters more than the size reduction. The shelf call turns on whether the original already turns.
2 min read · Jul 30