Pet Industry News
The deals, launches, and strategic moves behind the brands and operators shaping the industry.
Escalade Buys ASL Solutions, Betting on Pet Hard Goods
Escalade, the public sporting goods company behind Goalrilla and STIGA, has acquired ASL Solutions, a founder-owned manufacturer of insulated dog and cat houses. The deal, terms undisclosed, hands Escalade a rotational molding capability it didn't have before and marks its first move into pet hard goods.
Europe's First Full D2C Pet Food Map Counts 113 Brands and One Company That Took Half the Money
A new benchmark called the D2C Pet Food Landscape 2026 maps 113 European direct-to-consumer pet food brands across 28 countries, finding 811M euros raised but extreme concentration: 61% of brands raised nothing and one company took more than half. The report also flags a 66% subscription rate at a 38% premium and a 48% West-to-East price gap. Its author, Proteine Resources, is itself a market participant.
A Vegan Dog Food Raises $14.5M to Build Ozempic for Dogs
British vegan dog food startup Omni raised a 11M pound ($14.5M) Series A to expand in the UK, test the US, and develop LeanPaws, an Ozempic-style canine weight-loss supplement. With pet obesity at 46% and Mars-linked Digitalis Ventures on the cap table, the weight-management bet is the real story.
Premium Dog Food's Next Aisle Is the Farm-and-Ranch Store
Sunshine Mills is expanding its super-premium Sportsman's Pride Field Master line into Rural King across 17 states. The recipes are the marketing; the story is the channel, as premium and functional dog food pushes into farm-and-ranch retail the way it once colonized online.
In-Cabin Pet Flights Keep Multiplying. The Moat Is the Paperwork.
Vicuna Air has extended its US-Europe in-cabin pet flights to Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Brussels, deepening a crowded premium niche that now includes BARK Air, K9 Jets and Retrievair. The routes are the headline, but the defensible business is the documentation and relocation logistics layer underneath.
Elanco's New $25M Venture Arm Is Built for Scouting, Not Scale
Elanco is launching a $25 million corporate venture arm focused on early-stage animal-health startups, opening late 2026 and tied to its Indianapolis innovation district. The fund's modest size signals a sourcing-and-visibility play rather than a bid to outspend Mars or out-acquire Zoetis.
Akston's twice-yearly itch shot matches Cytopoint, and targets its monthly-dosing model
Akston says its experimental itch drug AKS-699 matched Zoetis's Cytopoint in a head-to-head study while cutting dosing from monthly to roughly twice a year. The candidate is still preclinical, but it targets the recurring-injection economics that make dermatology one of animal health's most durable franchises.