New pet firm launches to take bite out of £2.1bn market
A new subscription-based pet wellbeing brand has launched in Leeds, after the founders raised £5m.
Itch has launched, with the aim of disrupting the pet care market – said to be worth £2.1bn.
Co-founded by entrepreneur James Cox (co-founder of sleep tech firm Simba), pet supplies retailers Jonny and Adam Gould (co-founders Monster Pet Supplies( and marketer Charlotte Harper (former CMO of Zoopla and UK MD Match.com), Itch is initially launching with a flea care subscription service.
The brand has initially raised c£5m investment from Seedcamp, Nigel Wray and Cox’s YYX Capital mongst others, with a further injection of £10m planned for Q4 2019 to support the brand roll out to the US in Q1 2020.
Developed in collaboration with world-class veterinary experts, Itch’s monthly flea subscription service makes preventing infestation and treating pets much quicker, cheaper and more convenient for busy owners than buying over the counter.
Itch will also offer range extensions into the wider pet care market with innovative personalised calming, skin, joint and dental products. There are also plans to use curated and user generated content to create an online platform and community, designed to answer questions pet owners face on a daily basis.
With research by Mintel showing that the UK pet care market is set to reach £2.1billion by 2023 and the UK’s flea market estimated to be worth £370m by 2021, ITCH is in the purr-fect position to take a sizeable bite out of the market.
Co-founder and Executive Chairman of Itch James Cox said: “The popularity of direct-to-consumer goods brands offering products continues to grow at pace. We’ve seen everything from healthcare, financial services, travel, transport and electronic goods all race to innovate so that they can directly engage with customers using social, mobile, and digital channels and devices. It’s now time for the buoyant pet care market to innovate”.
Jonny Gould, co-founder and CEO Itch said, “The pet market has traditionally relied on the middle man to provide the services needed to care for pets. ITCH has been created to respond to a gap in the market and give pet care some real personality by providing pet owners with direct access to the best wellbeing products, personalised just for their pets’ needs, along with easy to consumer advice”.
“We have over a decade of experience in the pet industry, and are always looking at ways we can improve the lives of pets, and their owners. In the coming months, we’ll be launching the ITCH Care platform which will harness the power of data to connect pet owners to our network of world-class content, both curated and user generated. This will provide pet owners with access to the answers they need to the wide range of wellbeing questions which can arise on a daily basis”.
James Cox added: “Historically, pet owners have had little guidance, beyond going to the vet, when it comes to day to day questions that arise when it comes to pet wellbeing.
“ITCH’s AI powered platform has been built to simplify this process, providing pet owners globally, access to easy-to-digest content at the tip of their fingers.
“We code from the ground up, making it possible to react to any therapeutic requirement, tailor advice and integrate with third party tools to further enhance the experience. We’re not replacing vets, quite the opposite, we work with them, with the aim of separating the therapeutic care market from the critical care market”.
