Best Friend Ventures › Briefing
A weekly roundup of funding, product launches, partnerships, industry trends, regulation, and notable leadership moves across the pet care sector. Curated by Best Friend Ventures from 48 pet-industry sources.
FUNDING
**Synchrony**, through its **CareCredit** health and wellness credit card brand, has announced a **$150,000 donation** to support college puppy raisers who are training the next generation of service dogs. The philanthropic investment highlights Synchrony's continued commitment to the pet and animal care sector beyond its core financing products.
Pet Age — 2026-05-12
LAUNCH · EXPANSION
**Fera Pets**, a veterinarian-founded premium pet wellness brand, is expanding its **clinically-formulated supplement line into Petco stores nationwide**. Known for science-driven formulations and rigorous quality standards, the brand's Petco rollout marks a significant step in its retail distribution strategy, putting its products in front of millions of pet parents across the country.
Pet Age — 2026-05-13
LAUNCH · INNOVATION
**Squishface**, the naturally-based dog skincare brand, has launched the **Squishface Nub Brush**, a product specifically engineered for wrinkly dog breeds with corkscrew tails — such as Bulldogs and Pugs. The product addresses a historically underserved grooming need, targeting the unique anatomy of brachycephalic and wrinkle-prone breeds prone to skin fold dermatitis.
Pet Age — 2026-05-14
LAUNCH · EXPANSION
**Three Dog Brands** has announced the expansion of its **Bark'n Crunch! Original Chicken Chips** into **Walmart stores and on Walmart.com**, significantly broadening the product's retail footprint. The treat line, which has shown fast growth, now gains access to Walmart's massive national customer base, a key milestone in the brand's mass-market distribution strategy.
Pet Age — 2026-05-12
LAUNCH
Veterinary healthcare specialist **Samaxia** has introduced a **preservative-free ophthalmic treatment** formulated with vitamin A to support ocular surface maintenance in cats and dogs. The product, launched specifically for the **UK veterinary market**, addresses the growing demand for gentler, preservative-free ocular care options for companion animals.
Pet Gazette — 2026-05-14
LAUNCH
**LitPet** has expanded its pet supplement range with a new **Shine and Coat** variety featuring a **chicken and salmon flavour** and containing **Epax fish oil** to support skin health and coat condition. The launch is accompanied by updated packaging across the brand's product line, signaling a broader brand refresh effort.
Pet Gazette — 2026-05-13
LAUNCH
**BSB Products** has unveiled a comprehensive evolution of the **Carnilove** pet food brand, featuring a refined product portfolio, a striking new visual identity, and enhanced formulations. The brand refresh positions Carnilove for its next phase of growth in the premium pet food segment across its key European markets.
Pet Gazette — 2026-05-08
ACQUISITION · EXPANSION
**Golden Pet Brands** has acquired a Petsource manufacturing facility in Nebraska, bolstering its production capabilities in the pet food segment. Separately, **Chewy Vet Care** has announced plans to open additional locations in Colorado Springs, continuing the e-commerce giant's aggressive push into brick-and-mortar veterinary services. Both moves reflect ongoing consolidation and vertical integration trends across the pet care industry.
DVM360 — 2026-05-13
PARTNERSHIP
ADM and **Hill's Pet Nutrition** have announced a strategic partnership to expand regenerative agriculture practices, incentivizing farmers to implement regen practices across **16,000 acres of corn and soybeans** in Minnesota and Illinois. The initiative reflects the growing emphasis on sustainable, traceable ingredient sourcing among premium pet food brands.
Feedstuffs — 2026-05-12
PARTNERSHIP
**John A. Van Den Bosch** and **Gramercy Products** have announced a new distribution partnership that will bring the Nerf Dog and Hasbro pet product lines to an expanded retail network. The deal broadens the geographic and retail reach of these consumer brand extensions into the pet category.
Pet Age — 2026-05-14
PARTNERSHIP
**Lap of Love**, the veterinary hospice and euthanasia network, has partnered with the Veterkin Society to extend membership access to veterinarians in nontraditional roles. The partnership provides members with access to **affordable medications, diagnostics, equipment, and additional perks** to support care for their own pets — addressing a gap in professional benefits for vets outside traditional clinical settings.
DVM360 — 2026-05-14
PARTNERSHIP
UK pet wellness firm **The Paws Lab** has partnered with Bow Wow London, launching a series of **interactive pet hygiene workshops** at the Covent Garden grooming salon. The events are designed to support dog owners with home maintenance best practices, blending retail presence with consumer education in a high-footfall London location.
Pet Gazette — 2026-05-14
EXPANSION · PARTNERSHIP
**WellPaws**, the pet wellness brand that officially launched in **April 2025** with a range of syrups and chewables for cats and dogs, is now planning international expansion supported by new distribution agreements. The move signals strong early traction for the brand within just its first year on the market.
Pet Gazette — 2026-05-08
EXPANSION
**Joybound People & Pets** has announced the re-opening of the **Joybound Thrift Store** in Concord, California, now featuring a dedicated, interactive cat adoption space. The innovative model — blending secondhand retail with live animal adoption — represents an emerging approach to increasing adoption rates by integrating shelter functions into community retail environments.
Pet Age — 2026-05-14
DATA
**Cat's Pride** has set an ambitious charitable goal through its **'Go Big or Go Home' campaign**: donating **one million pounds of cat litter** to animal shelters across the United States. The initiative highlights the critical resource needs of shelters and positions Cat's Pride as a major corporate advocate for animal welfare organizations nationwide.
Pet Age — 2026-05-14
DATA
The **2026 Interzoo** trade show opened with the presentation of **Interzoo Awards** by organizer WZF – Pet Industry Services, honoring outstanding achievements in **sustainability, commitment, and pioneering spirit** across the global pet industry. Interzoo remains the world's leading international trade fair for pet supplies, making its award recognitions a key barometer of industry priorities and innovation.
Pet Age — 2026-05-13
DATA
Two converging developments signal an escalating animal health threat: new research published this week highlights **airborne transmission risks of H5N1** in US dairy herds, alongside a promising dual-route vaccine candidate. Separately, a report from Feedstuffs warns of a **more potent H9N2 avian influenza strain** emerging with significantly greater ability to replicate, spread, and infect chickens — with elevated spillover potential to other species. Both findings underscore the urgency of ongoing surveillance and biosecurity protocols.
DVM360 — 2026-05-13
DATA
Two notable clinical education pieces emerged this week underscoring the growing focus on **senior pet health management**: DVM360 published a slideshow on **eight key things veterinarians should know about canine osteoarthritis** — covering recognition, diagnosis, and management with expert input from Kristin Kirkby Shaw, DVM, PhD. A companion piece explored **frailty as an emerging concept in veterinary medicine**, with guidance on how veterinary teams can intervene sooner in senior dogs and cats to improve quality of life.
DVM360 — 2026-05-14
DATA · INNOVATION
A new episode of **DVM360's Vet Blast Podcast** dove into **evidence-based strategies for supporting microbiome development** in neonatal puppies and kittens. The discussion highlights the growing body of research linking early microbiome establishment to long-term health outcomes — an area of increasing interest for both veterinary therapeutics and premium pet nutrition brands.
DVM360 — 2026-05-12
REGULATION · INNOVATION
The FDA has issued a letter of no objection for a precision fermentation-derived lamb protein intended for use in adult dog food — marking a **first-of-its-kind regulatory milestone** for alternative protein in pet nutrition. The approval follows a successful **6-month feeding study**, signaling growing regulatory openness to novel protein technologies in the pet food space.
DVM360 — 2026-05-14
REGULATION
The FDA has granted conditional approval for pregabalin chewable tablets, a targeted therapy for canine Chiari-like malformation and syringomyelia. The treatment works by **reducing the release of neurotransmitters involved in pain signaling** within the spinal cord, offering a new nerve-related pain management option for affected breeds. This follows a broader week of notable FDA veterinary actions noted in DVM360's Weekly Vet Report.
DVM360 — 2026-05-12
RECALL
Albright's Raw Pet Food has issued a **voluntary recall** of its raw chicken dog food due to Salmonella contamination risk. The company has stated that further testing and evaluation are underway. The recall adds to ongoing scrutiny of raw pet food safety standards, coinciding with a separate European initiative to establish new raw pet food manufacturing standards.
DVM360 — 2026-05-11
REGULATION
Industry leaders across Europe have launched a **collaborative initiative to harmonise production and safety benchmarks** for raw pet food manufacturing across the continent. The effort aims to establish a unified standard addressing food safety, production practices, and quality controls — a significant step toward regulatory cohesion in the fast-growing European raw pet food segment.
Pet Gazette — 2026-05-13
REGULATION
USDA APHIS has updated its export certification guidance following a pseudorabies virus (PRV) finding, stating it **will not certify Iowa or the U.S. as free of PRV** for export purposes until all quarantined premises in Iowa are released. The development has implications for swine producers and international trade partners reliant on U.S. disease-free status certifications.
Feedstuffs — 2026-05-11
REGULATION · INNOVATION
The European Medicines Agency has recommended **Nobivac NXT HCPChFelV** for market authorization in the European Union, potentially making it one of the first RNA-based veterinary vaccines to reach broad commercial availability. The recommendation represents a significant milestone in next-generation veterinary vaccine technology.
DVM360 — 2026-05-12
EXPANSION
**dsm-firmenich** has opened the **NextGen Itatiba** facility in Brazil, a new pet nutrition premix manufacturing site operated by Globalfood. The facility will produce **vitamin and mineral premixes** for the pet food industry, reflecting the company's strategic push to expand its animal nutrition footprint in Latin America's growing pet market.
Feedstuffs — 2026-05-11
EXPANSION
**Veterinary Dentistry Specialists (VDS)**, a national network of specialty veterinary dentistry and oral surgery practices, has announced the opening of a new practice in **Philadelphia, Pennsylvania**. The expansion continues VDS's growth strategy of bringing advanced oral healthcare services to major metropolitan markets across the country.
Pet Age — 2026-05-13
EXPANSION
**Vets Pets**, a North Carolina-based cooperative network of veterinary hospitals, has announced that **AVL Animal Urgent Care** will open this summer at 17 Bryson Street in Asheville's Biltmore area. The new facility responds to a local veterinary care gap created in the aftermath of **Hurricane Helene**, addressing ongoing community recovery needs.
Pet Age — 2026-05-12
LEADERSHIP
UK pet retailer **Jollyes** has formally confirmed **Adam Dury** as its Chief Executive Officer, following a period in which he had been serving in the role on an interim basis. The appointment provides leadership stability for one of the UK's prominent specialist pet retail chains as it navigates a competitive market environment.
Pet Gazette — 2026-05-12
LEADERSHIP
**Caroline Allen**, former Chief Vet at the RSPCA, has launched **Pet Lighthouse**, an independent veterinary consultancy focused on providing second opinions and extended consultations. Allen's stated aim is to **balance medical possibilities with animal welfare considerations**, positioning the consultancy as an advocacy-oriented alternative to conventional clinical pathways.
Pet Gazette — 2026-05-11
LEADERSHIP
A trio of notable veterinary industry leadership appointments were reported this week: a **research leader has joined Texas Tech**'s veterinary program; the veterinary receptionist professional association has **appointed a new Executive Director**; and a veterinary practice group has **named a new CEO**. The moves reflect continued professionalization and organizational development across the veterinary sector.
DVM360 — 2026-05-11