Itch, a new pet care brand has been launched following a £5m investment, with a further £10m investment planned for late 2019 to support expansion to the US in early 2020.
The service, co-founded by James Cox, founder of sleep tech firm Simba, Jonny and Adam Gould co-founders of Monster Pet Supplies, and Charlotte Harper former chief marketing officer at Zoopla.
Itch will initially launch with a flea care subscription service, with plans to expand into the wider pet care market with personalised calming, skin, joint and dental products.
The company also plans to use curated and user generated content to create an online platform and community, in collaboration with its team of veterinary experts, designed to answer the wellbeing questions pet owners face on a daily basis.
Cox said: “The popularity of direct-to-consumer goods brands offering products continues to grow at pace. We’ve seen everything from healthcare, financial services, travel, transport and electronic goods all race to innovate so that they can directly engage with customers using social, mobile, and digital channels and devices. It’s now time for the buoyant pet care market to innovate.”
Jonny Gould, CEO Itch. added: “The pet market has traditionally relied on the middle man to provide the services needed to care for pets. Itch has been created to respond to a gap in the market and give pet care some real personality by providing pet owners with direct access to the best wellbeing products, personalised just for their pets’ needs, along with easy to consumer advice.
“We have over a decade of experience in the pet industry, and are always looking at ways we can improve the lives of pets, and their owners. In the coming months, we’ll be launching the Itch Care platform which will harness the power of data to connect pet owners to our network of world class content, both curated and user generated. This will provide pet owners with access to the answers they need to the wide range of wellbeing questions which can arise on a daily basis.”
