Unique designs and toys that bring a sense of nostalgia for pet owners are in demand, according to officials at P.L.A.Y. (Pet Lifestyle And You), which recently debuted its Pup Cup Café Collection.
P.L.A.Y. (Pet Lifestyle And You)’s ’80s Classic Collection features the family station wagon, a boombox (with a hidden mix-tape toy sewn inside), Pawqua Net Hair Spray, a video game controller and a landline-style pink phone.
P.L.A.Y. (Pet Lifestyle And You)’s ’80s Classic Collection features the family station wagon, a boombox (with a hidden mix-tape toy sewn inside), Pawqua Net Hair Spray, a video game controller and a landline-style pink phone.
SodaPup recently added a Honey Pot rubber treat dispenser to its honey-themed collection.
SodaPup recently added a Honey Pot rubber treat dispenser to its honey-themed collection.
Unique designs and toys that bring a sense of nostalgia for pet owners are in demand, according to officials at P.L.A.Y. (Pet Lifestyle And You), which recently debuted its Pup Cup Café Collection.
P.L.A.Y. (Pet Lifestyle And You)’s ’80s Classic Collection features the family station wagon, a boombox (with a hidden mix-tape toy sewn inside), Pawqua Net Hair Spray, a video game controller and a landline-style pink phone.
P.L.A.Y. (Pet Lifestyle And You)’s ’80s Classic Collection features the family station wagon, a boombox (with a hidden mix-tape toy sewn inside), Pawqua Net Hair Spray, a video game controller and a landline-style pink phone.
SodaPup recently added a Honey Pot rubber treat dispenser to its honey-themed collection.
SodaPup recently added a Honey Pot rubber treat dispenser to its honey-themed collection.
Dog owners are looking to maximize their investment in toys by finding options that are innovative and engaging for their beloved furry family members.
The enrichment category is really beginning to accelerate, according to Adam Baker, founder and president of SodaPup, a manufacturer in Longmont, Colo. This includes incorporating food and treats into playtime when it makes sense.
“As consumers become more knowledgeable about nutrition for their dogs, they are spending more time creating thoughtful meals for their pets and serving these meals inside of treat dispensers and on lick mats,” Baker explained. “SodaPup has focused heavily on the enrichment category over the past year, creating a collection of emats, ecoins, etrays and ebowls, which complement our large assortment of treat-dispensing toys.”
In light of the enrichment category taking off, SodaPup has launched its Honey Pot rubber treat dispenser. According to Baker, this is an open-topped treat dispenser that builds on the SodaPup “honey theme.”
“We have rubber honey bears, nylon honey bones, a honeycomb slow-feeder bowl and honeycomb-patterned lick mats,” Baker said. “The honey pot is the newest addition to this honey collection.”
At Just Dog People, a pet store in Garner, N.C., co-owner Jason Ast has seen a similar trend. He said that puzzle toys are “all the rage.” With more people continuing to work from home, dog owners are still in search of solutions that will keep their pups occupied.
“People are also always looking for toys that cannot be destroyed—though some people don’t understand that the destruction is part of the dog’s fun,” Ast continued. “It is sort of a predator/prey situation where the dog is pretending that fuzzy stuffed toy is prey.”
Carl Borucki, manager of The Natural Pet Center at Ireland Corners, a pet store in Gardiner, N.Y., has also noticed that many dog owners specifically ask about durability. He said that customers want to feel they’ve gotten their money’s worth by investing in a toy that will last a bit longer.
“Owners of dogs that will tear apart toys are often in search of something that will hold up to a lot of chewing,” he said.
Cindra Conison, owner of The Quirky Pet, a store in Montpelier, Vt., said that snuffle mats are currently popular at her store for that enrichment factor. These mats are said to stimulate a dog’s natural instinct to forage.
There’s also a solid interest in unique designs and toys that bring on a sense of nostalgia for pet owners, said Bill Parsons, sales manager for P.L.A.Y. (Pet Lifestyle And You), a manufacturer in San Francisco.
“At P.L.A.Y. we are looking to lead that trend with two of our newest toy collections,” he said. “Our Pup Cup Café Collection is a taste of all those delicious treats we enjoy at our favorite cafés including a to-go coffee, delicious cinnamon bun, cookies, a yummy donut and the perfect box set of macarons.
“We also hopped into our time machine and took it all the way back with our ’80s Classic Collection. This radical toy collection includes the family station wagon, a boombox (with a hidden mix-tape toy sewn inside), Pawqua Net Hair Spray, nostalgic video game controller, and landline-style pink phone,” he added. “Of course, all these designs encompass only the best for the pups including a wide variety of interactivity to keep them busy all day.”
Manufacturers expressed that creating toy designs that will appeal to dogs—and their owners—is an innovative process that involves plenty of listening.
“Here at P.L.A.Y. we take pride in the fact that we have an ‘all-hands-on-deck’ approach when it comes to creating our amazing products,” Parsons said. “Every member of our team has a chance to suggest collections, designs, ideas and refinements to product concepts. Our factory team is also instrumental in their creativity to bring the ideas to life. It is truly a team effort. We also love our retailer partners’ input, so they shouldn’t hesitate to reach out if there is something they would like to see us develop in the future.”
SodaPup officials have learned that the aesthetic is everything, Baker said. In fact, the company has an expression that goes, “We build dog toys for people, and they work great for dogs.”
“What we mean by this is that dog owners are doing the purchasing so we need to create ‘objects of desire’ that will tickle their fancy and get them to choose our products,” Baker explained. “Consumers have a lot of choices, so we want to create ‘aha’ moments at retail where there is an emotional response to our products.”
Curating the dog toy section can be a complicated endeavor for pet specialty retailers. Like with other sections of the store, it boils down to knowing your customer.
“We recommend first reflecting on the market and your customers to really understand what concepts would resonate well in terms of the toy styles to carry,” said Bill Parsons, sales manager at P.L.A.Y. (Pet Lifestyle And You), a manufacturer in San Francisco. “At P.L.A.Y., our wide variety of collections and styles means that we have something for everyone, and since we are always developing new and exciting collections, stores can rotate collections and styles throughout the year to keep customers coming back for the newest designs.”
At Just Dog People, a pet store in Garner, N.C., the staff keeps a close eye on what sells quickly, and then adjusts ordering based upon the popularity of certain toys (or toy types), co-owner Jason Ast said.
“Our customers are also quick to suggest new toys to us—and also gently push us to find new and exciting dog toys,” Ast continued. “When we find something that does sell well, we’ll order in a larger quantity and often design tablescapes to focus on that particular toy or category of toys. Since we are a dog-only pet store, we do stock a lot of dog toys that people have probably never seen before or did not know even exist.”
Cindra Conison, owner of The Quirky Pet, a store in Montpelier, Vt., said that creating the right assortment of toys comes down to knowing different dogs’ “play personalities.” She gathers this information by regularly talking to customers about their pets’ wants and needs—including how they like to play.
“Every dog is different,” Conison said. “So, having a really good variety is important.”
Carl Borucki, manager of The Natural Pet Center at Ireland Corners, a pet store in Gardiner, N.Y., agreed that a good variety is always important. He added that moving toys around based on what’s trending can also help capture shoppers’ attention.
“It’s also important to constantly be bringing in new toys,” he said. “We are always trying to keep up with what’s popular and what might attract new attention. Right now, there’s definitely some interest in camping-themed plushes and toys, so we have those grouped together prominently. The goal is always to attract attention as toys are often an impulse buy.”
Today’s independent retailers have a myriad of competitors in the dog toy category, and retailers that take great care in choosing which toys to stock can significantly differentiate themselves, said Adam Baker, founder and president of SodaPup, a manufacturer in Longmont, Colo.
Baker shared three tips for how he believes retailers can succeed at this:
It’s important to carry a breadth of toy types, from plush and chew toys to treat dispensers, tuggers, Frisbee-like toys, etc., he said. Dogs have preferences, so it’s good to cover a wide range.
“Because many larger retailers tend to carry the same products and brands, and because the marketplace platforms serve up the same brands who are paying more for keyword searches, you can create a compelling shopping experience by assorting brands and products that consumers don’t see every day,” Baker said. “Your added value is sleuthing out the newest and coolest items that smaller brands are offering.”
“Larger retailers struggle to ‘flow’ items quickly through their stores because of the complex logistics involved,” Baker said. “Small independent retailers have greater agility and should leverage it by offering a cadence that larger retailers cannot keep up with. Bring in smaller quantities of specialty items and sell through them quicker so that your customers always have something new and different to discover when they come back to your store.”
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