Pet owners, like parents, are a lucrative captive market. They generally have disposable income and need to make repeat purchases, but bulky low-margin products like cat litter generally don’t make for great subscription businesses where high and frequent shipping costs eat into an already low margin. So what’s the catch?
Years ago, Diapers.com realized that they could use repeated low-margin purchases of diapers to drive leads for even higher-margin toys and food products. Today, PrettyLitter is using the same playbook: selling a subscription to heavy, bulky kitty litter in order to upsell subscribers on higher-margin cat food.
PrettyLitter is a brand of cat litter that uses chemical reactions in the litter to diagnose medical conditions. Essentially, the product uses the same chemicals a typical urine test would use, and tracks deviations in a pet’s pH or blood content.
Did you know cats are notorious for hiding illnesses?
PrettyLitter changes color to tell you when your cat has a potential health issue, so you can get them help before it becomes an urgent medical situation. This could save you big money on expensive vet bills, not to mention it could save your cat’s life.
50-70% of US households own pets, and pet-related spending is about $75B per year in the US alone. Pet health is a large and growing category, as vets offer increasingly elaborate care options. For people working demanding jobs in expensive cities, the space and time investment in having kids is prohibitive, so their kid budget gets redirected to the next best thing: pets. Pet product companies have taken advantage of this, offering services like day care, fancy foods, elaborate toys, and dietary supplements. PrettyLitter fits right in with this trend, by helping cat owners spot problems early (when they can be solved cheaply), and giving them another way to treat their pets.
Some testimonials about PrettyLitters Cat Medical Diagnosis
Well, it happened today…. my pretty litter turned red…. rushed my baby (13 years old!) to the vet and no blockage, but high red blood cell count – he has an infection with some inflammation. Tonight he seems like himself after an injection… THANK YOU PRETTY LITTER!!!! #wortheverypenny!
VETERINARIAN SEAL OF APPROVAL “Most owners don’t realize their cats are coping with an illness unless the disease has significantly progressed making treatment more difficult. That’s why I’m so excited about PrettyLitter.” Dr. DeWire, Veterinarian – Pfizer Clinical Achievement Award for Excellence in Veterinary Medicine