Lenexa-based SmarterPaw LLC has been purr-fecting its product lineup, including catnip that’s “so good, it should be illegal.” Its quirky marketing strategy draws attention, but behind the humorous posts are proprietary blends and products that are fetching high growth.
For a second consecutive year, SmarterPaw landed on the Inc. 5000 list of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. It came in at No. 610, with 789% three-year revenue growth. It employs just under 20 and plans to add five more between now and the spring of 2022.
“Innovation drives us. It drives our growth,” said Geralynn Cada-Ragan, who co-founded the company with her husband and former Three Dog Bakery CEO Scott Ragan. “We totally disrupted a boring space – there’s only so many fuzzy mice a cat wants to play with before it’s bored.”
SmarterPaw has two brands, Meowijuana and Doggijuana, which launched in December 2020. The brands feature dog and cat toys designed by SmarterPaw that can be filled with catnip. There’s a refillable “Get the Pawty Started Llama Piñata,” a snow cone, a pizza slice and a s’mores, to name a few. One of its newest offerings is Birthjays, a colorful, birthday-inspired version of its catnip joints, which are rolled in paper by RAW Rolling Papers. The products are available in 14 countries, including in more than 6,000 pet specialty retail store locations in North America, including PetSmart and Petco.
SmarterPaw uses organic catnip grown in the U.S. and Canada to create proprietary blends to meet a pet’s instinctual and individual needs, she said.
“No one else was offering cats the aroma profile to up the attractor factor to catnip, especially for older cats,” Cada-Ragan said.
One blend uses chamomile and dandelion to up the smell factor, soothe digestive issues and alleviatie itchiness during allergy season. Another includes skull cap for reducing restlessness and anxiety, and silvervine for creating “an intense euphoric state.” For dogs, catnip doesn’t offer a high, but instead acts as a calming agent.
Cada-Ragan, who has degrees in biochemistry and design, is a certified professional dog trainer who’s worked with professional athletes, celebrities and Siegfried and Roy. During training, she noticed a common issue – anxiety in dogs.
“I thought, ‘What in nature can help relieve anxiety?’” she said.
Catnip was the answer. Paired with a toy, it can make dogs play longer, which also means they’ll sleep better, she said.
In addition to innovative blends and toys, SmarterPaw is focused on sustainability. It uses recycled cardboard packaging with environmentally-friendly inks. It’s also working toward using biodegradable sugar cane- and corn-based plastic inside its toys.
Although SmarterPaw launched in 2018, its Meowijuana brand dates to 2013. Through an industry conference, Cada-Ragan met the owner of Meowijuana, who had built a fun brand but didn’t know how to scale it.
“I had an interest in the natural wellness for pets. … I thought this was the perfect fun way to meet some instinctual needs with a touch of humor,” she said.
Cada-Ragan and her husband bought the company and have expanded the product assortment by about 300%. Meowijuana founder Chris Glissman now is a partner in SmarterPaw.
“Our mission is to enhance pet parents’ and pets’ lives and include humor and innovation in any way we can,” she said.
