PupPod and Company of Animals have signed a strategic licensing agreement to scale sales of PupPod’s flagship product, the PupPod Rocker & Feeder.
The initial purchase commitment grows PupPod sales by 500 percent and expands distribution beyond the U.S. to the U.K., Canada and Australia, according to a press release. PupPod “will focus on evolving their PupCloud software platform for multispecies gaming and bringing new products to market.”
Dr. Roger Mugford, Company of Animals CEO, said, “Pets are the beneficiaries of new technology designed to reduce boredom but also improve behavior and fitness through activity and mental stimulation. Millennials and Gen Z consumers, currently over 57% of pet parents, are looking for technology solutions to be better pet parents whether they are at home or away.”
The PupPod Rocker game uses lights, sounds and timing to create a mental stimulation puzzle. When dogs interact with the PupPod Rocker toy at the correct time, they earn food rewards from a wirelessly connected feeder. Pet parents can stream video and control the game from anywhere using PupPod’s mobile app.
In addition to the licensing agreement, Mugford leads PupPod’s series SEED investment round, making his third investment in the company, according to the release.
“The partnership is a natural fit,” said Erick Eidus, PupPod’s CEO. “Dr. Mugford has been a strategic advisor and investor for several years. It made perfect sense to plug into the sales and distribution capabilities he’s built over 40+ years in the pet industry.”
Over the past 14 months, PupPod’s community has played over 96,000 game sessions dispensing over 3.4 million rewards. Seventy percent of connected units played PupPod in the last 30 days for about 28 minutes a day on average, according to the release.
Eidus added, “PupPod was founded on the belief that software will enable a new category of pet products with better user experiences for both pets and people. The product usage and cognition data we’re seeing confirms the accuracy of our vision, but it’s the heart-warming customer stories that motivate us to keep innovating.”