A broad range of licensed brands and characters was on full display at this week’s Global Pet Expo Orlando, playing a growing role in an industry showing solid growth.

According to figures released at the Expo by the American Pet Product Association (APPA), U.S. pet industry revenue from supplies and over-the-counter medicine increased 2.7% to $15.11 billion in 2017 and is projected to grow another 2.7% this year to $15.51 billion. The increased revenue was partly driven by sales of collars, leashes, toys and apparel. Overall, pet industry revenue jumped 4.1% to $69.51 billion and is expected to increase another 3.7% this year to $72.12 billion, APPA said.

Among the developments we saw at the Expo:

• Petmate (La-Z-Boy) and Dallas Manufacturing Co. (Sealy) widened the field of licensed brands of dog and cat beds, joining Serta (nVision Marketing), Simmons and Beautyrest (both R2R Pets). The rectangular and round beds contained many of the features of standard mattresses- 4-6 inches of memory foam mixed with gel filling to eliminate pressure points – in continuing the trend of bringing a human touch to pets.

• Petmate’s La-Z-Boy line, including eight SKUs in four colors, borrowed heavily from the namesake recliner including fabrics, stain resistance and memory foam. The top end model ($200) even mirrored the design of a recliner in its ability to fold up to save space. “These all open up the humanization factor in the form of brand recognition and pet owners knowing what the quality is going to be like,” says Petmate’s Patricia McCune. “It is all about if something is good enough for the pet owner, it is good enough for their pets.” NVision also is extending its line of Serta brand products to include dog blankets and carriers.

• Fetch… For Pets, which previously sourced Martha Stewart petcare products for licensee PetSmart, is now the Martha Stewart licensee, the company’s Rossana Meyer-Mejia. Its line of cleaning spray and foam, shampoos and conditioners, training pads and waste bags will roll out to borader retail distribution, starting next month at Amazon.

• Penn-Plax, best known for its aquarium products, added licenses for dog and cat products in bringing the American Red Cross, Paw Patrol and the U.S. Navy into the pet category for the first time. The Red Cross line includes a dog and cat first aid kit (thermometer, bandages, etc.) along with LED-equipped leashes and collars and a life jacket, while the Navy items include a retrievable buoy tied to a 24-foot rope line, a rope chew and a disc. For Paw Patrol there are leashes and collars, chew toys and other items as well as vinyl figures for home aquariums.

• Animal Planet’s “Tanked” plunged into licensing for the first time. Cobalt Aquatics will field a mix of nine varieties of Tanked fish food and 2.5-8-gallon tanks with future plans for filters, solutions and other items. The line launches as the show – a reality TV program that follows Acrylic Tank Manufacturing and brothers-in-law owners Brett Raymer and Wayde King – prepares for the launch of its fourteenth season next week. Cobalt wants the Tanked brand to attract new customers to the company’s other more advanced products, says Cobalt’s Randall Parham.

• International Pet Group is hitching itself to Volkswagen, pulling the carmaker into the pet business for the first time. It will field about 100 SKUs starting in early 2019, including dog carriers, apparel, beds and leashes, some bearing the iconic T1 Microbus and Beetle designs and logos, says International’s David Ezra. The five-year agreement was two years in the making and includes a one-year period for R&D. Meanwhile, International Pet has expanded distribution of its Energizer LED-equipped dog collars chainwide at Petco after a 100-store test last fall.

• Isaac Mizrahi is moving into the pet market for the first time via a license with Unique Petz. The 30-SKU line of dog and cat collars, ceramic treat jars and bowls, cat scratchers, dog leashes and reversible harnesses, cat “caves” and dog beds is slated to begin shipping in Q4. Unique Pets also sells pet products under the Laura Ashley and Coleman brands.

• Rubie’s Costume Co., having expanded its Disney pet license to include classic characters, will launch sales by late summer of the first 12 costumes and accessories, says the company’s Erin Breig. Rubie’s signed an agreement with Disney earlier this year to bring the classic characters into pet costumes for the first time, starting with Disney Princesses, Mickey and Minnie, Toy Story (Buzz, Woody),Winnie the Pooh, and The Nightmare Before Christmas and expanding to include Frozen, Finding Nemo and Monsters Inc. in 2019. “People were already making costumes themselves” using classic Disney characters “so Disney saw the need to put support behind pet costumes,” says Breig. In addition to costumes, Rubie’s also will field dog harnesses, leashes and bandanas. Rubie’s already had pet licenses for Marvel and Lucasfilm.

• Pet foods remain largely outside the licensing business, but some brands are making broader inroads. Distribution of Ainsworth’s Rachel Ray Nutrish dog and cat food expanded to PetSmart earlier this year, marking its entry into large pet specialty chains. Meanwhile, Fetch… For Pets is bringing the Scooby Doo brand back to pet food with Honey-baked dog treats after several years’ absence. Fetch… For Pets previously fielded Scooby-Doo brand collars and leashes.

• Pet industry companies are bracing for the arrival of Walmart’s new Vibrant Life private label that’s expected to hit stores later this year. Walmart filed last year to trademark Vibrant Life for pet food and beds. R2R Pets, which sold Beautyrest pet beds through Walmart, is now redesigning them under the Vibrant Life label with the first products expected to arrive in stores in June, says R2R Pets’ Rita Zine-Himy. “It is a huge change for us, but something we had to do if we wanted to keep Walmart’s business,” says Zine-Himy.

• Start-up company Wagz is bringing smarthome technology into pet gear, applying the Black & Decker brand to a scaled-down version of its premium Bluetooh and WiFi-enabled smart collar ($295), at a lower price ($159) in a bid to broaden distribution of its products, says Wagz’s Jenna Rider.  The products (Inside Licensing March 19) launch next month. The Black and Decker models contain GPS and activity tracking and the ability to set boundaries, but lack HD video streaming for bark alerts, among other things, says Rider.

Contacts:
American Pet Product Association, Bob Vetere, CEO, 203-532-3603, bob@americanpetproducts.org

Cobalt Aquatics, Randall Parham, Operating Partner, 803-591-9500, rparham@cobaltinternational.com

Fetch… For Pets, Rossana Meyer-Mejia, Senior Mgr. Brand Marketing, 646-572-0507, Rossana@fetch4pets.com

International Pet Group, David Ezra, CEO, 702-696-9999, de@intlpetgroup.com

nVision Marketing, Randy Spence, Pres., 704-939-6030, randyspence@nvmpet.com

Penn-Plax, Jasper Goldman, Licensing Dir., 631-273-3787 x372 jlgoldman@pennplax.com

Petmate, Patricia McCune, Senior Design and Trend Mgr., 817-462-9800, pmccune@petmate.com

Rubie’s Costume Boutique, Erin Breig, Managing Dir., 516-326-1500 x257, ebreig@rubies.com

R2R Pet, Rita Zine-Himy, VP Product Development, 877-858-4321, ritaz@r2rppet.com

Unique Petz, Adam Ash, President, 212-714-1800 x22, adam@uniquepetz.com

Wagz, Jenna Rider, VP Black & Decker, 603-570-6015 x712, jenna.rider@wagz.com