Origin Story

Match Pet Brands started after a dog and cat-owning executive encountered a “salty experience” while taking a walk into the world of pet…

"It wasn’t shocking to see that this industry expects every brand to have a CSR component.

What was shocking is how most charities that worked with brands placed heavy economic expectations on them with little or zero return other than permission to put a logo on a website. Conversely, charities could spend a lot of energy trying to secure brand donors and wind up with no product or shared support.

I felt that was a missed opportunity for charities to really connect with brands, especially emerging ones that you never know how big they’re going to get… As well as some charities cutting out a lot of potential giving to the animals which you would think should matter most to philanthropic organizations.

This old mentality and expectation has kept wonderful opportunities from brands to demonstrate hands-on community impact and curbed charities from expanding their work through new audiences and creating a circular and sustainable bond.”

- Chelsea Rusche
Founder of Match Pet Brands

Originally founded as a platform to address the needs of emerging brands wanting to set themselves apart with “impact” as a product feature, the effort quickly lead to an important question:

How do we know what brands and products are safe and trustworthy to support our valued charity organizations and the pet parents that trust them?

With many new brands added each year it becomes easier for legitimate creators to be overshadowed by mass produced or frail, margin-based products.

The pet industry is resilient; on a trajectory for growth and non-stop addition of products being thrown into the market…

Differentiating what’s truly quality and safe versus smart packaging and attractive social media ads backed by deep pockets is an on-going challenge, especially in the age of influencer-based sales.

“It’s getting more and more difficult to know legitimate products from gimmicks and it takes one impulsive buy to ruin your dog’s tummy or your cat’s liver. The adage “too much, yet not enough” is getting comfortable in the pet industry - and comfortable means complacent which leads to inferior performance. That being said, it’s not my style, so instead we’re setting the bar higher. Those brands and products who feel they can match can try, and those that do, will be recognized.”

It’s for the pets and the humans, emerging companies that have mission and ambition, charities that want to scale their reach and impact - we’re creating a new ecosystem with new standards for everyone...
but mostly, it’s for the animals.