UK pet wellness company HOWND has reached an agreement with Whole Foods Market, an upscale American multinational supermarket chain, which will help to accelerate the brand’s growth in the US.

The deal has been struck by HOWND’s US distributor Only An Ocean, which announced the brand's entry into Whole Foods Market’s pet segment this week.

“We are thrilled to work with Whole Foods Market by including HOWND in their pet care segment for 2023. This market expansion opportunity inspires our company and our brand partner, HOWND, to broaden our vision of making plant-based products available to a broader audience committed to ingredients and respect for our planet,” said Cheryl Pedersen, Co-Founder, Only An Ocean.

A selection of HOWND’s Conditioning Shampoos and Refreshing Body Mists of the ‘Keep Calm,’ ‘Yup You Stink!,’ and ‘Got An Itch?’ product lines will launch nationally in select Whole Foods Market stores.

Cindy Hwang, Assistant Category Merchant at Whole Foods Market, commented: “We are so excited to launch HOWND as our customers are always looking for fun ways to pamper their pets. Our shoppers will love the vegan options that are certified cruelty free.”

Since its inception in the UK, HOWND’s founders Mark Hirschel and Jo Amit have continued to grow the brand’s presence worldwide. From their love for dogs and respect for the planet, their commitment is to consistently offer global communities the most ethical, plant-based, and professional-grade products and packaging. 

Founders of the UK’s Bring Your Dog to Work Day since 2014, they create initiatives to benefit the planet and pet welfare with fundraising events, charitable contributions, and donation-based invitations to have like-minded companies be a member of their ‘Pawsome Partners’ family.

Mark said: “We have been working closely with Only an Ocean, our US distributor, for several years now and slowly finding ways to build our brand across the pond. Together, we identified Whole Foods as being a great fit for HOWND and prepared the deal alongside our distributor throughout most of 2022.

“Whole Foods is a fantastic retail chain and the fact they chose HOWND speaks volumes about our brand. It’s now our job to make sure we are successful in-store, and only when once we've achieved this will the real transformation begin with many more doors opening up for us.

“There's no denying that it’s a fantastic opportunity and one we feel has been earned. As a multi-channel brand, we are seeing growth from a variety of revenue streams and this goes some way to showing us that large volume retail trade is alive and well.”

Whole Foods Market is a subsidiary of Amazon and is an upscale American multinational supermarket chain headquartered in Austin, Texas, which sells products free from hydrogenated fats and artificial colours, flavours and preservatives.