Vanguard Awards: Pet Hydration Solutions

As pet wellness continues to evolve, hydration is emerging as a critical yet often overlooked part of overall health, driving innovation across the pet care industry. With growing awareness, retailer support, and product innovation, pet hydration is set to shape the future of everyday pet wellness.

A significant challenge that Tonisity, home of the Doggyrade brand, recently overcame was maintaining incremental growth while simultaneously creating lasting brand engagement. “Sustaining growth while building long-term brand value,” replied Director of US Operations Lori Head. “It’s easy to chase short-term wins, but staying disciplined, focused on education, consistency, and supporting your core partners is key. Doing so has allowed us to grow the category the right way, and strengthen the foundation of the business.”

“The biggest challenge Phelps continually overcomes is our ability to identify, develop, and commercialize true innovation year after year,” remarked Rick Ruffolo, President and CEO of Phelps Pet Products. “Looking back—Phelps has created and/or entered six new categories or market segments over the past few years, and we are excited about entering yet another new category in 2026—the pet hydration market. Since 2020: 1) Phelps was the first-to-market with 100 percent plant-based (meatless) jerky dog treats; 2) Phelps was the first manufacturer to be certified by the Upcycled Food Association; 3) We took a ‘tongue-in-cheek’ approach to the ‘functional food/treats’ market with the launch of The Phelps Wellness Collection; 4) We brought exciting news and innovation to the category with the Disney Dog treats license; 5) Phelps was accredited by the Pet Sustainability Coalition in 2024; 6) Phelps helped pioneer the air-dried, gently-cooked, and cold-pressed topper and specialty food market segments in 2024 and 2025; and 7) Now, in 2026, we have launched into the pet hydration market with the ‘H2GO! Hydration Gel’ treats.”

VETWATER is dedicated to preventing issues such as urinary problems and supporting overall health and wellness. “VETWATER is focused on making hydration easier and more effective for pets by offering a clean, consistent, and functional water solution,” mentioned Pierre-Luc Gingras with H&C Animal Health. “By optimizing water quality and encouraging increased consumption, especially in cats who naturally have low thirst drive, we help support urinary health and overall well-being.”

Leadership in pet hydration solutions takes many forms. Each company possesses its own unique strengths and approaches that allow it to stand out from the competition and achieve success. 

“Our leadership is defined by clarity and focus,” Head with Tonisity replied. “We don’t try to be everything; we focus on what we do best, gut health and pet hydration, and we do it well. Our leadership is grounded in science, but communicated in a way that’s practical to the pet owners. It helps that, despite being delicious, it is low-fat, and good for the pet.”

“The Phelps culture is centered on a strong desire and humble commitment to learning, staying curious, solving problems, and meeting/exceeding customer expectations,” Ruffolo remarked. “We are focused on wanting to perform better each day/each week—while also doing our best to help our customers win in the marketplace. Being an innovator is one of our unique strengths (aka: hidden superpower), and we are intentional in our efforts to identify and address ‘pain points’ or unmet needs/desires in the market. This year, we are excited about the launch of our new proprietary H2GO! Hydration Gel treats for dogs. The hydrocolloids in the gel help enable 4X better cellular hydration than drinking water alone. This product addresses chronic ‘under-hydration’ with many dogs, and by allowing your dogs to feed/eat the gel treat regularly, dog owners can help their dogs be and stay better hydrated—whether around the house, while playing in the backyard, or during/after a walk or hike in the woods.”

Manufacturers are optimistic that pet hydration will become a fundamental part of responsible pet ownership. “Our hope is for it to become a standard part of daily pet care, not just situational use, and gut care and hydration will sit alongside nutrition as a core pillar of health,” Head mentioned. 

“We expect ‘hydration’ as a benefit category to be the next frontier in animal health and nutrition,” Ruffolo with Phelps Pet Products replied.