The Future of Dog Toys
The economic and trade challenges have created risks and opportunities across the pet industry, with dog toy brands emphasizing the importance of proactive inventory investments to capitalize on market shifts, and increased focus on and attention to enhancing product quality, exclusivity and innovative solutions to differentiate themselves and support retailers. Suppliers’ commitment to domestic manufacturing and creative solutions reinforces the strategic advantage of producing dog toys in the US to side step supply chain hiccups while promoting sustainability and local jobs. These leaders are experiencing category growth in spite of turbulent economic conditions.
SmarterPaw Managing Partner and CEO Scott Ragan noted how some brands are seemingly unable to withstand economic challenges or sustain competitive pricing, creating a window of opportunity for the manufacturers that planned ahead. “Unfortunately, some brands may not be able to weather short-term storms or maintain pricing,” said Ragan. “This situation will create sales opportunities for those brands that invested in inventory and materials before the new trade policies.”
Jolly Pets Marketing Director Louisa Marvin said challenges have heightened the company’s focus on quality, aligning with consumer trends of purchasing fewer but higher-quality items, which benefits specialty retailers. Jolly Pets plans to support independents with exclusive deals, promotions to strengthen margins and relevant content to help its partners more dramatically differentiate from competing retailers. “With every challenge comes a sharper focus on quality—and that plays to our strengths,” Marvin said. “Consumers are buying less but buying better, which gives specialty retailers an edge. We see opportunities to further support independents through exclusive product bundles, margin-friendly promotions and more turnkey content to help them stand out. We’re also exploring smart enrichment and wellness tie-ins through our Link partnership, which could unlock new categories of play.”
One specific challenge which Starmark is addressing could turn into an opportunity for creative problem solving in product development, said Marketing Director Emily Benson. “As a product manufacturer, you generally have a goal price point you want to meet when developing a product concept,” she elaborated. “Bringing the price point to the forefront could create alternatives in terms of functionality and materials, as well as induce a reduction in packaging.”
Since its founding, West Paw has been committed to manufacturing its own products in Montana driven by a vision of making a positive impact. The recent hiccups in the global supply chain have reinforced the importance of West Paw’s emphasis on domestic manufacturing. “West Paw started with a vision of impact in 1996 to manufacture our own products in Montana and 29 years later we are still doing that,” said CEO and President Spencer Williams. “These disruptions of the global supply chain are only part of the reason why we started this strategy. As we grow as a domestic manufacturer, we provide jobs with dignity to a diversity of people in our factory and offices. We also provide increased accessibility to our toys, which are fully recyclable, allowing for less impact on our precious natural resources. We believe that consumers are looking for our enrichment toys for mental health, along with durable chew toys, of which our Zogoflex material proves to be the safest and most durable, and outdoor play toys to ensure physical health. Consumers will be faced with higher costs from previously cheaper imports. Those higher costs will help them look closer at domestic-made products like West Paw, which provide a safer and more durable product. Being a more lasting product ensures that their dollars go further over a longer time while minimizing the impact of waste and destroyed products going to landfills.”
“The biggest opportunity we see in this current climate is through strategic bundling and cross-merchandising,” said George Barton, Director of Marketing, 3TBrands. “For retailers, we’ve put together six seasonally-relevant toy bundles and are offering aggressive buy-in discounts so they can stock-up. Then, paired with those buy-in deals, we’re continuing to offer enticing pet parent/customer promotions through Astro Loyalty to help sell-through that inventory. In Tall Tails, we have a squeaker toy bundle, a chew bundle and an interactive toy bundle. Another opportunity we see is in working with retailers to cross-merchandise and promote our foraging mats, treat dispensing toys and chews with compatible consumables such as food, treats and supplements. By cross-merchandising these items together, retailers can create an enrichment statement while also promoting higher market baskets and units per transaction. For the pet parent, these vignettes are easy to shop, easy to understand and provide great value for their pets.”
The dog toys suppliers that are adapting to new supply chain and pricing challenges are thriving. What sets these companies apart is their ability to lead by their purpose and mission while looking ahead to face potential issues head on.
