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.
Freshpet Raises 2026 Guidance as Fresh Pet Food Keeps Outrunning the Category
Freshpet's second-quarter net sales rose 15.5% to $305.6 million and adjusted EBITDA jumped nearly 18%, prompting the company to raise its full-year 2026 guidance. The result lands a day after IDEXX posted a similar beat-and-raise, underscoring a split between premium/fresh categories still growing and the broader pet aisle slowdown retailers described this summer.
A Startup Bred the Allergen Out of Dogs.
Kindred Companion Sciences emerged from stealth to unveil two beagles gene-edited with CRISPR to eliminate the major dog allergen, Can f 1. The peer-reviewed science looks solid, but the release discloses no funding, no price, and no plan for turning two allergen-free beagles into an actual product.
Zoetis Folds Its COO Job Into the CFO's, One Day After Cutting Guidance
Zoetis is merging its CFO and COO roles into a single seat under incoming executive Jay Saccaro, effective August 17 — one day after the company posted flat Q2 revenue and its second guidance cut of the year. Outgoing CFO Wetteny Joseph stays on as an advisor through early 2027.
Insect Protein Drops the Sustainability Pitch for an Allergy One
A new Future Market Insights report projects the insect-based pet food market growing from $1.5 billion to $4.0 billion by 2036, but the more useful signal is a positioning shift from sustainability marketing toward allergy and digestibility claims. The report names seven ingredient suppliers and seven consumer brands without ranking any of them.
Japan's Biggest Vet Hospitals Are Burning Out. Smaller Ones Aren't.
A new Zpeer survey of 314 Japanese veterinarians found workload pressure rises sharply with hospital size, and the most strained hospitals are also the ones most eager to expand preventive-care services like wellness exams and parasiticide prescriptions. For animal health companies eyeing Japan, that's a specific commercial opening, not just a burnout headline.
Odie Pet Insurance Poaches a Rival's Former CEO to Run Growth
Odie Pet Insurance named Lane Kent, the former CEO of Independence Pet Group, as its first chief growth officer. The hire signals a shift toward embedded distribution across pet insurance, but Odie disclosed no policy count, funding, or revenue alongside it.