Dixie Brands releases hemp soft chews for cats
2019-02-25 17:09 ET - News Release
Mr. Bob Rubin reports
DIXIE BRANDS SUBSIDIARY THERABIS ENTERS $2 BILLION FELINE TREAT MARKET WITH FIRST-EVER CBD-INFUSED SOFT CHEW CAT TREATS TARGETING A SPECIFIC INDICATION
Dixie Brands Inc.'s pet wellness subsidiary Therabis LLC is entering the feline market with hemp-based soft chews designed to promote stress relief. Calm and Quiet soft chew treats will be Therabis's first product for cats, building upon its successful line of hemp-based treats and food toppers for dogs.
"We are introducing the first hemp-based, soft-chew cat treat that is targeting a specific indication -- in this case, stress," said Bob Rubin, president of Therabis. "Our goal is to ease stress in cats and help them maintain a calm demeanour in situations that may cause them to be apprehensive. Pets are members of our families, and we believe people will respond very favourably to an all-natural product that can help improve their cats' quality of life."
There are approximately 75 million pet cats in the United States, with one in every three households owning a cat. Cats are increasing in popularity around the globe, driven by trends, including urbanization and busier lifestyles. Worldwide, cat owners are estimated to have spent more than $30-billion (U.S.) on cat food in 2018, including $2-billion (U.S.) on cat treats. The global cat treat market is expected to grow at an average rate in excess of 7 per cent annually over the next four years, outpacing the expected growth rate in cat food sales over all (source: Euromonitor International). Pet food sales growth is being driven in part by premiumization, as pet owners focus more on high-quality ingredients and the health and wellness of their pets.
Calm and Quiet includes cannabidiol (CBD) and other natural ingredients, such as L-theanine and L-taurine, which have been shown to have efficacy in cats. CBD does not induce any psychoactive effects in humans or animals. Therabis has filed for a U.S. patent relating to its unique formulation, which was first used in canine products in 2016.
Therabis has been developing and testing feline formulations since 2017, building upon its highly effective and widely distributed line of canine products. Therabis partnered with a specialty pet chewables maker to develop a flavour that appeals broadly to cats, which can be notoriously finicky. Calm and Quiet has been tested with actual patients at the veterinary clinic of Therabis co-founder, Dr. Stephen Katz.
"Calm and Quiet tested extraordinarily well on palatability, which is always a challenging threshold to meet with cats. We were also very satisfied with the efficacy results observed in our trial patients, including some cats who had been unresponsive to other treatments over the years," said Dr. Katz. "Anxiety is one of the most underdiagnosed conditions affecting cats, as their owners and even veterinarians can miss signs such as hyperresponsiveness to stimuli."
Calm and Quiet will be available starting in April through the Therabis website and a growing number of specialty pet stores and traditional retailers across the United States. Parent company Dixie Brands has secured international distribution for Therabis, as well as its award-winning human hemp dietary supplement company Aceso Wellness, through agreements with domestic licence holders in Latin America, Australia and Canada, with additional partnerships being negotiated. Therabis plans to continue to innovate and add new products to both its canine and feline product portfolio.
About Dixie Brands Inc.
Dixie Brands, through its licensed partners, has been formulating award-winning THC-(tetrahydrocannabinol)- and CBD-infused products since 2009, and is expecting to double its manufacturing and distribution capabilities in 2019 in the United States, as well as expand internationally, including Canada and Latin America. Dixie leads the global industry in the development, packaging design, product innovation and quality control for the commercial production of cannabis-infused products. While the company started with a single flagship product, the Dixie Elixir (a THC-infused soda), it is now one of the industry's most recognized consumer brands, expanding to over 100 products across more than 15 different product categories, representing the industry's finest edibles, tinctures, topicals and connoisseur-grade extractions, as well as world-class CBD-infused wellness products and pet dietary supplements. Dixie's executive team has been instrumental in the formation of the marijuana industry for recreational and medicinal use, serving as founding members on several national regulatory and business-oriented industry organizations.
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