Inc. 5000METHODOLOGY
There’s a $158 Billion Opportunity in the Wellness Industry, but It Isn’t for Humans
A pack of fast-growing companies is pampering pets with specialty foods and health services
Aug 11, 2026
Photography by Hugo Yu
Prop styling by Erica Lutz
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One night in 2017, Christie Horvath woke up to find her border collie-boxer mix, Denver, twitching and grunting. “He fell off the bed, which was horrifying,” Horvath says of her beloved four-year-old dog. She rushed Denver to an animal hospital emergency room, and after seeing a canine neurologist, Horvath learned that Denver had an inoperable tumor at the base of his skull that was causing seizures
At the time, Horvath, who had previously worked on BlackRock’s insurance team, was attending Harvard Business School. She was able to afford the thousands of dollars in vet bills, she says, only because she had pet health insurance. She had heard from other animal lovers who thought pet insurance was a waste of money, because policies covered accidents and illnesses but not preventive care, such as annual checkups and vaccinations. That nudged Horvath to launch Wagmo (No. 930) in 2018. The New York City-based company offers pet health care benefits, plus discounts on pet products and services. It has quadrupled in size over the past three years, generating nearly $15 million in revenue in 2025.
Wagmo is part of a pack of fast-growing pet-wellness companies, a sector that includes everything from specialty pet foods to coverage for acupuncture, physical therapy, and behavioral training. According to the American Pet Products Association, 71 percent of American households owned at least one pet in 2025. (As of last year, 53 percent had a dog and 39 percent owned a cat.) Spending on pets reached $158 billion in 2025, a number expected to rise
People increasingly view pets as important to their own well-being. The APPA report found that the vast majority of pet owners derive happiness and emotional support, and say they are less stressed, because they have an animal at home
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And people’s attention to their own wellness is filtering down to how they care for their four-legged dependents, Horvath and other entrepreneurs in this category say. “The more you think of your pet as part of your family,” says Horvath, “the more you’re going to do to make sure that they live long, healthy, happy lives.”
Several pet-wellness founders landed on their business ideas while searching for a solution to a pet’s health challenges. When Winston, a Great Dane, had skin and digestive issues, his vet recommended allergy shots that would’ve cost $200 to $300 a month. “There’s got to be something different,” Jessica Berger thought at the time. She put Winston on an elimination diet, a route some humans take when facing dietary issues. “When I did not give him chicken, grains, and added probiotics, he was a totally different dog,” Berger says. “So many dogs are allergic to chicken and don’t know it.”
Berger was arguably a world-class expert on pet food—at the time, she was the natural dog food buyer at PetSmart—but even she couldn’t find a poultry-free option. “Chicken and chicken fat are hidden in a lot of ingredients, a lot of products,” she says
