FabFitFun is deepening its ties in the pet category.
The subscription box company on Tuesday announced it has acquired PupBox, a monthly subscription box for dogs, from Petco for an undisclosed amount.
“We've noticed demand from our members for more pet offerings,” Daniel Broukhim, FabFitFun’s co-founder and co-CEO, told Retail Dive. “This was a natural extension of our current pet offerings. We would take a lot of the business that PupBox had built and integrate it into what we built at FabFitFun and make it a more holistic, better pet offering for both our members and also improve the experience for PupBox members as well.”
PupBox was founded in 2014 by Ben and Ariel Zvaifler after they adopted a dog of their own and struggled to find products suited to its changing needs. The company’s subscription box — which includes toys, treats, grooming tools and accessories — is aimed at helping pet parents navigate the various stages of a dog’s life. The boxes also include training guides with information on pets’ training, developmental and physical needs.
The company in 2016 appeared on ABC’s “Shark Tank,” securing funding from investor Robert Herjavec. And a year later, Petco announced it acquired PupBox for an undisclosed amount.
For FabFitFun, the deal allows it to extend its reach by attracting new audiences, but also satisfies a need from many of the company’s existing members, who have asked for more pet offerings, Broukhim said.
PupBox also complements FabFitFun’s ethos of promoting self-care among its members.
“We're all about self-care and investing in yourself,” Broukhim said. “If you have a pet and you want to take care of yourself, in a way you also take care of the things around you, and so taking care of your pets is really critical to people's happiness.”
While the company is still working through the logistics of how PupBox will be integrated into FabFitFun, Broukhim said PupBox will likely “maintain a bit of its own presence, but it will also be available to FabFitFun members and through the FabFitFun platform.” PupBox is currently available on its own website, but will go live on FabFitFun’s website later this year, according to the company.
FabFitFun was founded in 2010 and acts as a lifestyle membership, offering not only its seasonal subscription boxes, but also exclusive offers from brands, shopping experiences, online content and more.
Over the years, the company has introduced a number of features to its membership. In the spring of 2021, the company rolled out a customized shopping experience, allowing members greater choice in the products they receive. At the same time, the company debuted its “swap for credit” feature, which allows members to forgo a seasonal box in exchange for credit that can be used for purchases on the company’s website. And in the summer of 2021, FabFitFun launched Shop with Friends, a feature that allowed members to invite friends to shop during members-only sales, in addition to a week-long sales event.
The PupBox acquisition allows FabFitFun to grow its business even further.
“For the past 12 years, FabFitFun has been a leader in the subscription space, and this opportunity allows us to expand more meaningfully into the pet category,” Broukhim said in a statement. “In the coming months, we plan to bring our expertise and unique touch to PupBox's current subscribers, as well as expand reach to our audience with a pet offering on FabFitFun’s platform.”
