Pet Parents, a pet products company based in Des Moines, has quickly become one of the fastest growing companies in Iowa.
The company was founded in 2016 by Blake Anderson when his yellow lab Blondie became incontinent. Anderson began to research dog diapers and quickly discovered that there were only a few options on the market. He then spent the summer of 2015 tinkering around and eventually created a washable dog diaper, Pet Parents first product.
Since then, the company has launched several other products including soft chew supplements, belly bands for dogs, and pee pads.
“We really focus on the cross-section of the humanization of pets and pet health,” said Anderson.
In August, Pet Parents ranked No. 378 on Inc. Magazine’s annual Inc. 5000 list, which ranks the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. Pet Parents, which has only been in business for four years, had a three-year revenue growth of 1208.04 percent. The company was listed as the fastest growing company in Iowa and the 43rd fastest growing company in the consumer products & services category.
“We’ve either doubled or nearly doubled every year since starting the company. We’ve been able to grow that quickly because we’ve stayed hyper-focused and very lean,” said Anderson. “At the end of the day we’re an inventory-based business so it just takes a lot of capital to have a lot of products.”
The company currently has 16 employees and is in the process of hiring for two more roles, Anderson told Clay & Milk.
“Our entire team is just a bunch of hardworking badasses who get shit done,” said Anderson. “It’s really about focus and putting the right attention and energy into the right places. Basically pulling the right levers at the right time.”
The company is currently in the process of building a 30,000 square foot office-warehouse in Ankeny.
“We’re expecting to open in December 2021. Right now we’re in the final design stages, and then first thing in the spring we’ll break ground,” said Anderson. “We’re really excited to have a nice physical presence in the Des Moines metro.”