May 5, 2026

Indie Pet vs Big Box: What Happens to Your Favorite Brands? with Toni Unleashed

Indie Pet vs Big Box: What Happens to Your Favorite Brands? with Toni Unleashed pulls back the curtain on how pet brands grow—and what that growth means for the independent stores that helped build them. Toni Shelaske, who’s been in indie pet for decades, joins me to talk about brands that start in small specialty shops, then expand into big box and third‑party online platforms. We dig into which companies are handling that shift with integrity, where many are dropping the ball, and how quality and support for indie retailers can change along the way. This episode is a must‑listen for both pet parents and pet industry folks who want to understand what it really means when a brand “goes everywhere,” and how to keep voting with your dollars for quality and community even as shelves—and channels—change.

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Welcome back, pet parent.
Today's episode is going to be a

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fun one.
No matter if you are a pet

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parent or if you're in the
industry or wherever you're

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coming from, if you have pets,
this is going to be a super fun

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episode to listen to.
Tony Schlasky is back on the

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podcast with me.
We're doing a swap because this

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is about Omni channel sellers,
brands selling both in Indy pet

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on their website, often times in
big box stores, lots of

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different places, third party
sellers, Amazon, TikTok, all the

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places and how that not only
effects their brand, how it

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affects sales through all of
these channels, but also how it

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affects you as a pet parent
looking to do better for your

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pet.
We're also going to talk about

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global.
We're going to talk about how

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that plays into Super Zoo, which
I'm so looking forward to this

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year.
And just a little bit about us

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and the things that we see and
notice in the pet space.

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Super fun conversation.
I can't wait for you to hear it.

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So here we go.
Welcome to the Pet Parenting

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Reset podcast.
If you're new here, my name is

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Jess and this is a space where
we talk about all things health,

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span, and quality of life for
your pets and you too.

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I'm so excited that you're here.
Let's dive in.

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So Tony, how the heck are you?
First of all, I'm so excited to

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have you.
I'm good, good.

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We were kind of riffing a little
bit before we hit record.

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But the reason that I asked you
back on was because of an

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article that came out in this
Pets Plus magazine.

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And I think this is this is both
a good topic for it's it's a

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good topic for industry, it's a
good topic for indie pet store

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owners and staff.
It's also a good, in my opinion,

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a good topic to talk to pet
parents about.

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So I think this kind of covers
pretty much anybody that would

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be listening to either one of
our shows.

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I agree.
And I think we both have a

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combination of all of those
listeners, right?

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Yes, I think so.
And what's really so the the

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topic is brands that are Omni
channel, meaning that they are

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selling in Indy pet stores,
they're selling on their own

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website, they're probably
selling on 3rd party sites as

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well.
So when we think of, you know,

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Chewy or Amazon, TikTok even,
and then some of them might also

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be in big box stores.
So it's a it's a pretty big

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topic, quite honestly.
And one of the interesting, one

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of the things that made it even
more interesting for me, even

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though I'm very much into
promoting indie pet stores.

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I think it's, it's something
that we just in in our little

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like sub niche.
I think we need to be promoting

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this as much as possible and we
can get into the reasons why.

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But, and you may not know this,
I actually recently started an

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online store.
Oh, just in re progression of

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everything that I'm doing.
I don't carry a whole lot of

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things.
It started for me and I'll just

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this.
So this is kind of back story

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for you so that we can move
forward in the conversation.

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It started for me with just my
own personal like clients that I

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have working with health
coaching and nutrition

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consultations and the things
that I'm recommending to them.

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I'm sending them to 10 different
websites to buy them.

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You know, my, my first, the
first thing I always tell them

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is if you can get it locally,
get it locally.

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But not everything is available
to them locally.

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And some people don't have any
idea if there's an indie pet

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store, I'll let you.
I, I will go so far as to, you

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know, go on a brand's website,
go to their store locator and

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see if there is anything around
my client within 100 miles.

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And a lot of times there isn't,
which is sad.

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Yeah.
So that's where it started is

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like I, I get frustrated, I'm
sure people, my clients get

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frustrated with me sending them
to 10 different websites.

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So I'm trying to put everything
kind of in one place as much as

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I can in one place for them.
So it's really only things that

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I, I tend to recommend a lot.
So it's a pretty small

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selection, but that's the back
story for me.

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The again, the bigger story is
how brands handle selling in so

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many different places.
And I'm sure you have a lot to

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say about this, so I'm going to
let you start.

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Yeah, it's, it's a really hot
topic for so many.

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The Indies are just super
frustrated because they feel

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like it's a stab in the back.
You know, we've we build these

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brands up and then they go Omni
channel.

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And so, you know, I think we're
at a point that it's it's just

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part of life and it's not going
to go away.

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And yeah, from an Indies from an
independent pet store

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standpoint.
So before COVID we had a lot of

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in store seminars and activities
and happy out yappy hours, you

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know, where which people loved
and we brought people into the

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store.
I always did seminars and then

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COVID hit and everybody got away
from that because we had to.

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So we have to as independent pet
stores, we have to get back to

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that to give customers a reason,
pet parents a reason to come

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back into the store.
So we have to up our game from

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the education standpoint, we
really do.

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Because these brands, I, you
know, there's, there's some new

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ones coming on the market, but
very few.

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And I, I just think we have to
accept it.

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You know, when it first started
happening, there were so many

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stories of Indies like, you
know, pissed off and just

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dropping the food immediately
and all of these things.

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And Jess, I, I never did, I
never took that approach

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because, you know, pets need
time to adjust to foods, whether

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it's an intolerance or whatever.
So I never did that sort of

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thing.
I kind of just educated the

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customers, put signs up and
said, hey, this is what's going

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on if you want to switch this
blah, blah, blah.

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Same with same with buyouts,
like you know, if a company

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sells to somebody else.
So it's tough, it's tough, but

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but there are brands that are
going Omni channel that are

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doing things to support Indies.
Yeah, well, and that is exactly

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what you said is why I try to
push people to Indy pet stores

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so much because that education
piece is critical.

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Like somebody who has who's
walking into a big box store.

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Granted, some big box stores try
to have somebody and in house

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that knows something.
I don't personally think that

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they they know what they should
know.

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But walking up to let's say, you
know, Petco or PetSmart put in a

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huge freezer section, average
pet parent walking in is just

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going to look at that and be so
overwhelmed.

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They're not going to have any
idea what the difference in this

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brand versus that brand versus
the next brand.

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And it is so confusing.
I get it.

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It was insanely confusing.
And without that education

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piece, without that, not just
the education piece, but

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actually people there that get
to know you, that get to know

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your pets, that get to know, you
know, oh, you know, so and so

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has a little Yorkie and their
spring in the spring and then

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the fall, their allergies are
really bad.

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So we want to make some pivots.
And like, that's the piece that

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is missing for so many people,
which is going to get me to

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another point that I would love
to share closer to the end of

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this episode and something that
I think would be really, really

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great for any pet stores to do.
But it it really is that like

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that piece that we're missing.
I think a lot of millennials are

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there to where like a lot of
millennials specifically are

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looking at the world and looking
at society and they're going, I

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don't want this anymore.
I want the Doctor Who I see

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every single time that knows me,
that knows my kids, that knows

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that I there is no, you know,
there's no way I'm going to take

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that pharmaceutical.
You know what I mean?

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Like people want that again,
they want off grid, they want to

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be disconnected, they want off
social media.

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They, and I think Gen.
Z is kind of in a similar boat,

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except they're still really,
really attached to the tech and

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social media.
But I also think they're

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rebelling.
And so I think there's a huge

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opportunity in front of people
with Gen.

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Z.
It's fresh.

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It's a frustrating 1 though.
Yeah, so I do, I do.

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I agree with you.
I think we're moving the needle.

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And every dollar is a vote,
right?

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So.
And I don't care how many brands

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go into PetSmart and Petco and
whatever.

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They can't sell raw, they can't
sell supplements, they can't

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have somebody on staff.
And I have a video, a recent

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video of me in PetSmart.
I didn't post it yet.

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I was in there for 20 minutes
and I am recording for 20

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minutes.
So, you know, they can't even

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greet people, let alone talk to
them about food and supplements.

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So and I just, I just don't see
that happening.

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But I think that maybe a
positive is, and I, I talked

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about this to a few people at
global is and this is what

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manufacturers always tell us.
And at first, you know,

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retailers are like, well, that's
just a bunch of bullshit.

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You're just, you know, trying to
make me happy and all that kind

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of stuff.
But it does kind of build brand

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recognition.
So if a, if a customer does for

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some reason start to buy
something in PetSmart or Petco,

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and then they come into an indie
pet store and they see the same

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thing whether it's a treat or
whatever, and their dog or cat

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absolutely love that treat.
Them grabbing that and buying it

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into in an independent pet store
cost cost me no payroll dollars

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because I didn't have to explain
why that treat was a good treat

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for their pet.
You know what?

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You know what I mean?
Like does that make sense?

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Yeah, well, and I'm, I was
thinking through, I read like,

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you know, in the in the article,
it listed a bunch of different

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brands and what different indie
pet store owner staff said about

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these brands and why they were
doing a really good job still

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supporting Indie Pet.
One of them said that, you know,

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there was there was a brand and
I don't know, I'm, I'm fine

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talking about brands.
I don't know about you.

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I.
Don't care.

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I think it was a pup above,
which is honestly not my

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favorite.
I don't generally recommend it,

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but they, I guess we're doing an
online marketing thing where

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they were having people go into
the indie pet store to get like

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free samples and that was really
frustrating.

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Indie Pet and somebody reached
out to the company and they kind

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of changed the online marketing
to be a little stronger and

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talking about actually buying
the product from the Indy pet

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stores.
So for me that's, that's still

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not amazing.
Like you, you had to be told

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that you know this was going to
hurt.

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You're, you're wasting our time,
our payroll dollars to have

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people come in to get free stuff
from me, from us on your behalf,

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right?
Like that.

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That's kind of frustrating.
I can imagine.

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I don't, I have never worked in
an indie pet store.

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I have done like events at indie
pet stores and I know like I've

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been like, absolutely.
There is no way I could never do

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this.
I do not have the temperament

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for this.
I just don't.

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But yeah, that would be very,
very frustrating.

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I think across all of the
brands, the thing that I saw

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more people talk about than
anything else were the loyalty.

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Yeah, like the Astro loyalty.
Yeah, and I think that's that's

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probably at the top of the list
of everything that was listed.

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But if, if Astro, when Astro
first came on, I was like, oh

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boy, genius process, genius
company to develop because

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they're making money on both
ends.

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But for an independent pet
store, you have to be on Astro.

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You just have to be.
So manufacturers that are

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available on Omni channel, you
earn frequent buyers when you

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shop Indies.
So in other words, it's by X you

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get one free.
They also it's also a great

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platform to run monthly sales.
They have that that's not

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available in Omni channel.
And also Neighborhood Pet Store

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Day, which is an indie pet
creation, is the third Saturday

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of every September.
And Astro has created like a

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whole separate farm for
Neighborhood Pet Store Day.

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So manufacturers can dump sales
into that Neighborhood Pet Store

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Day.
And I don't know if you realize

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this, but Neighborhood Pet Store
Day has grown so much for

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retailers that it's actually
higher volume than Small

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Business Saturday.
So which is the Saturday it's

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giving?
Because you're, I mean, well,

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yeah, because Black Friday
originally was like the point in

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the year where.
Yeah.

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Companies would actually start
making a profit for the year,

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which is sad.
Like that's very late in the

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year.
That's sad.

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But that sounds like that you
you might actually be doing that

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earlier in the year because of
Neighborhood Pet Store Day.

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So we definitely, I would say
across the board, yes, retailers

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would see it earlier in the
year, but you know, the Astro

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loyalty, God, I started loyalty
programs and we literally had a

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card file for every
manufacturer.

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We'd have 15 card files on the
on the cash wrap.

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It was crazy.
So Astro was, you know, is a

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saving grace for Indies.
It really is.

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So what are some of the things
that it are their brands that

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you think are still doing Omni
channel that are really are they

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are doing everything they
possibly can for Indy pet, Do

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you think that's possible?
Do you think there are brands

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that are doing that?
And if so, how do you like

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00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:35,760
what's that differentiation that
you see?

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Yeah, I, I think the ones that
are on Astro number one is the

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main thing #2 is in store
support.

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So reps coming in, checking with
store managers, checking with

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the pet store owners.
What can I do for you?

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00:16:53,040 --> 00:16:56,280
How are sales analyzing those
sales you've dipped here?

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00:16:56,280 --> 00:16:58,800
How can I help when they have
events?

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These reps should be at the
events as much as possible.

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I mean, I know they have
territories and can't be

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everywhere at the same time, but
they need to be at in store

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events, whether it's adoption
events or whatever.

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You know, my Florida store and
this is another way to get

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people into the stores, is we
have a Kitty condo and we found

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a, we have a local rescue that
we work with.

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She primarily just does cats and
small dogs, but we have a cat in

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our Kitty condo all the time and
we average 2 adoptions a month.

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So that's and that's people love
to come in and they sometimes

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they come in just to see the cat
that's there.

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And they don't always buy
something, but their regular

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customers, they know, you know,
we're known for it.

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We're partnered with a great
rescue.

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So anyhow, I got off topic, but
how manufacturers can also is

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map pricing and making sure that
customers if they are choosing

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to shop online because it is a
convenience.

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We all do it.
We all have crazy times in our

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lives.
Yes, we want to always depend

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indeed.
I mean, I like to support my any

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small shop.
You know, I have a local shoe

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store that I love to go to the
local farm that I love to go to,

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but life gets crazy.
So sometimes we do have to shop

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online and that's a convenience.
Convenience.

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So we should have to pay more
online and we do ultimately.

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I mean, if you're it's a
convenience.

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00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:41,440
Yeah, it.
Is when it comes to raw?

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Go ahead.
No, I, you're right.

281
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I mean, it is a convenience.
It's frustrating.

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I think Amazon ruined a lot of
people.

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00:18:51,640 --> 00:18:55,640
And I know a lot of people are
kind of disillusioned with

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Amazon anymore because all of
those things we came to rely on

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are not happening any longer.
I mean, even for me, you know,

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00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:07,720
I, I ordered something on Amazon
the other day literally because

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00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:10,000
I needed it to show up in
Indiana.

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00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:15,840
Like it wasn't I'm in Virginia.
I needed something to show up in

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00:19:15,840 --> 00:19:18,240
Indiana.
So it made sense for me to buy

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00:19:18,240 --> 00:19:23,040
something online.
And I could have gotten honestly

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00:19:23,040 --> 00:19:26,880
the same price at Best Buy as as
I did on Amazon.

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00:19:26,880 --> 00:19:32,960
But I have this like mentality
that we, I think we all have now

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00:19:32,960 --> 00:19:35,920
that, oh, if something goes
wrong, Amazon is just going to

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00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:39,040
make it right, right.
So people will choose Amazon

295
00:19:39,040 --> 00:19:42,080
over, over other retailers for
that reason.

296
00:19:42,680 --> 00:19:45,120
But it was supposed to get there
on a Saturday.

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00:19:45,520 --> 00:19:47,200
By Monday, it still wasn't
there.

298
00:19:48,040 --> 00:19:52,200
And I'm like, why am I doing
like I have again, I have no

299
00:19:52,200 --> 00:19:56,160
guarantees of delivery if I'm
buying from Best Buy or another

300
00:19:56,400 --> 00:20:00,280
retailer either.
But it's like everybody, I

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00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:03,840
think, is starting to become
very disillusioned with Amazon,

302
00:20:03,840 --> 00:20:06,440
and I think probably a good
thing, too.

303
00:20:07,040 --> 00:20:11,080
Yeah, and same with Chewy,
because if you're on a food auto

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00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:15,760
ship and they run out of your
food or there's something in

305
00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:19,480
that Channel between the Chewy
warehouse, Amazon warehouse, and

306
00:20:19,480 --> 00:20:25,000
your house, which weather
transportation, there's only so

307
00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:29,000
much we can control.
You're in full panic mode.

308
00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:31,880
And first of all, nobody should
be on auto ship because you're

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00:20:31,880 --> 00:20:37,040
getting the same food and Chewy
does not have it in their

310
00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:39,520
rotation to rotate your
proteins.

311
00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:43,560
So anybody on auto ship should
just stop.

312
00:20:43,600 --> 00:20:45,240
I don't care how convenient it
is.

313
00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:46,800
I don't care how much money
you're saving.

314
00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:49,000
You're not rotating foods.
You and I are.

315
00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:53,800
I know like in the same camp on
that.

316
00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:59,160
And another thing I like to
mention is, which I think a lot

317
00:20:59,160 --> 00:21:06,160
of people don't realize is when
we're only shopping online, we

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00:21:06,160 --> 00:21:14,680
are only being shown what the
algorithm is bringing, what the

319
00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:19,360
data, what the cookies on your
websites are pulling.

320
00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:24,400
So you are only going to be
exposed to certain things and

321
00:21:24,400 --> 00:21:28,120
there's a whole world of other
things that you're never going

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00:21:28,120 --> 00:21:31,880
to be exposed to.
And I think that's a really bad

323
00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:38,160
thing because that just
continues to channel consumers

324
00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:41,560
and dollars into the same
buckets.

325
00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:44,440
And that's not a good thing.
We need diversity.

326
00:21:45,040 --> 00:21:48,800
So that's another reason why
it's so important to go to

327
00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:52,680
independent pet stores because
you're going to see brands that

328
00:21:52,680 --> 00:21:57,560
aren't online.
I just met lovely people that do

329
00:21:57,760 --> 00:22:01,920
a beautiful, I mean, it's just
lamb long, but it's beautiful

330
00:22:02,240 --> 00:22:05,640
New Zealand lamb long.
Just it smells good.

331
00:22:05,760 --> 00:22:09,640
Like you can tell it's crap.
I don't even believe that.

332
00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:13,240
I swear to God, it literally
smells good.

333
00:22:13,320 --> 00:22:17,440
It's beautiful.
And they were so people and knew

334
00:22:17,440 --> 00:22:23,040
it was their first global.
So Biebs is the name of it.

335
00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:27,880
But anyhow, I just, you know,
that makes me nervous.

336
00:22:27,920 --> 00:22:31,600
And I believe in free enterprise
and we're in a in a world of

337
00:22:31,600 --> 00:22:36,400
freedom, or we should be, but we
can't put all of our money into

338
00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:39,080
the same place.
We just can't.

339
00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:45,480
Yeah, well, in that same vein, I
don't remember which states have

340
00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:48,960
done this, but I think 2 states
have now made it illegal.

341
00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:50,600
I don't know if you've noticed
this.

342
00:22:50,600 --> 00:22:54,680
I almost never like for years I
didn't go into a Walmart when I

343
00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:57,840
moved back to Virginia.
There's just nothing here.

344
00:22:57,840 --> 00:23:01,400
I have found myself in a Walmart
twice in the past few months and

345
00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:04,800
both times I have regretted it.
But one of the things that I

346
00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:09,120
have noticed is that there are
items that do not have price

347
00:23:09,120 --> 00:23:14,800
tags on them anymore.
And grocery stores have started

348
00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:18,840
doing this too.
And I saw some, I wish I could

349
00:23:18,840 --> 00:23:23,400
remember what states they were,
but two states have already made

350
00:23:23,400 --> 00:23:26,640
it illegal.
But what they're doing is they

351
00:23:26,640 --> 00:23:30,680
are, they're intentionally not
putting prices on things because

352
00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:35,520
they are charging you based on
how much the whatever algorithm,

353
00:23:35,520 --> 00:23:41,040
based on your shopping habits,
what they think you are willing

354
00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:43,960
to pay for that item.
So the person behind me might

355
00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:46,720
pay $10.00 for it, I might pay
$12.00 for it.

356
00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:52,120
And so stores are already doing
this and it's going to be, it's

357
00:23:52,160 --> 00:23:55,360
a lot easier to do online.
I have seen Amazon do this.

358
00:23:55,360 --> 00:23:59,080
I have seen the exact same
product from the exact same

359
00:23:59,280 --> 00:24:03,280
seller shown to me at two
different prices and then I have

360
00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:08,040
had like a friend look up the
same item on Amazon and he's

361
00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:09,440
getting a totally different
price.

362
00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:13,040
So they're already doing these
things.

363
00:24:13,160 --> 00:24:16,360
Yes, it is based on what they
think you are willing to pay for

364
00:24:16,360 --> 00:24:19,600
that item.
That's terrifying.

365
00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:23,400
Isn't it terrifying?
And you're like literally just

366
00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:25,480
walking into a Walmart?
They're doing this to you

367
00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:28,800
already.
It's crazy.

368
00:24:28,800 --> 00:24:35,280
Scroll control control I just
saw and I, I, I'm assuming it's

369
00:24:35,280 --> 00:24:37,360
true.
I did see on an on Instagram,

370
00:24:40,400 --> 00:24:46,280
but I saw Ford trucks, you know,
all the technology in our

371
00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:50,720
vehicles.
Now they now are not only

372
00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:56,440
watching our eyeballs to make
sure we're awake, they're also

373
00:24:56,440 --> 00:25:03,880
listening to us and reporting to
the insurance companies what

374
00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:07,360
type of driver we are.
And we have no control over

375
00:25:07,360 --> 00:25:09,200
that.
And they're getting money from

376
00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:10,960
the insurance companies for
doing it.

377
00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:15,840
And it's a patented product.
Well, Congress is getting ready

378
00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:18,400
to vote on whether this is going
to be mandatory for

379
00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:22,720
manufacturers to put in vehicles
like it's about to be mandatory

380
00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:25,480
for every vehicle to have this
technology.

381
00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:29,480
Oh my God.
Yeah, it's crazy.

382
00:25:29,680 --> 00:25:37,160
On my new car, it monitors, you
know, whether you're sitting up

383
00:25:37,160 --> 00:25:40,040
enough, whether your eyes are
open, blah, blah, blah.

384
00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:42,720
It's annoying.
It is so annoying.

385
00:25:42,720 --> 00:25:45,520
It drives me nuts.
I covered it with tape.

386
00:25:46,840 --> 00:25:49,800
Yeah.
Well, and, and you know, when I

387
00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:54,040
one of the things that I do
think it is really, really good

388
00:25:54,040 --> 00:25:57,680
to do right now, because, again,
insurance companies are doing

389
00:25:57,680 --> 00:26:02,120
the exact same thing where they
are, they will just keep raising

390
00:26:02,120 --> 00:26:05,240
the rates every six months,
every or whatever your renewal

391
00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:10,280
is, because it's usually too
much of A hassle for people to

392
00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:12,960
switch insurance companies.
Yeah.

393
00:26:13,520 --> 00:26:15,040
So that's kind of what they're
banking on.

394
00:26:15,040 --> 00:26:18,280
Just like gym memberships,
storage units do this.

395
00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:20,640
You're not going to empty your
storage unit and move it into

396
00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:23,560
another facility.
Like they know that they've got

397
00:26:23,560 --> 00:26:24,600
you.
They're just going to keep

398
00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:29,920
raising the rates.
Well, I the, so I'm currently

399
00:26:29,920 --> 00:26:34,160
with Progressive, which is not
my favorite, but that's like, I

400
00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:40,720
actually do the research every
renewal to make sure that I, I

401
00:26:40,720 --> 00:26:42,760
have what I want and I'm getting
the best rates.

402
00:26:43,440 --> 00:26:47,600
They will give you a discount if
you install a little device in

403
00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:50,200
your car so that they can
monitor your driving.

404
00:26:50,520 --> 00:26:52,040
I'm like, you are out of your
mind.

405
00:26:53,360 --> 00:26:58,680
You are out of your mind.
Just I can't, I, I can't, I

406
00:26:58,680 --> 00:27:01,560
can't, I have a new thing like
that.

407
00:27:01,560 --> 00:27:04,600
I think I have to exit society.
My niece, I said that to my

408
00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:06,720
niece.
She's like, stop saying that.

409
00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:08,320
It sounds like you want to off
yourself.

410
00:27:08,320 --> 00:27:13,240
I'm like I I just, I just don't.
I just went out of the matrix.

411
00:27:15,600 --> 00:27:17,880
Like I, I, I can't.
I can't.

412
00:27:17,920 --> 00:27:21,320
I'll go back to a car that I
used to crank the windows down

413
00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:25,360
South.
That's terrifying.

414
00:27:25,480 --> 00:27:30,880
That's I just.
But I I say all of that to say

415
00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:36,440
that I don't think indie pet
stores are there like, and the

416
00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:39,560
reason I say that is because
y'all are struggling.

417
00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:44,960
You're not buying the technology
to not put price tags on things.

418
00:27:45,040 --> 00:27:47,120
You know what I mean?
Like right, right.

419
00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:55,000
It I'm sure there are because
like even with my web store, I

420
00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:58,080
use Shopify, there maybe there
are apps that I could do this.

421
00:27:58,080 --> 00:27:59,680
I'm not doing that.
That's ridiculous.

422
00:27:59,680 --> 00:28:01,200
There's no way I'm going to do
that.

423
00:28:01,520 --> 00:28:05,240
And that's how I'm building my
brand is because I think I want

424
00:28:05,240 --> 00:28:09,560
people to trust me personally,
not just to be buying from just

425
00:28:09,560 --> 00:28:12,840
like that's what people should
be doing with Indy pet stores.

426
00:28:13,120 --> 00:28:16,000
You go in, you're not just going
in to buy a product.

427
00:28:16,080 --> 00:28:19,320
You are going in to cultivate a
relationship with somebody who

428
00:28:19,320 --> 00:28:20,960
not only knows you, but knows
your pet.

429
00:28:24,320 --> 00:28:27,400
If you're here, it's because
your pet isn't just a pet,

430
00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:31,960
they're family, and you can feel
when something's off, even if

431
00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:35,560
the labs look normal.
That's why I created Wild

432
00:28:35,560 --> 00:28:38,800
Wellness Pet and the Wild
Wellness Bioenergetic Test to

433
00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:41,960
help you see the hidden
stressors your pet's body is

434
00:28:41,960 --> 00:28:46,480
quietly carrying and give you a
clear, holistic starting point.

435
00:28:46,880 --> 00:28:49,840
Head to wildwellnesspet.com to
explore the Bioenergetic

436
00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:53,600
Energetic Test and the
Apothecary and take the next

437
00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:58,320
loving, protective, proactive
step for your pets healing

438
00:28:58,320 --> 00:29:04,400
journey.
I mean, yes, should everybody,

439
00:29:04,400 --> 00:29:08,560
everybody needs to be a little a
little leery of other people.

440
00:29:08,880 --> 00:29:12,160
But I talk about this all the
time, that if as a pet parent

441
00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:18,360
you are the head of your pets
care team and having an indie,

442
00:29:19,040 --> 00:29:22,120
somebody at an indie pet store
that you know, who knows your

443
00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:26,600
pet, that you have some sort of
trust in is an important part of

444
00:29:26,600 --> 00:29:29,440
that.
It really is.

445
00:29:29,480 --> 00:29:34,520
And not only that, but you know,
the Indies are such a great

446
00:29:34,520 --> 00:29:38,360
place to go for socialization
with your dog and your cat.

447
00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:40,680
I have.
We have people bring cats in

448
00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:46,120
quite often.
I know it's definitely not as

449
00:29:46,120 --> 00:29:49,560
often as dogs, but it's becoming
more of a thing that people are

450
00:29:49,560 --> 00:29:52,440
out and about with their cats,
which which is fantastic.

451
00:29:52,960 --> 00:29:55,680
So but we get super excited when
cats come in because they can

452
00:29:55,680 --> 00:29:58,320
get on the counter and do all
kinds of fun things.

453
00:29:58,320 --> 00:30:04,360
But it's important to always
socialize your pets, like don't

454
00:30:04,360 --> 00:30:06,920
stop when they're a year old.
And this is totally off topic,

455
00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:08,600
but that's what Indies are great
for.

456
00:30:08,600 --> 00:30:12,720
They get so excited when your
pet walks in and that's a

457
00:30:12,720 --> 00:30:14,440
really, that's a really great
thing.

458
00:30:14,440 --> 00:30:18,720
And you know, I don't want to
get on a soapbox, but we, we

459
00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:22,040
can't lose that human bond
either.

460
00:30:22,040 --> 00:30:28,680
We, we need to keep, we need to
keep community and shopping

461
00:30:28,680 --> 00:30:31,640
indie is part of it.
So you're going to get better

462
00:30:31,640 --> 00:30:34,480
service, you're going to save
money.

463
00:30:34,480 --> 00:30:39,200
You are keeping your money in
the community and Indies do

464
00:30:39,200 --> 00:30:42,320
struggle.
Just I mean, to work on margins

465
00:30:42,360 --> 00:30:48,200
that are 30%.
It's, it's, it's tough.

466
00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:53,160
You have to build, I mean, to
truly make it you, you have to

467
00:30:53,160 --> 00:30:57,960
build pretty high volume stores.
So to turn product, which is

468
00:30:57,960 --> 00:31:01,760
what I have.
So, but it's, it's, it's tough

469
00:31:01,760 --> 00:31:05,480
and we hear it all the time.
And that's why, you know, I'm a

470
00:31:05,480 --> 00:31:10,080
board member for Indy Pet, just
to try to help people across,

471
00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:15,960
across the country.
How do you feel about the Indie

472
00:31:15,960 --> 00:31:19,200
Pet Store itself going Omni
channel, meaning that they have

473
00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:27,600
an online presence?
I would so if I still had my 3

474
00:31:27,600 --> 00:31:31,520
Pittsburgh stores because you
know, I sold them a year and

475
00:31:31,520 --> 00:31:36,840
three months ago and I have one
Florida store currently.

476
00:31:37,320 --> 00:31:39,120
That was the direction I was
going.

477
00:31:40,520 --> 00:31:45,240
They can't ship everything
though, so you have to be like

478
00:31:46,440 --> 00:31:51,560
huge as an independent pet like
Treats Unleashed or Premier Pet

479
00:31:51,560 --> 00:31:55,400
Supply in Michigan.
You have to be really big to be

480
00:31:55,400 --> 00:32:01,640
able to ship food competitively
against Chewy and Amazon.

481
00:32:01,640 --> 00:32:04,800
So I'm I'm not against it.
I'm not against it.

482
00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:08,040
And another thing that I really
like about building an online

483
00:32:08,040 --> 00:32:12,840
platform for Indies is, and this
is what I do a lot is I shop and

484
00:32:12,840 --> 00:32:18,800
pick up.
So yes, so, and that's like a

485
00:32:18,800 --> 00:32:21,440
lot of stores.
I was just in Kohl's the other

486
00:32:21,440 --> 00:32:23,680
day.
I didn't realize this.

487
00:32:23,680 --> 00:32:27,080
I don't shop a ton.
Like I, I worked, I've worked

488
00:32:27,080 --> 00:32:30,480
retail so many years that I
really avoid shopping.

489
00:32:30,480 --> 00:32:32,640
But I don't shop online either.
But very much.

490
00:32:32,640 --> 00:32:35,280
But anyhow, I was in Kohl's the
other day and they have a whole

491
00:32:35,280 --> 00:32:39,800
section dedicated to pickups,
just like walking into Panera

492
00:32:39,800 --> 00:32:42,200
Bread or something.
Like your your pickups are all

493
00:32:42,200 --> 00:32:47,000
in one location.
I've seen an an indie do that

494
00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:51,520
too, so I I love that.
I think it's a great convenience

495
00:32:51,640 --> 00:32:55,160
and really could give Indies a
leg up.

496
00:32:56,000 --> 00:32:58,160
So 'cause I love to shop and
pick up.

497
00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:05,600
That actually reminds me when I
was still living in Texas, I I

498
00:33:05,600 --> 00:33:09,720
had an indie pet store my friend
owned and she just didn't.

499
00:33:10,320 --> 00:33:14,960
She had access to but didn't
carry in store the things that I

500
00:33:14,960 --> 00:33:20,920
wanted for my pets.
I guess there's a whole lot that

501
00:33:20,920 --> 00:33:26,640
could go into that conversation,
but I would literally just place

502
00:33:26,640 --> 00:33:30,040
orders with her and she would
order it through her distributor

503
00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:32,000
and then I would go and pick it
up.

504
00:33:32,520 --> 00:33:34,400
Absolutely.
And that's I think a very good

505
00:33:34,400 --> 00:33:39,240
point for pet parents to know is
don't be afraid to ask because

506
00:33:39,240 --> 00:33:43,600
most likely if you are looking
for something that you suggested

507
00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:48,360
just that that you don't have on
your shop yet or is in the

508
00:33:48,360 --> 00:33:52,360
natural more natural category,
your indie can likely get it for

509
00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:55,080
you.
So don't ever be afraid to ask,

510
00:33:55,360 --> 00:33:59,440
especially if it's frozen.
If you are buying frozen food

511
00:33:59,520 --> 00:34:06,040
online, you are losing money
because you are paying a ton for

512
00:34:06,040 --> 00:34:10,159
shipping when you can go to a
local independent pet store and

513
00:34:10,159 --> 00:34:12,600
save all of that money on
shipping.

514
00:34:12,920 --> 00:34:15,440
I think a lot of people don't
realize that too, especially

515
00:34:15,440 --> 00:34:18,080
with I mean with frozen food.
They just can't ship it without

516
00:34:18,080 --> 00:34:21,000
dry ice and today it it's
expensive.

517
00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:25,120
It is.
I know I'm at a point right now.

518
00:34:25,120 --> 00:34:29,400
Well I will admit that I am
purchasing frozen things online

519
00:34:29,400 --> 00:34:31,600
and having it shipped and I'm
having to pay shipping and I

520
00:34:31,600 --> 00:34:35,000
hate it.
But at the same time, I'd have

521
00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:38,719
to drive an hour one way to go
get it.

522
00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:41,080
Sure.
Otherwise, and I'm just not.

523
00:34:41,080 --> 00:34:43,639
I'm like which which am I going
to do this month?

524
00:34:43,960 --> 00:34:46,520
Do I have the time this month or
do I not have the time?

525
00:34:46,520 --> 00:34:51,320
This month, right, you have to
balance Yeah, it is and it's.

526
00:34:51,320 --> 00:34:53,159
Frustrating.
And I hate it, I'm not going to

527
00:34:53,159 --> 00:34:56,760
lie, like I hate, I hate, again,
another thing that Amazon has

528
00:34:56,760 --> 00:34:58,760
done to us.
I hate paying shipping.

529
00:35:00,040 --> 00:35:07,880
Yes.
So, OK, well, no, the one thing

530
00:35:07,880 --> 00:35:10,360
that I was just thinking when
you were talking about that was

531
00:35:10,360 --> 00:35:13,520
that there is a, they were
talking about a company that

532
00:35:13,520 --> 00:35:21,360
does beds, that has a drop slip
program that is available to,

533
00:35:22,560 --> 00:35:24,840
and I don't know if it's
available outside of that, but

534
00:35:25,040 --> 00:35:28,120
that is available to indie pet
stores so that you don't have to

535
00:35:28,120 --> 00:35:31,160
carry everything in store, which
is kind of nice too.

536
00:35:31,200 --> 00:35:33,760
Absolutely.
And people like to feel the beds

537
00:35:33,760 --> 00:35:38,640
and squish the beds and, you
know, see the zippers and really

538
00:35:38,640 --> 00:35:42,720
look at the size.
So and the fact that I'm pretty

539
00:35:42,720 --> 00:35:46,800
sure it's pet play provides them
with a Swatch ring, I think is

540
00:35:46,880 --> 00:35:49,200
and a drop ship program is
fabulous.

541
00:35:50,040 --> 00:35:53,960
I actually did that not with pep
play, but I did it with cots.

542
00:35:54,720 --> 00:35:59,000
I can't remember 4 something
cots, four leg legged cots, I

543
00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:02,000
think it was.
So I got one of each size for

544
00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:07,320
each store and then they had a
Swatch ring too for the fabric

545
00:36:07,440 --> 00:36:09,880
and like the little plugs on
each corner.

546
00:36:09,880 --> 00:36:14,960
You could really customize it so
and I did a drop ship program

547
00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:18,320
like that with them.
So that's another thing that

548
00:36:18,520 --> 00:36:22,200
really kind of I think sets
India apart.

549
00:36:23,000 --> 00:36:25,400
Freedom, no pull harnesses, same
deal.

550
00:36:25,400 --> 00:36:28,560
They have so many patterns and
so many colors and I love that

551
00:36:28,560 --> 00:36:32,720
company.
Made in the USA, same deal.

552
00:36:32,720 --> 00:36:38,240
You can have a limited amount
and have an affiliate link on

553
00:36:38,240 --> 00:36:40,800
your website.
I mean, these are things that

554
00:36:41,160 --> 00:36:44,200
the manufacturers might not
directly come to the Indies and

555
00:36:44,200 --> 00:36:48,160
say, hey, you can do this, but
it takes us going to them and

556
00:36:48,160 --> 00:36:53,720
saying, hey, I want to do this.
So the only other thing that I

557
00:36:53,840 --> 00:36:57,800
wanted to really bring up
because the only company that

558
00:36:57,800 --> 00:37:04,800
for me I feel like is consistent
consistently doing this very

559
00:37:04,920 --> 00:37:09,080
vocally very well, which is also
the company that I have been

560
00:37:09,080 --> 00:37:13,400
ordering from online because I
don't have the two hours to go

561
00:37:13,400 --> 00:37:18,960
get it is Green Juju.
Yeah, they, even though I do

562
00:37:18,960 --> 00:37:23,520
feel like they could, they could
kill it if they sold more

563
00:37:23,520 --> 00:37:27,840
online.
But they every single time they

564
00:37:27,840 --> 00:37:32,640
do anything, whether it's a live
on social media or physically at

565
00:37:32,640 --> 00:37:37,080
an event or whatever they're
doing, they always say go to

566
00:37:37,080 --> 00:37:40,960
your indie pet store or like
even I've had Billy on like 6

567
00:37:40,960 --> 00:37:43,160
Times Now.
Every single time we'll get it

568
00:37:43,160 --> 00:37:48,240
at your indie pet store.
And I don't think a lot of other

569
00:37:48,240 --> 00:37:51,480
brands are doing that.
I agree with you.

570
00:37:51,800 --> 00:37:55,400
I agree with you and they should
be more vocal about it.

571
00:37:55,640 --> 00:38:02,640
They really should all of them,
you know, maybe they feel that a

572
00:38:02,640 --> 00:38:05,240
Rep coming into the store is
doing it for them.

573
00:38:05,240 --> 00:38:10,720
But yeah, they all.
And another thing is geofence

574
00:38:10,720 --> 00:38:13,960
targeting.
I mean that can help store

575
00:38:13,960 --> 00:38:16,760
locators on manufacturer
websites can help.

576
00:38:18,560 --> 00:38:24,520
So, and as far as green juju, I
mean Billy's pounds of pavement

577
00:38:24,840 --> 00:38:30,960
half the year and is in stores
and AT AFCO and AT seminars and

578
00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:37,880
like he, I mean, he truly at his
heart and soul believes in the

579
00:38:37,880 --> 00:38:42,840
Indies and that's that's
awesome.

580
00:38:44,080 --> 00:38:46,440
Yeah, well, I think Kelly does
too.

581
00:38:46,520 --> 00:38:47,880
I mean.
Of course.

582
00:38:47,880 --> 00:38:54,000
Well, yeah, yeah.
To I mean, yeah, it's, it's it

583
00:38:54,000 --> 00:39:01,840
really is something different
that I see from them that there

584
00:39:01,840 --> 00:39:05,000
are some other companies that
will say it, but I don't think

585
00:39:05,000 --> 00:39:08,960
do it as well or as often as
they do it.

586
00:39:10,920 --> 00:39:15,720
So, OK, you brought up global a
couple of times and I have

587
00:39:15,720 --> 00:39:20,120
actually never been to global,
not because I don't want to go,

588
00:39:20,120 --> 00:39:23,480
but because generally speaking,
there are only so many places I

589
00:39:23,480 --> 00:39:27,240
can go in a year.
And I tend to go to Super Zoo

590
00:39:28,720 --> 00:39:31,320
and most people tell me that
that's the better one to go to

591
00:39:31,320 --> 00:39:32,560
anyway.
I don't know.

592
00:39:32,560 --> 00:39:34,280
That's what I'm, that's what I'm
being told.

593
00:39:34,960 --> 00:39:38,920
But I do think what we were
talking about before we hit

594
00:39:38,920 --> 00:39:44,680
record that whatever trend is
going on at global is probably

595
00:39:44,680 --> 00:39:47,120
the trend that's going to happen
at Super Zoo.

596
00:39:47,120 --> 00:39:50,160
So I'm curious of your thoughts
for of global.

597
00:39:50,200 --> 00:39:53,920
I can't say this but I hope
you're wrong because Global is

598
00:39:53,920 --> 00:40:00,320
disappointing.
SO and I interview.

599
00:40:00,320 --> 00:40:03,040
I think you know this.
I interview manufacturers at

600
00:40:03,040 --> 00:40:05,520
Global so I put together 2
episodes.

601
00:40:06,080 --> 00:40:08,240
That was great.
It was very well, well received,

602
00:40:08,240 --> 00:40:13,480
but and then I did a whole sub
stack article on global and you

603
00:40:13,480 --> 00:40:16,120
know, I'm pretty authentic.
I tell it like it is.

604
00:40:16,120 --> 00:40:18,840
So Global was pretty
disappointing from the

605
00:40:18,840 --> 00:40:22,440
standpoint of, and I'll try to
keep this as short as possible

606
00:40:22,840 --> 00:40:26,600
and I talked to a lot of
manufacturers as well.

607
00:40:26,600 --> 00:40:33,600
So they really feel that
attendance was down Friday.

608
00:40:33,600 --> 00:40:39,600
The last day literally was a
ghost town like Wow town and

609
00:40:39,840 --> 00:40:42,720
they had a ton of influencers
there.

610
00:40:44,520 --> 00:40:48,440
Interesting.
Well, their marketing to for

611
00:40:48,440 --> 00:40:52,160
attendance I did notice was
different this year that they

612
00:40:52,160 --> 00:40:54,880
were trying to get more
influencers there, which is the

613
00:40:55,040 --> 00:40:56,920
opposite of what Super Zoo is
doing.

614
00:40:57,760 --> 00:41:00,640
And I wonder how many of those
influencers are being

615
00:41:00,800 --> 00:41:04,440
compensated.
So even the and I might have the

616
00:41:04,440 --> 00:41:06,520
name wrong.
Jackson Callie, the ones that

617
00:41:06,520 --> 00:41:10,000
have like the it's a golden
retriever, I think.

618
00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:13,920
And it's a they're hysterical,
but they talk to one another

619
00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:16,960
about about mom and dad if
they're really funny, But they

620
00:41:16,960 --> 00:41:21,120
were there ton of influencers.
So from the manufacturer's

621
00:41:21,120 --> 00:41:25,360
perspective, they, I literally
had, I mean Donna from up

622
00:41:25,360 --> 00:41:28,680
country say it was very
disappointing because a lot of

623
00:41:28,680 --> 00:41:31,800
people coming to their booth
were influencers and they're not

624
00:41:31,800 --> 00:41:39,760
buyers.
So another thing, I and my best

625
00:41:39,760 --> 00:41:43,560
friend Kelly, who is my
accountant, we had a speaking

626
00:41:43,560 --> 00:41:45,320
engagement.
We were chosen to be speakers

627
00:41:46,080 --> 00:41:49,520
and we put together, yeah, I was
super excited about it because

628
00:41:49,840 --> 00:41:53,640
we put together a program and
she, you know, we really

629
00:41:53,640 --> 00:41:59,000
crunched numbers on a 45 minute
talk on how to help Indies

630
00:41:59,000 --> 00:42:05,040
become more profitable.
So Global has always offered

631
00:42:05,040 --> 00:42:11,160
education in the past for free.
It's not the case anymore.

632
00:42:12,240 --> 00:42:17,720
So NOW and Super Zoo has always
charged Global Now charges which

633
00:42:17,720 --> 00:42:21,120
I was not aware of and I don't
know exactly how the paying

634
00:42:21,120 --> 00:42:25,160
platform worked, but I had
people coming to me with

635
00:42:25,160 --> 00:42:29,640
intentions of coming to my talk,
couldn't get in and they were

636
00:42:29,640 --> 00:42:36,960
told they had to pay $350.00.
Oh wow, right, For I hope that's

637
00:42:36,960 --> 00:42:39,960
not for just one talk.
Not just I think it's kind of

638
00:42:39,960 --> 00:42:42,240
like a day pass.
Or like the day, yeah.

639
00:42:42,720 --> 00:42:45,600
Pop in and out of any of the
classes in one day.

640
00:42:46,960 --> 00:42:51,760
So that was very disappointing.
I had seven people attend my

641
00:42:51,880 --> 00:42:57,000
talk and very disappointing.
And my best friend flew from

642
00:42:57,000 --> 00:43:01,440
Pittsburgh to Orlando just to do
this in taxis.

643
00:43:02,600 --> 00:43:03,200
Yeah.
Wow.

644
00:43:04,560 --> 00:43:08,640
I well I the first year I went
to Super Zoo I paid for the

645
00:43:08,640 --> 00:43:11,640
education and I have not done it
since.

646
00:43:11,920 --> 00:43:17,600
I was not enough to pay for it.
I agree with you and that's why

647
00:43:17,600 --> 00:43:22,600
I was excited that I was chosen
because I feel like the

648
00:43:22,600 --> 00:43:26,920
education that's provided are
not people walking the walk.

649
00:43:27,320 --> 00:43:31,080
They are not.
Most part, most of those are

650
00:43:31,080 --> 00:43:34,880
marketing companies, social
media companies, finance

651
00:43:34,880 --> 00:43:37,640
companies, retail expert
companies.

652
00:43:37,640 --> 00:43:41,960
They're not people truly in the
pet industry and they don't get

653
00:43:41,960 --> 00:43:43,720
it.
They just don't get it.

654
00:43:43,800 --> 00:43:46,680
It's a good information they're
bringing probably because I also

655
00:43:46,680 --> 00:43:48,720
have attended many classes over
the years.

656
00:43:49,120 --> 00:43:54,160
But it's not, it's not people
that understand what we are

657
00:43:54,160 --> 00:43:56,360
doing.
It's a different industry.

658
00:43:57,600 --> 00:44:02,960
Yeah, I, I have a little bit of
a different opinion on the

659
00:44:02,960 --> 00:44:06,920
influencers.
First of all, I hate the word

660
00:44:06,920 --> 00:44:12,360
influencer, though I think for
some people there, there are

661
00:44:12,920 --> 00:44:17,200
people out there that deserve
that title because they don't

662
00:44:17,200 --> 00:44:20,200
know what they're talking about.
They just have an audience,

663
00:44:21,240 --> 00:44:23,120
right?
So like companies are coming to

664
00:44:23,120 --> 00:44:27,000
them, paying them, giving them
product because they have an

665
00:44:27,000 --> 00:44:28,760
audience.
They have no idea what they're

666
00:44:28,760 --> 00:44:32,160
actually talking about.
They're just getting sales for a

667
00:44:32,160 --> 00:44:34,560
company.
That's what I think an

668
00:44:34,560 --> 00:44:40,240
influencer is.
And those are the kind of people

669
00:44:40,240 --> 00:44:44,440
that I don't think have value at
places like Global and Super

670
00:44:44,440 --> 00:44:48,640
Zoo.
People that they call micro

671
00:44:48,640 --> 00:44:55,200
influencers, I think are
generally more apt to actually

672
00:44:55,200 --> 00:44:56,600
know what the heck they're
talking about.

673
00:44:57,720 --> 00:45:00,760
They are more educated.
They have smaller audiences

674
00:45:00,760 --> 00:45:04,320
because of that because it is
more education based and less

675
00:45:04,320 --> 00:45:09,000
entertainment based.
And I do see that.

676
00:45:09,000 --> 00:45:12,720
The thing that I have not been
happy with Super Zoo about in

677
00:45:12,720 --> 00:45:17,920
the past couple years is even
though I completely understand

678
00:45:18,040 --> 00:45:21,080
the people that are paying to
have booths there want buyers in

679
00:45:21,080 --> 00:45:23,280
their booths 100% understand
that.

680
00:45:24,200 --> 00:45:28,240
Also, having a pot, a platform
like that to where you can

681
00:45:28,240 --> 00:45:32,480
connect with content creators, I
prefer to call them content

682
00:45:32,480 --> 00:45:39,400
creators or micro influencers.
I think that if you're a brand,

683
00:45:39,400 --> 00:45:42,080
especially a smaller brand, and
you're not connecting with

684
00:45:42,080 --> 00:45:44,600
content creators and micro
influencers, you are missing the

685
00:45:44,600 --> 00:45:48,200
boat in in some form or fashion.
100% agree.

686
00:45:48,240 --> 00:45:54,320
So I think that it can be both.
I think that it can be.

687
00:45:54,320 --> 00:45:59,200
Yes, I want buyers in my booth,
but also I would like to also

688
00:45:59,200 --> 00:46:03,720
take this opportunity to have to
get to meet people one-on-one,

689
00:46:03,720 --> 00:46:10,600
face to face together, some sort
of marketing program for me to

690
00:46:10,600 --> 00:46:12,560
get out.
There.

691
00:46:12,560 --> 00:46:15,080
No, that's an excellent point
that I didn't see that side of

692
00:46:15,080 --> 00:46:16,440
it, but that's an excellent
point.

693
00:46:17,720 --> 00:46:22,600
But again, people that are just
influencers like, you know, the

694
00:46:22,640 --> 00:46:26,400
the nom noms and the farmers
dogs and the that have humongous

695
00:46:26,400 --> 00:46:29,360
marketing budgets, yeah, sure,
they're going to use the people

696
00:46:29,360 --> 00:46:31,280
all day long, but those people
have no idea what they're

697
00:46:31,280 --> 00:46:32,360
talking about.
Yeah.

698
00:46:33,160 --> 00:46:35,280
In my opinion, generally
speaking.

699
00:46:36,160 --> 00:46:38,080
Yeah.
And I, I mean, and then there's

700
00:46:38,080 --> 00:46:46,720
ones that are micro, micro so,
and I would only provide

701
00:46:46,720 --> 00:46:50,480
information on a manufacturer
that I truly support just

702
00:46:50,480 --> 00:46:55,000
because I, I just, I just
couldn't and wouldn't do it

703
00:46:55,000 --> 00:46:56,800
otherwise.
I mean, what I say about my

704
00:46:56,800 --> 00:47:01,160
stores is I won't sell it if I
wouldn't feed it.

705
00:47:01,600 --> 00:47:05,400
And that's based on a full
economic range because I do sell

706
00:47:05,400 --> 00:47:11,160
kibble, you know what I mean?
But you know, because kibble's

707
00:47:11,160 --> 00:47:14,480
unfortunately probably never
going to completely go away, but

708
00:47:15,600 --> 00:47:17,760
but yeah, that's, that's an
excellent point.

709
00:47:19,400 --> 00:47:25,000
Yeah, well, and I mean, nobody
has to agree with me, that's for

710
00:47:25,000 --> 00:47:29,480
sure.
WPA doesn't seem to, but it's,

711
00:47:30,440 --> 00:47:33,120
and I get it, like people,
especially people that are

712
00:47:33,160 --> 00:47:39,720
paying the big bucks for the,
you know, half of a style and

713
00:47:39,720 --> 00:47:42,160
doing all the things and putting
in huge installations.

714
00:47:42,160 --> 00:47:44,360
Of course they want to make
their money back, which means

715
00:47:44,360 --> 00:47:50,440
they need buyers.
But also there, there there is

716
00:47:50,440 --> 00:47:54,240
some forethought to be had in
making your money back through

717
00:47:54,600 --> 00:47:59,160
how people are buying today,
which is social media like

718
00:47:59,160 --> 00:48:04,240
TikTok shop hasn't gotten as
large as it is because people

719
00:48:04,400 --> 00:48:06,320
want to be buying from big box
stores.

720
00:48:06,720 --> 00:48:10,000
Like that's just not, you know,
there's a shift.

721
00:48:10,320 --> 00:48:14,960
And I think there are some small
manufacturers or some small

722
00:48:14,960 --> 00:48:20,240
brands that kind of get that.
But generally speaking, like, I

723
00:48:20,240 --> 00:48:26,840
just think it can be both.
Another thing about Global is

724
00:48:26,880 --> 00:48:30,720
there were there are some
manufacturers not showing up

725
00:48:30,720 --> 00:48:35,640
anymore and I think they're from
what I have heard, some I've

726
00:48:35,640 --> 00:48:38,200
talked to directly, some I
haven't, but they're not.

727
00:48:38,440 --> 00:48:43,240
It is a huge investment and they
are choosing to put those

728
00:48:43,480 --> 00:48:49,920
dollars in somewhere else.
That is interesting there.

729
00:48:49,920 --> 00:48:52,680
There have been a couple of
brands kind of noticeably

730
00:48:52,680 --> 00:49:01,120
missing at Super Zoo, but not
huge huge like usually not even

731
00:49:01,120 --> 00:49:05,200
the ones that are even in Indy,
even though they could be.

732
00:49:06,600 --> 00:49:09,880
There's one in like animal Biome
is one that I think I've off the

733
00:49:09,880 --> 00:49:12,440
top that hasn't been at Super
Zoo the past couple of years and

734
00:49:12,680 --> 00:49:17,640
could easily be in Indy pet.
I don't know if they just

735
00:49:17,640 --> 00:49:21,240
haven't marketed marketed it
appropriately because they do

736
00:49:21,240 --> 00:49:26,560
have wholesale available.
It could be both, you know,

737
00:49:26,680 --> 00:49:31,520
stocked or drop shipped.
They do both, but I haven't

738
00:49:31,520 --> 00:49:35,240
noticed Indy pet kind of
bringing them.

739
00:49:35,520 --> 00:49:39,960
And I've seen like, you know,
Yukari has has hung in there and

740
00:49:39,960 --> 00:49:47,040
I have seen some Indy pet bring
Yukari in, which is not not my

741
00:49:47,040 --> 00:49:48,520
favorite.
Like we could go down that road.

742
00:49:48,520 --> 00:49:52,560
That's not my favorite test, but
like they, they did it, they

743
00:49:52,560 --> 00:49:55,400
stuck in there and they said you
could bring our stuff into your

744
00:49:55,520 --> 00:49:59,680
into your shop and it has a
price that that that could make

745
00:49:59,680 --> 00:50:01,880
it work.
I don't know.

746
00:50:01,880 --> 00:50:06,000
But yeah, it is interesting
where people, especially the

747
00:50:06,000 --> 00:50:09,080
smaller, smaller brands, they're
just like, I don't, I'm not

748
00:50:09,080 --> 00:50:13,840
getting my return on this.
And bigger ones, I mean, in

749
00:50:14,040 --> 00:50:17,440
nature's variety, instinct
wasn't there, selling really

750
00:50:17,520 --> 00:50:20,480
wasn't there, Yeah.
Wow.

751
00:50:20,920 --> 00:50:23,080
Yeah.
So, and I don't know if you

752
00:50:23,080 --> 00:50:26,400
realize this, but there used to
be 3 industry trade shows a

753
00:50:26,400 --> 00:50:32,000
year.
Yeah, Backer was one.

754
00:50:33,080 --> 00:50:37,240
It started out in Atlantic City.
I think the last year for Backer

755
00:50:37,240 --> 00:50:42,680
was I went once.
So probably 2011.

756
00:50:44,440 --> 00:50:50,120
So, you know, it wouldn't
surprise me if we were down to

757
00:50:50,120 --> 00:50:54,360
one at some point.
It'll take a while, but it

758
00:50:54,360 --> 00:50:55,720
wouldn't surprise me if that
happened.

759
00:50:56,880 --> 00:51:00,240
I will say, like at first when
you said Stella and Chewie's, I

760
00:51:00,240 --> 00:51:03,440
was like, oh, but then I'm like,
well, they already got into big

761
00:51:03,440 --> 00:51:05,920
box.
Yeah, yeah.

762
00:51:06,000 --> 00:51:08,280
So they're clearly not
supporting Indy because they're

763
00:51:08,280 --> 00:51:13,920
not going to global and their
CEO is grocery now.

764
00:51:14,040 --> 00:51:19,240
He's directly from grocery.
He and his, I think CFO or

765
00:51:19,240 --> 00:51:22,280
something also not in the
industry.

766
00:51:22,640 --> 00:51:27,000
And they, they came and smoke
spoke at the Indy pet trade

767
00:51:27,000 --> 00:51:29,800
show.
I totally lit them up.

768
00:51:32,360 --> 00:51:35,040
I did.
So they are an example of how

769
00:51:36,120 --> 00:51:38,680
not to do Omni channel.
Exactly.

770
00:51:38,760 --> 00:51:42,680
They are totally.
And it's it's sad because you

771
00:51:42,680 --> 00:51:48,320
know that start that was a heart
and soul grass roots like Marie

772
00:51:48,320 --> 00:51:51,920
walking through New York City
with her cart of raw food and

773
00:51:51,960 --> 00:51:56,280
like it's it's sad to see a
brand die, die like that.

774
00:51:56,720 --> 00:52:01,640
But and it's not dying, but it's
just changed.

775
00:52:03,200 --> 00:52:08,800
Yeah, it's not well.
And the big, the bigger concern

776
00:52:08,880 --> 00:52:16,920
that just like as an advocate in
the industry I have had is when

777
00:52:16,920 --> 00:52:20,880
you go, when you make such a
huge leap into big box like

778
00:52:20,880 --> 00:52:27,240
that, if you're like, how is the
quality of your product going to

779
00:52:27,240 --> 00:52:31,440
be affected?
And I don't know that that I

780
00:52:31,440 --> 00:52:35,600
heard any answers around that
that made me comfortable with

781
00:52:35,600 --> 00:52:44,040
the fact that it wouldn't.
I mean going into big box if you

782
00:52:44,400 --> 00:52:47,400
if it does impact your cells
positively, you've got to crank

783
00:52:47,400 --> 00:52:51,080
out food quicker, which means
you might have to go there are

784
00:52:51,080 --> 00:52:55,640
total I think they're 100% in
house, but you may have to

785
00:52:56,080 --> 00:53:00,680
increase production which
usually lowers quality and who

786
00:53:00,680 --> 00:53:04,400
knows, who knows.
Right.

787
00:53:04,760 --> 00:53:08,600
Yeah.
And less likely to, you know, I

788
00:53:08,600 --> 00:53:11,880
think one of the things that a
lot of the smaller brands do

789
00:53:11,880 --> 00:53:15,400
really well, or I actually have
had this conversation a couple

790
00:53:15,400 --> 00:53:18,280
of times that I think some of
the small brands do really well.

791
00:53:18,280 --> 00:53:23,200
But I think they're going to
have to double down on is

792
00:53:24,640 --> 00:53:29,280
transparency and making it like
you're, you have to tell people

793
00:53:29,280 --> 00:53:32,400
any and everything like the
smallest changes.

794
00:53:32,520 --> 00:53:36,240
Because if somebody finds out
something changed and you didn't

795
00:53:36,240 --> 00:53:38,520
make people aware of it first.
Yeah.

796
00:53:39,440 --> 00:53:42,040
People are not happy about that,
Yeah.

797
00:53:42,160 --> 00:53:47,040
And again, I think there are
some brands that do that really

798
00:53:47,040 --> 00:53:49,080
well, but I think they're going
to have to double down on it,

799
00:53:49,080 --> 00:53:53,240
especially with a lot of the
bigger pet food company, like

800
00:53:53,400 --> 00:53:56,680
pretty much all of them have
entered the fresh food space in

801
00:53:56,680 --> 00:53:59,440
the last year in some way, shape
or form.

802
00:54:00,400 --> 00:54:06,360
So it it's just going to be
again, just like with have it

803
00:54:06,560 --> 00:54:11,120
with like labeling organic
produce, which is totally bass

804
00:54:11,120 --> 00:54:15,680
ackwards.
Like the the companies that are

805
00:54:15,680 --> 00:54:17,800
doing it right, that are being
transparent are going to have to

806
00:54:17,800 --> 00:54:20,120
double down on that, which
again, is really sad.

807
00:54:20,120 --> 00:54:22,720
But that's just the society we
live.

808
00:54:22,720 --> 00:54:29,440
In.
So, OK, the one other thing that

809
00:54:29,440 --> 00:54:33,360
I did want to bring up that I
think would benefit Indy Pet

810
00:54:33,360 --> 00:54:37,920
Stores a lot moving forward and
we kind of talked about this the

811
00:54:37,920 --> 00:54:45,200
last time I had you on my show
was that and you said you had

812
00:54:45,200 --> 00:54:48,360
seen this too.
And the last like 10-15 years,

813
00:54:49,280 --> 00:54:55,000
it has become more difficult.
So like prior to that, we could

814
00:54:55,000 --> 00:54:59,920
just move a dog or a cat,
specifically dogs to a raw food

815
00:54:59,920 --> 00:55:02,480
diet and so many things would
improve.

816
00:55:03,960 --> 00:55:08,120
Often times everything, right?
And now it's not that easy

817
00:55:08,120 --> 00:55:13,800
anymore.
One of the things is like it

818
00:55:13,800 --> 00:55:18,840
brings up so many things.
One, if people are still under

819
00:55:20,760 --> 00:55:24,520
like if people if people still
believe that in Indy pet that

820
00:55:24,520 --> 00:55:28,240
they can just switch somebody to
a raw food diet and their dog is

821
00:55:28,240 --> 00:55:34,560
going to be cured or whatever.
Like we can't say that but and

822
00:55:34,560 --> 00:55:37,840
it doesn't happen.
Then that client then loses

823
00:55:38,400 --> 00:55:44,240
trust, loses faith, right?
Which is frustrating, but also

824
00:55:44,520 --> 00:55:49,880
with as much education that Indy
pet has had to do on their own,

825
00:55:50,760 --> 00:55:53,760
there's still more to be known,
right?

826
00:55:53,760 --> 00:55:58,200
There's still more education to
be had to really be able to help

827
00:55:58,640 --> 00:56:03,160
pet parents the way that I think
they need in ways that our

828
00:56:03,360 --> 00:56:05,840
current veterinary system isn't
doing.

829
00:56:07,600 --> 00:56:12,480
And I have seen it work really,
really well in the very few

830
00:56:12,480 --> 00:56:18,880
cases that I have seen it happen
in where an indie pet actually

831
00:56:18,880 --> 00:56:23,880
sends and trains somebody to
become a pet health coach and

832
00:56:23,880 --> 00:56:28,080
learn about all of the organ
systems, learn about Chinese

833
00:56:28,080 --> 00:56:33,840
medicine, learn how we actually
support the body through

834
00:56:34,520 --> 00:56:36,520
whatever it's going through.
There was all these, you know,

835
00:56:36,520 --> 00:56:39,880
different things that that could
be alien, an animal in addition

836
00:56:39,880 --> 00:56:41,640
to food.
Right.

837
00:56:42,320 --> 00:56:44,760
Right.
And, and you have these products

838
00:56:44,800 --> 00:56:48,200
in house, generally speaking,
it's just a matter of like

839
00:56:48,200 --> 00:56:50,680
actually combining them in the
way that is going to move the

840
00:56:50,680 --> 00:56:53,680
needle.
So that's something that I think

841
00:56:53,680 --> 00:57:01,120
could really differentiate and
and move the needle and in a

842
00:57:01,120 --> 00:57:05,760
much more positive direction for
Indy Pet to actually be not

843
00:57:05,760 --> 00:57:10,800
just, oh, you come and buy stuff
from us, but also we can help

844
00:57:10,800 --> 00:57:14,960
you in ways that other people
like literally just can.

845
00:57:15,600 --> 00:57:24,240
Yeah, I really think that could
be, that can really be huge for

846
00:57:24,400 --> 00:57:30,400
for Indy Pet because you already
have a knowledge base that is

847
00:57:30,400 --> 00:57:32,840
really going to make that an
easy transition for whoever you

848
00:57:32,840 --> 00:57:36,360
send to train to be a health
coach.

849
00:57:38,560 --> 00:57:43,400
I don't I just I, I I think it
could really be a good thing.

850
00:57:43,760 --> 00:57:45,800
Yeah.
And it these could charge for it

851
00:57:45,800 --> 00:57:51,720
and have the whole waiver thing.
And, and that's sort of, and you

852
00:57:51,720 --> 00:57:56,280
have to charge for it because
otherwise the customer's not

853
00:57:56,280 --> 00:57:59,760
going to commit to the program.
And it's just, there's not going

854
00:57:59,760 --> 00:58:02,560
to be a back and forth and it's
just going to be a shit show.

855
00:58:02,560 --> 00:58:06,440
Because I've, I've actually
tried this, but it was more

856
00:58:06,440 --> 00:58:08,120
towards when I was getting out
of Pittsburgh.

857
00:58:08,120 --> 00:58:13,400
So I did not really market it to
the point that it needed to be

858
00:58:13,400 --> 00:58:15,520
marketed.
But yes, that would that would

859
00:58:15,520 --> 00:58:19,560
definitely set aside an indie
because, you know, you and I

860
00:58:19,560 --> 00:58:23,600
both can you I you will probably
agree with me.

861
00:58:23,600 --> 00:58:26,960
I mean, I talked to I have so
many people reach out and I

862
00:58:26,960 --> 00:58:30,160
don't technically coach.
I just, you know, hey, let's

863
00:58:30,160 --> 00:58:32,640
talk about this.
And you know, a lot of times

864
00:58:32,640 --> 00:58:37,600
it's just talking them off the
bridge, but they want guidance.

865
00:58:37,600 --> 00:58:41,360
Like they're not like you or IA.
Lot of people aren't like you

866
00:58:41,360 --> 00:58:47,400
and I willing to just do it
ourselves, be our own advocate,

867
00:58:47,400 --> 00:58:52,640
use the vet only for clinical
data, blood work, all of the

868
00:58:52,640 --> 00:58:56,000
things and they want, they want
guidance.

869
00:58:56,000 --> 00:59:00,280
So and there's not enough
integrative vets or holistic

870
00:59:00,280 --> 00:59:01,840
vets or whatever you want to
call them.

871
00:59:01,840 --> 00:59:06,440
They're just not enough.
So that would that would really

872
00:59:06,440 --> 00:59:10,520
help Indies and it would help
the industry and moving that

873
00:59:10,520 --> 00:59:14,200
needle even more than we've
already moved it so.

874
00:59:14,960 --> 00:59:20,320
Yeah, I did a talk a couple of
months ago at a pet sitters

875
00:59:20,320 --> 00:59:24,160
conference because I, I, I, I
think they're also in a good

876
00:59:24,160 --> 00:59:27,200
position to be able to help
people like this in this way.

877
00:59:28,400 --> 00:59:33,440
But I think indie pet stores or
even in an even better position.

878
00:59:33,840 --> 00:59:36,400
For sure.
Yeah, to to be able to help

879
00:59:36,400 --> 00:59:38,360
people that way.
I had my own pet sitting

880
00:59:38,360 --> 00:59:41,960
business prior to owning my
stores for eight years, so I

881
00:59:41,960 --> 00:59:45,080
can't tell.
Like it's difficult being a pet

882
00:59:45,080 --> 00:59:50,800
sitter feeding kibbles and bits
or, you know, my first, my first

883
00:59:50,800 --> 00:59:56,240
client, I was a Beagle puppy
that I had to fill with her Kong

884
00:59:56,240 --> 01:00:01,800
with cream cheese and Jelly.
I know she died of diabetes at

885
01:00:01,800 --> 01:00:05,400
10.
And, and this is, you know, I

886
01:00:05,400 --> 01:00:09,920
was already a raw feeder, but
you know, I was not at the point

887
01:00:09,920 --> 01:00:13,800
then that I could say, Hey, do
you really think this is a good

888
01:00:13,800 --> 01:00:15,520
idea?
Can I give you some ideas?

889
01:00:15,520 --> 01:00:18,080
Like that's a, that's a tough.
And a lot of pets that are don't

890
01:00:18,080 --> 01:00:21,120
even see the homeowner, the,
the, the pet parents.

891
01:00:21,120 --> 01:00:22,520
They just see the dog or the
cat.

892
01:00:23,760 --> 01:00:26,720
So.
Which is a whole other whole

893
01:00:26,720 --> 01:00:31,800
other thing.
Oh, they're bag of bag of.

894
01:00:32,520 --> 01:00:37,360
I don't even like crap to open
bag of crap to anyway.

895
01:00:37,400 --> 01:00:38,200
I don't know.
What do you think?

896
01:00:38,200 --> 01:00:43,920
Did we do this talk justice?
I think, I think we hit the main

897
01:00:43,920 --> 01:00:50,600
point to you know, don't.
It is what it is.

898
01:00:51,400 --> 01:00:54,440
Don't funnel yourself only to
shopping online.

899
01:00:54,560 --> 01:00:58,840
Don't do auto ship.
What else?

900
01:00:58,840 --> 01:01:04,120
What, what, what, what, what?
Main I mean building the

901
01:01:04,120 --> 01:01:09,960
relationship.
I think you know, people who

902
01:01:09,960 --> 01:01:12,480
work in Indy pet already want to
build the relationship.

903
01:01:12,480 --> 01:01:17,280
The pet parent has to walk in
willing to build that

904
01:01:17,280 --> 01:01:21,000
relationship as well.
That's where for me, I think

905
01:01:21,000 --> 01:01:25,320
that's where the conversation
with pet parents really needs to

906
01:01:25,320 --> 01:01:26,560
go like.
Yeah.

907
01:01:27,080 --> 01:01:29,440
This, that this isn't just a
place where you go buy

908
01:01:29,440 --> 01:01:34,160
something, right?
And you know, if you're

909
01:01:34,160 --> 01:01:38,000
especially if you're coming from
a big box, like that's not what

910
01:01:38,000 --> 01:01:41,680
you're used to.
But having an open mind, which,

911
01:01:42,040 --> 01:01:45,680
you know, that's a problem with
society in general today is

912
01:01:45,840 --> 01:01:50,680
having an open mind.
And it's hard, you know, we get

913
01:01:50,680 --> 01:01:53,680
beaten down so much that we
close ourselves off.

914
01:01:53,680 --> 01:01:57,400
But you know, these people
actually care.

915
01:01:58,480 --> 01:02:03,440
I think almost everybody that
goes into any part of animal

916
01:02:03,440 --> 01:02:07,680
care, whether it is a
veterinarian or a vet tech or

917
01:02:07,680 --> 01:02:11,720
owning an indie pet store or
whatever, at some point in time,

918
01:02:11,720 --> 01:02:16,520
like they went into that because
they care about the animal.

919
01:02:17,000 --> 01:02:23,480
And I mean, that's it's, it's
you have a foundation there to

920
01:02:23,480 --> 01:02:27,080
build off.
It's not like walking into, I

921
01:02:27,080 --> 01:02:33,000
don't know, a Walmart and just
pulling anybody off of their

922
01:02:33,000 --> 01:02:36,600
register and saying, you know,
care about my animal.

923
01:02:36,600 --> 01:02:39,680
Like, no, you have no idea.
That person could literally hate

924
01:02:39,680 --> 01:02:42,880
animals, right?
You walk into an indie pet

925
01:02:42,880 --> 01:02:47,400
store, you know that everybody
in that pet store absolutely

926
01:02:47,400 --> 01:02:49,080
loves animals.
And if you give them the chance,

927
01:02:49,080 --> 01:02:50,280
they're going to love your
animal.

928
01:02:50,800 --> 01:02:55,400
Yep, and that common ground goes
a long way.

929
01:02:55,720 --> 01:02:58,040
Yeah, yeah.
And you never know where those

930
01:02:58,040 --> 01:03:01,960
conversations will lead that you
have in those stores, whether it

931
01:03:01,960 --> 01:03:04,000
involves your pet or not your
pet, you know what I mean?

932
01:03:04,120 --> 01:03:07,440
It's.
Oh, yeah, I've, I've definitely

933
01:03:07,440 --> 01:03:10,880
heard many conversations about
healing yourself.

934
01:03:11,200 --> 01:03:14,960
Yeah, like, you know, just
figuring out menopause,

935
01:03:14,960 --> 01:03:18,000
perimenopause, like, like I've
heard conversation because

936
01:03:18,000 --> 01:03:20,800
that's where we all are, right?
Like we're, we're not just

937
01:03:20,800 --> 01:03:22,640
trying to figure out what's
happening with our pets.

938
01:03:22,640 --> 01:03:24,600
We're trying to figure out
what's happening with us too,

939
01:03:25,080 --> 01:03:27,800
because we don't trust any
medical system anymore.

940
01:03:28,680 --> 01:03:31,760
When this is funny and then we
can wrap it up.

941
01:03:31,760 --> 01:03:35,600
But when Billy was giving a talk
at my Florida store, I don't

942
01:03:35,600 --> 01:03:38,000
know how we got on topic of
cholesterol.

943
01:03:38,640 --> 01:03:43,520
And my cholesterol is 340, but
my my good cholesterol is really

944
01:03:43,520 --> 01:03:45,840
high, right?
So yeah, that's a good thing.

945
01:03:45,840 --> 01:03:51,160
So I like said it during his
talk, a woman came up to me

946
01:03:51,160 --> 01:03:56,160
afterwards that came in just to
hear him talk and said, So what

947
01:03:56,160 --> 01:03:59,560
doctor do you go to?
Because my doctor just put me on

948
01:03:59,560 --> 01:04:03,120
medication because mine's high.
But I don't think that thought

949
01:04:03,120 --> 01:04:08,920
like she truly was like wanting
wanting help.

950
01:04:09,960 --> 01:04:13,320
Yes, quite you have to question
and I'm she didn't know if her

951
01:04:13,400 --> 01:04:16,160
if her good cholesterol was
higher try good list like she

952
01:04:16,160 --> 01:04:17,720
didn't know that all the
details.

953
01:04:18,040 --> 01:04:20,280
She just followed what her
doctor said.

954
01:04:21,720 --> 01:04:24,640
Yeah, yeah.
I mean, people won't know that.

955
01:04:24,640 --> 01:04:29,160
They just keep decreasing what a
good number is because they

956
01:04:29,160 --> 01:04:31,280
literally want the world on
statins.

957
01:04:31,480 --> 01:04:33,560
Yep.
Which is going to kill your

958
01:04:33,560 --> 01:04:37,880
brain like the the idea that we
have demonized saturated fats

959
01:04:37,880 --> 01:04:39,960
when that is literally what our
brain is made of.

960
01:04:40,320 --> 01:04:42,600
I know.
Boggles my mind.

961
01:04:43,680 --> 01:04:49,560
I know, I know.
OK, well, yeah, I think, I think

962
01:04:49,560 --> 01:04:53,320
that's hopefully good.
Please shop Indy Pet.

963
01:04:54,400 --> 01:04:56,760
Please shop Indy pet please
please.

964
01:04:57,960 --> 01:04:59,160
Right.
Yes.

965
01:04:59,800 --> 01:05:02,480
Well, Tony, thank you so much
for coming on.

966
01:05:02,520 --> 01:05:03,960
Thank.
You great conversation.

967
01:05:04,840 --> 01:05:06,600
Yeah, I hope to see you at Super
Zoo.

968
01:05:06,600 --> 01:05:11,280
And guys, if you haven't for
like for me on my end, I hope

969
01:05:11,280 --> 01:05:15,360
you check out Tony's podcast,
Tony Unleashed, for more

970
01:05:15,600 --> 01:05:18,040
interesting conversations with
Tony Schwansky.

971
01:05:18,240 --> 01:05:19,200
Thank.
You.

972
01:05:20,920 --> 01:05:22,480
All right guys, have a good rest
of your day.

973
01:05:22,480 --> 01:05:28,360
I'll talk to you next week
before you go, if today's

974
01:05:28,360 --> 01:05:31,280
episode got you thinking about
what's really going on beneath

975
01:05:31,280 --> 01:05:34,200
the surface for your pet, don't
forget to check out Wild

976
01:05:34,200 --> 01:05:36,880
Wellness pet.com.
You'll find the Wild Wellness

977
01:05:36,880 --> 01:05:40,600
Bioenergetic Test to help
uncover hidden stressors, plus a

978
01:05:40,600 --> 01:05:44,880
curated apothecary of holistic
remedies to support true root

979
01:05:44,880 --> 01:05:47,880
cause healing.
Visit wildwellnesspet.com to

980
01:05:47,880 --> 01:05:51,480
start building a calmer, more
vibrant pet from the inside out.

Toni Shelaske Profile Photo

Toni Unleashed

Toni Shelaske is a podcast host, seasoned entrepreneur, and a holistic pet wellness expert. She's the dynamic female founder and former owner of Healthy Pet Products, Pittsburgh’s premier natural pet supply retailer. Today, Toni shares her expertise in the pet industry on her popular podcast Toni Unleashed.
She serves on the board of IndiePet, supporting the growth and innovation of independent pet retailers, and has launched her own line of private label,
Pittsburgh-themed dog toys, combining her love of pets and hometown pride.
Toni is passionate about helping pet owners make healthier choices and guiding fellow entrepreneurs on how to stand out authentically in a big-box world.