‘Big pet parents’ John Legend and Chrissy Teigen want to feed high-end food and treats to your dog
‘Big pet parents’ John Legend and Chrissy Teigen want to feed high-end food and treats to your dog
Kismet, a pet food and merchandise brand, is the first joint business venture from the celebrity couple, who say dog owners want options with better ingredients.
BY John Kell
Before John Legend and Chrissy Teigen wed in 2013 and went on to have four children, the celebrity pair went through a fairly common, pre-parenthood rite of passage.
They adopted a bulldog.
“We’re big pet parents,” says Teigen. “We have been for such a long time now, since we first met.”
Today, the entrepreneurs—who have separately launched businesses in the skincare, wine, and cookware categories—are debuting their first-ever joint business venture, a pet food and merchandise brand called Kismet. Launching online initially, Kismet will feature $18 bags of doggie treats and dry food options with chicken or salmon at a cost of up to $90 for a 19-pound bag.
“I think my dogs have eaten better than me at so many different points in my life,” says Teigen. “Honestly, when I hear chicken and barley with sweet potato nuggets, that makes me salivate.”
“We wanted to find that right balance of giving them all the nutrition and the quality that they want,” says Legend. “But without all the inconvenience and cost of fresh.”
The pair say they’ve been considering a pet food business venture for about half a decade. It has turned into a family affair as their four dogs—Penny, Petey, Pearl, and Pebbles—have served as taste testers. They’ve taken note that more younger American adults are taking their time before starting a family with children. Those millennial and Gen Z consumers are increasingly adopting pets first, because they want something to take care of.
“You see how pet ownership is growing and growing, and dog ownership particularly is growing,” says Legend. “And so in that sense, it was attractive as a business opportunity.”
Let the fur fly
Pet ownership spiked drastically as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic as Americans found themselves stuck at home, with younger American adults adopting a dog or cat for the first time. There was a 9% increase in American pet ownership in the three-year period beginning in 2020, double the pace of growth for the prior decade. The American Veterinary Medical Association estimates that 62 million American households have a dog.
That spike coincides with a drop in American birth rates. Fewer babies were born in the U.S. last year than in any year since 1979.
With more furry friends to feed, pet food sales volume has increased steadily, at a compound annual growth rate of 2.4% over the past five years, according to data provided by research firm Euromonitor. But the industry has also greatly benefited from price increases.
Similar to the trend observed in human food, retailers and consumers are turning away from “Big Kibble” industry staples like Hill’s and Purina and spending more on brands that contain better ingredients, including Farmer’s Dog and Mars-owned Nom Nom. Even private label grocery brands have sought to elevate their offerings at a higher price point to chase where pet owners are spending their money.
“Consumers aren’t trusting these big conglomerates anymore,” says Euromonitor research analyst Melanie Torres Cabrera.
Kismet has worked with board-certified veterinary nutritionists to develop a product line that kicks off with two dry food recipes and two flavors of treats, including chicken and barley, salmon and brown rice, and slow-cooked beef and salmon treats. “Made with real animal proteins, nutrient rich superfoods, essential vitamins and minerals, pre- and probiotics for healthy digestion,” Kismet claims.
“Pet owners don’t really know much about veterinary science and pet nutrition,” says Torres Cabrera. “And so pet owners are really trying to look at claims from what’s familiar to them and what’s resonating within the human nutrition space.”
Nutritional claims that crowd the pet aisle now resemble messaging meant for humans. There are sugar-free pet foods, as well as low carb, guilt free, or even anti-aging.
“It would really kill me from a foodie standpoint to know that they were eating, like, just dry crap every single day that didn’t taste good and that didn’t excite them,” says Teigen.
A celebrity brand that’s not a ‘reach’
Teigen says there’s authenticity to her family’s connection to the pet food category. For nearly two decades, she and Legend have been vocal pet owners, sharing story after story about their pets in press interviews and on social media. That may give Kismet a leg up to other brands backed by public figures.
“There are certain things that feel like a reach for celebrities,” says Teigen. “There are certain industries that are oversaturated with celebrity partnership and brands.”
She says they will be patient to showcase just how passionate the couple is about selling pet food. In the early days, Teigen says there was some trepidation about her passion for food. But over time, she was able to prove herself and is now a New York Times bestselling cookbook author.
As a musician, Legend says he’s particularly excited about the Kismet merchandise. “I love our merch for Kismet because it’s not heavily branded,” he says. “It’s very fashionable.”
Celebrities have lately been lured to the pet food category similar to the investments they’ve made in recent years in human food and beverages. Actress Katherine Heigl launched a pet food brand in 2022, and actor Will Smith and NFL star Odell Beckham Jr. were among those that backed premium dog kibble brand Jinx.
Kismet will be led by CEO Mathé Young Mosny, who has over two decades of investing experience and is taking on his first leadership role of a consumer-facing brand. He met Legend and Teigen through a mutual friend and has been in close contact with them over the years as the Kismet project came together.
“We’re starting with direct to consumer, but I expect we’ll be in most, if not all channels, eventually,” says Mosny.
And while Mosny will be steering the business as CEO and help oversee the rollout of the brand, including on social channels like TikTok and Instagram, he stresses that both Legend and Teigen will be heavily involved.
“One of the things that kept jumping out was this love for animals and love for pets and that it’s the shared experience that they have,” says Mosny. “It’s their family business. They’re very invested.”
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