The founder-led brand is betting that veterinarian involvement and plain-language labels will help it stand out as owners invest more money in preventative pet care.
Not long ago, supplements were just a sleepy corner of the pet store. That has changed. Future Market Insights estimates U.S. sales at nearly $1.3 billion this year, with annual growth of about 7% expected through the mid-2030s. Dogs are taking most of the money. The exact amount depends on which research company you trust, but the canine share of the global total is between two-thirds and three-quarters. Paws and whiskers is one of the new entrants. The direct-to-consumer brand opened its online store last year on a simple idea: Tell shoppers who built a formula and what’s in it, and they’ll cut through the noise around it.
Photo courtesy: Sideburns and Whiskers
Where it all started
Two dog owners started the businessMatt and Joanne. Both had spent years buying supplements, and both were tired of the same thing: aisles of pot that looked the same, promised a lot, and gave the buyer almost nothing when it came to distinguishing a real product from a counterfeit, looking for what was trending that month. So they stopped buying blind. They went to a veterinarian they trusted and began rebuilding formulas based on the conditions their own dogs were living in.
Matt’s dog was Hans, a German Shepherd he had owned since 2012. At the time the idea took shape, Hans had been diagnosed with liver cancer and arthritis. Joanne’s two Goldendoodles, Sandy and Minnie, were also getting older, stiffer and slower, and suffering from digestive problems; Sandy died in 2024. This history still shines through in the way the company describes itself. The voice is closer to that of two owners comparing notes than to anything printed on a label.
Photo courtesy: Sideburns and Whiskers
The role of the veterinarian
Formulation is led by Dr. Petar Petrov, DVM, who the company says has more than 20 years of experience in animal nutrition and owns a minority stake in the company. According to Paws & Whiskers, Petrov is involved in each product, deciding both which ingredients go into a formula and how much of each is included.
It is in the dosage that the company focuses on its differentiation. Shoppers tend to skim through a list of ingredients and stop there, but an ingredient included in the wrong amount doesn’t do much, and it’s easy to cut it into a category where few shoppers check. Canine physiology adds another complication, the company says: A blend suited to a human product does not scale cleanly to a 60-pound retriever, much less a small terrier. This kind of adjustment, the the brand saysthis is the reason why a veterinarian is attached to this work.
Why positioning is important
This all applies to one category people don’t do it completely confident, and with good reason. Pet supplements do not compare to the bar set for human medicine. Much of what is considered regulation in the United States is the industry auditing its own work, through groups like the National Animal Supplement Council. So, when a company specifies what it goes into a product and where it comes from from there, this opening has commercial weight. It is one of the rare levers that a small brand can really activateand a handful of them have managed to achieve this, chasing customers on transparency and veterinarian involvement rather than rushing on price.
Meanwhile, demand continues to climb. Market research associates this growth with the “humanization of pets,” the shift toward treating animals like family, and spending on preventative care as a result. Hip and joint products remain the largest functional segment, while soothing and anxiety-relieving formulations are among the fastest growing trends that closely align with the problems Paws & Whiskers has chosen to solve.
The product range
There’s not much in the catalog, by design. The site categorizes everything under five headings: skin and coat, joints and mobility, soothing and behavior, allergy support, and yeast support. Wild Alaskan salmon oil anchors the skin and coat. Joint chews, intended for older dogs, rely on glucosamine, MSM and collagen. And for the dog that loses it during a stormor starts on the furniture as soon as everyone leaves, there’s a soothing chew built around chamomile, melatonin and L-theanine. Servings follow the dog’s weight, the company says, so a beagle and a mastiff are not measured the same way.
Manufacturing and supply
As for how it’s made: the company says production takes place in the United States, in cGMP-certified facilities, with non-GMO ingredients and no soy, corn, preservatives or artificial flavors. None of this proves that the thing works. These are receivables and a buyer can accept them or leave them. But Paws & Whiskers relies on them adding up over time, which tends to matter more when yours is unknown. name sitting next to brands everyone already knows it.
Let this all become sustainable market share it’s still an enigma. The brand is new. Its direct-to-consumer sales model forces it to compete with established players already present in stores, and in a field with little regulation, good marketing can carry a weak product almost as powerful as a solid product. The bet is that more and more owners are turning the jar over to read the back these days, and that being honest about what’s printed there will age better than another round of buzzwords.
Disclaimer: This article is intended for general information purposes only and does not constitute veterinary, medical, or professional advice. Pet owners should consult a licensed veterinarian before giving their dog a supplement, especially if the dog has an existing health problem, is taking medication, is pregnant or nursing, or has known allergies. Product information, ingredients and claims should be reviewed carefully before use.
