SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Antelope Founder and CEO Wendy Wen launches omnichannel platform in 2021 to give small but highly innovative pet brands the resources they need to thrive Did. Starting with Bocce's Bakery, the platform has since acquired several such brands and is always looking to add more brands. Her secret? Be confident in your vision.
“It’s so important to let yourself dream and believe in your dreams,” she said. “Having confidence in that complete vision and exploring how it can become a hugely successful and innovative business will simultaneously encourage every aspect of your actions.”
In the following Q&A, Wen talks about why he founded Antelope and the industry trends that will take the omnichannel pet platform and brand into the future.
PFP: Please tell us about your business and career in the pet industry.
Wen: I am the founder and CEO of Antelope, an omnichannel platform focused on delivering high-quality, natural pet products through a buy-and-build strategy. Antelope's family of brands includes Bocce's Bakery, a brand of natural pet treats; Super Snouts is a holistic supplement brand with a focus on gut, joint health, and CBD. Ark Naturals is a leading dental and wellness brand. Doggo is an honest and transparent pet insurance and training brand. and My Perfect Pet, a brand of gently prepared dog and cat food.
PFP: How did you get into the pet industry and how did that experience lead you to your current position?
Wen: Back in 2016, I launched SENREVE, a digitally native omnichannel luxury handbag brand, and adopted my first rescue dog, Poke. He quickly became my everything and helped me through the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur. I am an enthusiastic pet parent who is always looking for the highest quality pet supplies to help my Poke live the best and healthiest life possible. Over time, the most ground-breaking and innovative formulations are being created by amazing small brands that are pushing the boundaries of pet health and wellness, but many of them take it to the next level. I realized that there was a lack of infrastructure and scale. We thought it would be great to bring these brands together and help them take advantage of economies of scale to reach the next level, and the idea for Antelope was born. Antelope's mission is to elevate the standard of pet care by identifying and partnering with the best and highest quality natural pet CPG brands and leveraging the power of scale to reach more pet parents and their pets. That's it.
PFP: What is your biggest personal or professional challenge related to working in the pet industry?
Wen:My biggest challenge as a founder and CEO in this industry is balancing work life and home life. I recently returned to work after my second maternity leave and am proud to have built a trusted team to run the business while I was on maternity leave. It took a lot of effort to get to a place where he could balance all aspects of his life while maintaining his two most important roles as CEO and mother.
PFP: Please tell us about a professional accomplishment in the pet industry that you are proud of.
Wen: We're excited about all of Antelope's recent acquisitions. In 2022, we acquired three companies: pet supplement brand Super Snouts, pet insurance company Doggo, and pet treat brand Ark Naturals. In 2023, we acquired My Perfect Pet, the original gently prepared dog and cat food brand. Introducing these brands into the Antelope family furthers our mission of elevating the standard of pet care.
PFP: What is top of mind for you and businesses in your industry right now?
Wen:I am always aiming to expand my business. I'm always thinking of new ways to expand Antelope: new acquisitions, retail store expansions, new product launches, and even partnerships.
PFP: If you could name three trends impacting the industry today, which would be the most important and why?
Wen: In recent years, more and more pet owners are looking for holistic and proactive ways to extend the healthy lifespan of their pets. Proactive measures such as dental chews and nutritional supplements are becoming increasingly important for pet owners.
Dental health and hygiene continues to be an important trend in the pet industry due to pet parents' desire to provide their pets with the healthiest and happiest life possible. Periodontal disease is the most common disease in dogs and cats, and dental disease can lead to other serious health problems in your pet. Health really starts with dental care, and brands like Ark Naturals offer chews and supplements to support your pet's dental health and hygiene.
Finally, personalized human-grade nutrition is growing in the pet industry. Many pet parents are choosing to stop feeding their pets overly processed grains with long ingredient lists and instead feed their pets fresh foods made from whole, recognizable ingredients. are choosing to give. Brands like My Perfect Pet offer high-quality, fresh pet foods available to pet parents looking to feed their fur babies a nutritious diet with plenty of health benefits .
PFP: What is something about the pet industry that people outside the industry don't realize?
Wen: What many people don't realize is that the pet market is growing at an incredible rate. Millennials and Gen Z are having children later in life and increasingly adopting pets earlier in life. They treat their pets like family. Whatever food, beauty, and skin care trends we see on the human side, we're seeing similar trends in our beloved pets.
PFP: What advice would you give to young people looking to start a career in this industry?
Wen: Starting and running your own business is an incredible privilege. Enjoy the experience instead of just focusing on the end result. There are always milestones to reach, and inevitably you will hit roadblocks. At times, it can feel like a never-ending climb. It is important to remember that this is all part of the journey and not to get upset when difficult times come. It is important to remain calm during the ups and downs of entrepreneurship. Things are not as bad as they feel in the moment, and they are not as good as they feel. Always remember that and enjoy this journey.
PFP: Just kidding, do you consider yourself a dog person or a cat person? Or if you have pets of your own, tell us a little about them.
Wen: I'm a big animal lover, but I've always considered myself more of a dog person than a cat person.
PFP: Do you have any final advice for other women in the pet industry?
Wen: The biggest advice I can give to other women in the industry is to always be confident. As women, we tend to focus on tactics and the details that can go wrong and fail to imagine the big picture or best-case scenario. It is very important to allow yourself to dream and believe in your dreams. Over time, I changed my mindset from focusing on the current state of the business to predicting what the future would be like if all goes well and believing that it was possible. Believing in that pie-in-the-sky vision and exploring how it can become a hugely successful and transformative business will simultaneously encourage every aspect of your actions. Become.
Throughout her career, Wendy Wen has held several roles in finance, investment, and operations. She co-founded her luxury handbag brand SENREVE in 2015, and then she stepped into the pet industry. As Founder and CEO of Antelope, she continues to use her entrepreneurial talents to support innovative brands that are transforming the pet care industry. Wen attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she earned a bachelor's degree in economics and business administration with an emphasis in finance, and earned a master's degree in business administration from Stanford University, where she served as a member of the executive committee. I did. She is a female executive at Stanford.
Continue reading about other women leaders featured in this article. Women in the pet industry series.
