As we enter 2025, startups and investors alike are taking stock: what lessons have been learned in 2024? Where did we get it right? Where is the opportunity for development? And more importantly, what are our goals for the coming 12 months?
Like many industries, enterprise capital investment in pet care declined in 2024, but the industry as a whole showed no signs of losing momentum. In fact, pet spending continues to grow: only in the US market spent $186 billion on pets in 2023, with estimates predicting that spending will increase by 2.5% by the end of 2024.
While this has led to some exciting developments, in any growing industry the gap between competition and oversaturation is rapidly closing.
For progressive entrepreneurs trying to make an impact on the pet care industry, here are three key areas that I imagine are primed for disruption in 2025.
Supporting shelters
There’s no way around it: Animal shelters across the United States are struggling. While we have seen lower admissions in 2024, average stays are increasing. Already in mid-2024 322,000 more animals entered the shelter system than left it.
To address the shelter crisis, we urgently need solutions at every step of the journey: stopping animal abandonment, improving shelter efficiency to prioritize care, and supporting post-adoption families to make sure animals remain in their homes.
Inspiring examples include myWhitewhich goals to extend the affordability of veterinary care to enable pets to be kept with owners; Pawlyticsa software service that improves shelter operations; AND Petcademywhich provides text-based training and support for adopters, foster families and pet parents.
I’d like to see what other creative solutions 2025 can bring to proceed supporting our shelters.
Innovations for veterinarians beyond SaaS solutions
I’ll be honest with you, while I really like the creative ways technology can solve problems, sometimes the biggest sources of friction are more human in nature than anything AI can solve.
When I think about the biggest pain points for veterinary clinics, a lot of it comes all the way down to user experience. How can we make pet care in veterinary clinics higher for staff and pet parents? How can we mitigate the emotional impact of these interactions?
There is no clear answer to those questions, but some are attempting to use novel approaches. For example, Pets modernizes the clinic experience by adding features similar to price transparency, on-demand virtual care and urgent care, among other services. While this may increasingly not work for every clinic, it serves as a model for similarly groundbreaking solutions.
Products that increase quality time
Smart cages, pet cameras, and robotic toys support animals when we’re gone, but the best gift we may give is our undivided attention. I’d like to see more innovations that simplify pet care management and help parents higher understand and connect with their pets.
When it involves management, some existing solutions are designed for deeper penetration. The most blatant are veterinary telehealth solutions, which remain excellent care tools. Plus, platforms that optimize on a regular basis tasks — like delivering essentials or managing vaccination schedules — mean more time for fun. Although seemingly less “innovative”, a fresh approach to existing problems may be interesting.
Optimizing administrative tasks also creates space for solutions that enrich the time spent together. I’m a big fan Gentle Beastan application used to teach users about dog behavior, conduct training and offer games and activities to enhance well-being. I would like to see the same approach applied to cat populations or populations at a specific life stage.
Ultimately, the real currency of pet care is spending time with our animals. If the coming 12 months brings us nothing else, it can be a 12 months well spent.