National Show Visitors Picked Their Favorite New Pet Product

When it comes to quality, trust a Canadian to get it right.  This year Angel Pet Supplies launched their Elite Collection which was the all-around stand out at National Pet Industry trade show this year.  Winning the New Product competition, this beautiful collection caught the attention of visitors who voted it top dog of the show.  We spoke with Eran Konorty about Angel Pet Supplies latest industry offering to get the back story on the company and how these beautiful collars make it to market.

 

Can you tell us about how it all began?

Angel Pet Supplies Inc. was founded by myself, Eran Konorty in April 2006. For as long as I can remember, animals and pets always had a huge place in my heart. As a child, I would always have some type of pet, whether it was feeding the neighborhood strays, collecting snakes or tending to my aquariums.   The true and real inspiration behind the company was my first dog, Angel, a chocolate lab. She was my best friend for 10 wonderful years. Angel passed away in 2010 due to cancer. Her legacy continues to grow.

 

The idea began to brew after trying to find an esthetically appealing yet affordable collar for Angel. Wherever I turned, I was either finding plain, straight cut leather collars or very expensive collars and leads that just didn’t have the quality behind the high price tag. There were 3 key moments that got the ball rolling: (1)On one of my many travels, I was in Miami where I was contemplating purchasing a $60 USD dog collar and an $80 USD leash for my Lab (at that time the USD was 40% higher than the CAD).....I decided not to make the purchase at that time.  (2) And then on another trip to Brazil, I walked into a tiny store where I purchased a beautifully made, wide and durable collar for just $9! I was thrilled at the find. (3)Lastly, while speaking to my wife on the phone, my concentration shifted focus to the TV where a news bit on a 15 year old entrepreneur in Manhattan who designed his own ties had a lineup around the block to buy his products. At that very moment, all 3 experiences came together and in an instant my complete business plan was developed in my mind. From then on, the rest is history.

 

On your website, you talk about manufacturing products that are humane, can you explain what is meant by this?

At Angel, our focus has always been to design and manufacture products that would be comfortable for a dog or cat to wear. I always ask myself, “What would be most comfortable if I had to wear a collar”?  When first designing dog collars and leashes, I decided to use a padded leather bottom in order to cushion the dog’s neck while using the product. This way, even if the dog was suddenly stopped, there would always be that extra padding to alleviate any tension. I found that many dog owners would complain that most of the collars in the market would chafe the dog’s neck or the actual hide would be too stiff to begin with. For that reason, I also decided to use a soft leather so that it would never need to be ‘worked- in’, and would be comfortable from the first wear. Similarly, we also decided to use the same padding on the handle of most of our leashes to provide the same comfortable feeling on the hands of the people walking the dogs.

 Another humane product we sell are our Miami wire cage muzzles and Boston leather cage muzzles. For reasons such as eating disorders, post- operation, aggression, etc., I truly feel that if a dog needs to be muzzled, there is nothing more comfortable and safe than our muzzles.  

 

Does all production happen out of your Toronto location?

Angel Pet Supplies in based in Toronto, Canada. All of our production is in India and Belarus. I personally travel overseas every year to our factory to ensure that the products, work force and strict quality checks are all enforced and met. Without divulging any secrets, Angel’s success has been the implementation and training of key craftsmen, management and daily overseas interactions to ensure quality production.

 

What sparked the idea for a collection like this and when did it hit the store shelves?

We decided to develop a “higher end” collection, manufactured by high quality raw materials. There was an ever- growing demand from our customers and beyond, for something more unique, durable and extensive, yet still bearing the price in mind. Many larger breed dog owners were also looking for unique designs that would cater to their stronger dogs. We invested more into the materials and assigned craftsmen to help make our designs come to life; create something that the industry had not seen to date.

 The Angel Elite Collection was first displayed at the Global Pet and Superzoo earlier this year. The response was beyond our expectations. We had never received such a large number of pre- orders for a product....ever.  Since the launch, we have made the product available throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Since production time is much longer than usual due to the extensive work all done by hand, we are in constant and rising production mode to meet the demands of our existing and new customers.

 

The overall response has been like nothing before. It’s not just appreciation for the work that goes into these products, but the ranting and raving as well. We were anticipating good sales through our initial response, yet still found ourselves raising production levels to meet the demand.

 

With such a positive reaction, can you tell us what your plan are for the future?

The plan is to expand the Elite collection into new and exciting designs. We are currently working on those and plan on launching them strategically throughout the year. We want to ensure that our retailers and their customers alike are always refreshed by new designs and forward thinking innovations.

 

Congratulations to Eran and his entire team here and abroad for producing this winning product!