La-Z-Boy now sells miniature sofas for dogs. In that spirit, a growing number of human brands have launched pet divisions. Stone-washed jeans? Distressed denim for the fashion-conscious Fido.īaby Einstein? My Intelligent Pets, which makes Sudoku puzzles, pianos and other hidden-treat brain games to “unleash a genius within your pet.” (Even Martha Stewart has plans to release a line of hemp-laced hound supplies.) Medical marijuana? CBD-infused treats and supplements, one of the industry’s hottest categories. Tartar-control toothpaste? Anti-plaque chew toys. “The most compelling products are born from personal experience or annoying problems,” Cook said.Īt the Global Pet Expo, however, the genesis of most products seemed to be converting human merchandise and fads into animal equivalents: The novel coronavirus had yet to sideline large gatherings.Īs lemon-lime pythons slithered inside a mist-filled terrarium, wholesale buyers from 78 nations searched for the next smash hit.
Some vendors arrived with their own pets a few of them passed out treats. Hoping to strike it rich, hundreds of mom-and-pop inventors, celebrities and big-name corporations invaded Orlando’s cavernous convention center to showcase the latest in creature comforts for pets - from canine pianos to subliminal sound gizmos that soothe nervous falcons.ĭogs were jumping rope and wearing costumes, kittens tangled with toys in a cat playground, a blue parrot squawked in the background. Experts attribute the boom to a growing phenomenon of anthropomorphizing animals. Last year, Americans spent $95 billion on pet products and services, up from $60 billion a decade earlier, according to Packaged Facts, a consumer research firm based in Chicago. The annual extravaganza, which occupied 17 football fields of convention space, also premiered a $2,000 canopy bed for canines, piñatas for parrots, and a GoPro-style camera for cats.
A “photo journal” is maintained for veterinarian review.Ĭalled BrilliantPad Smart, the indoor potty debuted earlier this year at Global Pet Expo, a three-day trade show in Orlando. The result: a Wi-Fienabled contraption that not only wraps and seals canine waste automatically, but first snaps a photo of the mess, analyzes it for potential health problems, and then texts the picture to the dog’s owner. After adding a line of laser cat toys and selling the company to a pet industry behemoth in 2012, the Chicago native turned his attention to dogs.
#CONTRAPTION MAKER PETS TRIAL#
Gasping for air, Cook had a business epiphany.Ī mechanical engineer and start-up veteran, he began researching the market, sketching prototypes and corralling investors.įour years of trial and error later, Cook unveiled ScoopFree, a self-cleaning litter box. Here are the coffees we tried, ranked.Alan Cook’s curious crusade against pet poop drew its first breath in December 2001, when his then-sweetheart fell ill and roped him into cleaning her cat’s litter box. Considering that the bar is pretty low for instant coffee, we were surprised to find how much of a difference there was between each brand-some smelled and tasted pretty close to freshly brewed coffee, with subtle notes of chocolate or fruit, but others reeked of burnt rubber and tasted bitter, sour, or flat. In an effort to find the best instant coffee, I organized a remote taste test of 10 popular brands with editors Marguerite Preston and Marilyn Ong, two of my colleagues from the Wirecutter test kitchen. And now that more and more specialty coffee roasters are selling instant coffee, we’ve found it’s not always as bad as it used to be. Although it’s probably not the ideal choice for your morning cup of joe, instant coffee can be a saving grace when access to fresh-brewed coffee isn’t an option.
There’s a reason instant coffee gets such a bad rap: It usually tastes terrible. Sign up for Wirecutter's Top Picks newsletter to get independent reviews, expert advice, and the very best deals sent straight to your inbox.
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