While that trend was boosting pet food companies, Wilkinson saw an opening to provide premium supplements.
In 2019, he and Neil Hutchinson founded Front of the Pack, a Westchester-based direct-to-consumer ecommerce pet care startup that creates supplements for dogs. The company offers three types of supplements: Move to support joint health, Harmony to soothe anxiety and The One to lessen the effects of allergies.
They began research for the products before officially launching in July 2020, catching the attention of investors and customers in their first year of commercial operation.
“(The supplements) are very safe, they’re potent, they’re pure and effectively they apply pharmaceutical-level products to dogs,” he said.
Wilkinson added that consumers’ increased focus on nutrition has helped drive growth for Front of the Pack.
Those trends were fueled by the pandemic when adoptions skyrocketed, and the pet care industry boomed. According to Common Thread Collective, pet product revenue grew 63% amid the pandemic, even as the economy contracted by 4%.
Wilkinson declined to share customer numbers, but he said Front of the Pack has made more than $1 million in revenue a month since its commercial launch.
On July 14, the company announced a $10 million Series A fund raise, with participation from venture capital firms Stride.VC, Heartcore Capital and Founder Collective.
