Pet Insight 2023 Category Catalysts: Scent-Driving Toys, Project Hive Pet Company

Project Hive Pet Company’s name alone conveys its overarching mission to save the bees, and it has effectively leveraged the connection between the beloved pollinators and the flora it interacts with to deliver something special and unique to the category of scent-driven pet toys. The company teaches that scents provide an added dimension to the play and stimulation that pets require for their overall wellbeing. Project Hive checks multiple boxes for today’s engaged pet owners who also increasingly seek to support companies with goals that extend beyond pure profit. 

“Since we launched our Hive Scent Collection this past spring, we are focused on educating retailers and consumers about why we chose our scents,” said co-Founder Melissa Rappaport Schifman. “Our mission is to save the bees, and all of our scents are inspired by plants that feed or need bees for pollination. But even better, dogs love these scents—not necessarily to eat, but to fully engage with. To educate retailers, we have exhibited at the national tradeshows and attended a few distributor tradeshows. And for our retail partners, we offer beautiful and informative point-of-purchase signage.”

The marketing collateral and educational talking points that Project Hive provides its retail partners are well thought out and designed for maximum impact, she said. “Retailers who support our whole line of scented and unscented products can make a statement when the collection of toys and treats is merchandised together—online or in-store,” Schifman said. “The colors really pop, and they make a beautiful and impactful display on shelves as well as online. The other thing that helps is when retailers know more about our brand:  i.e., supporting USA-made toys, understanding why Non-GMO Project Verification is important for our treats and knowing that when people buy our products, they are supporting the establishment of wildflower habitat that helps save the bees.  We offer engaging training modules to our retail partners. We believe that the more informed the salespeople, the more engaged they are with the consumer—and the result is that more pet parents like to support our brand.”

And the consumers are engaging. “Consumers are gravitating toward scent-driven toys because it adds another dimension to engage dogs’ senses,” she said. “Additionally, people like our scents because they’re very pleasing: soothing vanilla, tropical coconut, calming lavender, wild berry and sweet mango have all been in demand. It’s interesting because some people choose more based on scent; some like them all and just pick their favorite color!”

Schifman said engagement is often more easily facilitated in pet specialty retail stores than mass, and the latter presents a constant challenge. “Pet specialty retailers are unique in that they tend to know more about pets, pet products and industry trends than other retail channels that do not specialize in pets,” she said. “They also typically engage more with the customer, and pet parents rely on pet store salespeople to educate them. So, that’s an excellent opportunity for us to train and educate the sales staff on our brand, mission, and products. But in all self-service retail environments, we are constantly challenged with trying to educate the customer on our brand and mission, who can only see our packaging – and maybe some signage – amidst a sea of competing products.”

Other challenges Project Hive has faced this year include price increases. “We continue to see some price increases in our supply chain,” she said. “It’s also a very competitive marketplace. As a small business, we’re up against very large players with enormous marketing budgets, and that’s tough to compete with in any realm.”

Thankfully, “Our mission is our North Star. It guides us on all our business decisions, so it helps us stay focused on our brand,” she said. “We were recently B Corp Certified and thrilled to be part of the B Corp community, whose purpose is to use business as a force for good. We consistently remind ourselves—and our retail partners—that the more products we sell, the more bees saved!”