Mark Kalaygian

New York

Publishing Director and Editor-in-Chief at Pet Business

The business resource for pet retailers.

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Articles

Next-Level Nutrition

Jul 1, 2024 | petbusiness.com | Mark Kalaygian

Dog and cat food aisles look very different than they did 20 years ago. Back in the early aughts, the selection was mostly limited to bags of kibble and canned foods that offered little to make them stand out from one another. As a result, many pet owners decided what to feed their furry friends based on cute television commercials, pieces shaped like human foods, or whatever was on sale during a given week.
Meeting Every Pet Need

May 1, 2024 | petbusiness.com | Mark Kalaygian

Just five years ago, Compana Pet Brands was a very different company. Born from one of the farm and feed channel’s premier brands, with roots that go back more than 150 years—Manna Pro—the company, reinvented itself in 2022, after setting its sights on capturing a broader swath of the retail pet care market through strategic acquisitions.
Essential Ingredients

Oct 1, 2023 | petbusiness.com | Mark Kalaygian

Tell us about Vital Essentials and your approach to pet nutrition. What makes your company stand apart from other pet food companies? By nature, dogs and cats are carnivores. Vital Essentials specializes in providing high-quality, raw pet food and treats for dogs and cats that closely mimic what they would eat in the wild – meat, organs, and bones. We call this whole animal, butcher cut protein.
Back Where They Belong

Aug 1, 2023 | petbusiness.com | Mark Kalaygian

The story of Natural Pawz starts just like that of many other independent pet retailers—a couple of pet owners found their local market lacking important products for their special-needs dog, so they stepped in to fill the void themselves. Yet, while this narrative may be common in our industry, the success that founders Biff Picone and Nadine Joli-Coeur achieved with their retail business—and the latest chapter they’ve added to the story of Natural Pawz—is nothing short of exceptional.