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.
VAFO Acquires Pets Deli as Its Founder Returns to the CEO Seat
VAFO Group has acquired Berlin-based D2C pet food brand Pets Deli on undisclosed terms, with founder Tania Moser returning as CEO after more than a year as chairwoman. The deal is the second involving a German pet food company The Underbite has tracked in two weeks, and it fits a pattern of manufacturers buying direct customer relationships rather than building them.
Eleven Pet Companies that Made the 2026 Inc. 5000
At least eleven pet-industry companies, led by veterinary telehealth platform Dutch's 2,395% three-year growth, placed on the 2026 Inc. 5000 list of America's fastest-growing private companies. Their range, from consolidated veterinary care to doodle-breed grooming, maps where pet industry money is actually moving.
Healthy Paws Lands a Fourth Embedded Insurance Deal With DogPack
Healthy Paws is embedding its pet insurance inside DogPack, a 2.5-million-user dog app, marking the Chubb-backed insurer's fourth embedded-distribution partnership in about a year. None of the four deals disclose attach rates or revenue terms, leaving the strategy's payoff unproven.
Pet Valu's New Stores Are Covering for Its First Negative Comp Quarter
Pet Valu's second-quarter same-store sales fell 0.2%, the first negative reading after four straight quarters of deceleration, even as new store openings kept total revenue growing 3.6%. The value-seeking consumer trend behind it echoes what Zoetis, Tractor Supply, and Central Garden have all reported this earnings season.
Nom Nom's New Frozen Format Joins Fresh Food's Packaging Race
Nom Nom introduced a scoopable frozen meal format this week, a day after The Farmer's Dog launched a shelf-stable alternative. Two different fixes for fresh food's oldest problem, packaging friction, are landing from opposite ends of the category at the same time.
VetRec's 50-Clinic Australia Deal Signals AI Scribes Going Global
VetRec is rolling out its AI Scribe platform across more than 50 Vets Central clinics in Australia and New Zealand, after a pilot saved 200+ administrative hours across 1,300 visits. The deal signals AI documentation tools are moving from pilot programs to default infrastructure at multi-site veterinary groups.