For its pet-care products, Carlos’ brand Fetch! Naturals uses natural ingredients that are non-toxic for animals, humans and the environment
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Pets can make for great company. Studies have shown that interacting with animals alone has psychological benefits, such as decreasing a stress-related hormone called cortisol. But owning a pet is a serious commitment, which includes ensuring your and the animal’s safety.
Georgianna Carlos’ premium pet care brand, Fetch! Naturals, is helping to ease the minds of pet parents in this area with products made from natural ingredients. The brand’s latest releases veer away from using toxic chemicals that, when ingested or licked by pets, can be harmful to their health.
“I realised that pet care owners were not just looking for natural products to use on their pets, but also for everyday products that they can use that are safe for all members of their family,” says Carlos.
Today, Carlos tells us even more about her holistic new products and how she plans to change the landscape for every member of the family.
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Can you introduce the lick-safe products in one sentence?
Georgianna Carlos (GC): Fetch! Naturals make premium, natural products that are safe for animals, humans and the environment.
What is the brand’s value proposition?
GC: We make premium natural products using unique, local produce as our main ingredients. When we launched, we made Neem popular in the local pet care scene with not just shampoos but also house cleaners and deodorisers. We were also the first to market Jicama (Singkamas) shampoos as a natural brightener for light-coloured dogs and molasses (derived from sugar cane) for dark-furred pets. We have also expanded into providing functional, pet-friendly home items that humans can use such as dish soaps and hand soaps.
What is the size of the potential market?
GC: According to Statista, the home and laundry care market here has reached US$3 billion in revenue and it is expected to grow annually at 3.34 percent. According to Rakuten Insights, the Philippines has the highest number of pet owners in Southeast Asia, with 67 percent of pet owners having a dog or cat. According to Global Pet Industry, the pet market is expected to grow around 6 percent a year due to the increase in pet ownership, with a forecast of online sales of pet products to reach US$16 million by 2026.
What we are aiming for is to target the people who are at the intersection of these two; those who are looking for alternative natural products that are not just safe for humans, but also for the creatures around them—whether they are pet owners or not.
Who are your investors, and how closely did you work with them through the product development stage?
GC: We do not have any official investors. We have been mostly self-funded, with help from friends and family.
But we do have collaborators. I worked with a chemist who helped us to find the right local produce to create a product with the features we had in mind, like Neem for its anti-tick and flea and anti-bacterial properties, and Jicama for brightening and whitening. When it came to our home products, I wanted something that had natural antibacterial properties but is lick-safe. Pets, and sometimes even babies, can get into places they shouldn’t. With our home products, if small quantities are accidentally ingested, they will not have serious adverse effects compared to a lot of other cleaning products in the market. Our lemon-scented dish soap was also the idea of a friend, who does pet bowls.
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