Pet product designers are seeing a significant rise in number, and there’s no surprise there. After all, today’s pet industry is enjoying the perks of pets being a part of almost all households worldwide. Imagine how much families spend on their beloved furry friends alone! Even during the pandemic, the pet industry didn’t suffer too much. This is only proof that pets are no longer just pets. They’ve become family members and even surrogate children for some.
It is where the market opens exciting doors of opportunities for people with innovative and breakthrough pet product designs. If your company’s upcoming design project is pet-related, pet product design services are the best partners you can work with. Specializing in pet product prototype design services and models, these professionals can create exciting designs and share breakthrough ideas.
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Exciting pet product designs and innovations for your company’s next design project
Grooming equipment
Pet grooming equipment is one area your company can consider significantly, as the demand for these products will grow in the next few years. The Groomatic Cat Brush, for example, helps eliminate parasites and cat hair. Germany-based engineers who are also cat lovers developed the patented automatic brush. It starts when the cat approaches it and stops when the animal leaves. The device took inspiration from the positive effects of the mechanical brushes that barns use on cows. It not only keeps cats healthier and happier, but it also helps maintain cleaner living areas.
High-tech pet beds and crates
Technology has made it easier to calm anxious dogs even when the owners are not around. Plug and Play Robotics designed ZenCrate as a stress reliever for dogs using fans activated by motion sensors. A soothing playlist also turns on the moment the pet enters the crate.
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Pet wearables
Most owners want to monitor the activity levels of their dogs or how their pets are doing even while they are away. Pet wearable design firms such as FitBark allow owners to view and track the daily habits of their fur buddies. These monitors are clipped to the pet’s collar and automatically log the calories burned, hours of sleep, and distance traveled in the smartphone app. FitBark also allows owners to share data directly with their pet’s veterinarian.
Smart pet doors
Homeowners can ward off unwanted intruders like wild animals or even a wandering cat in the neighborhood with the help of innovative pet doors. SurePetcare’s Microchip Pet Door allows pet owners to use their smartphone to control the pet door remotely. This pet door only opens once it reads the RFID tag or microchip of the house pet. Notifications are also sent to the owner whenever the pet enters or leaves the house. The door can also keep pets indoors at specific times of the day.
Smart pet bowls and feeders
It’s a great relief for pet owners to use a cat or dog feeder that can be programmed to dispense dry food according to a personalized schedule. These automatic cat and dog feeders even come with more advanced features such as voice recognition, food level sensors, WiFi connection, and the ability to track consumption and program multiple feedings. WESTLINK, PetSafe, and Arf Pets are good examples of these products.
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Smart pet toys
Pets can experience their entertainment even if they’re home alone with the help of technology. The smart pet toy CleverPet Hub features a game for cats and dogs that dispenses treats. The touchpads of the toy produce a sound and light up in different sequences. The pet should tap the right touchpad to receive a treat. The toy’s software can adjust the difficulty level with more extended patterns as a memory and agility puzzle to keep fur babies entertained and busy.
Pebby Smart Ball is another innovative smart pet toy. It’s a ball that owners can control using their smartphone. It comes with Bluetooth and WiFi, and the built-in camera allows the owner to maneuver the ball remotely. They can also choose the auto-play feature to give their pets something to do when they’re busy.
Other popular pet tech products
Pet product designers have also introduced breakthrough pet tech items such as intelligent litter boxes, treat dispenses and camera monitors, and pet DNA health screening kits. Although the popularity of most smart pet products differs, these innovative pet product designs have no doubt turned into a lucrative business. Pet product design services are expected to grow in the coming years to introduce more innovations across different pet product categories.
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Steps in pet product designs and innovations
Understanding their customers and their specific pains and demands helps pet product designers develop designs and innovations that can address real-world problems. If your company is looking for pet product design services, expect them to follow these steps as part of their work process:
Knowing the customers
It’s only possible for product design companies to design a product if they know their target customers. New product innovations involve numerous challenges, especially in the pet industry. Pet product designers need to create their designs for the pet and the pet owner who will buy the product. Success will only be possible if the designer has intimate familiarity with both groups of “customers.” Some of the pet industry’s best innovators share something in common: they study, love, and live with their pets.
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Before they embark on the product design process, they need to understand the behavioral patterns of humans and animals during interactions between these two species. How does the owner interact with the pet? Where does the pet stay inside the house? Living with pets allows designers to understand both customers. They also try to get the perspectives of other people on the way they interact and live with their pets. After all, every pet behaves differently, and people also have different ways of interacting with their pets.
Identify the job to be done
After understanding the customers, the next step is determining the job to be done. What will make a pet or owner want or need the new product? Once the designers solve the problem, they try to understand and identify the job. Both pets and pet owners have their respective jobs. The pet product designers will identify these jobs for the pet and owner, lay out, and analyze the job processes from start to finish.
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Determine the pain points
The pet product designers are ready to determine the customer’s pain point when trying to accomplish the jobs identified above. A dog may start pulling on the leash during walks, or the house becomes smelly if the cat litter doesn’t change weekly. These pain points don’t necessarily have to be painful. Instead, these things may become unpleasant while trying to accomplish the job. Some of these pain points may also negatively impact the owners instead of the pets themselves. The dog might be unbothered by his smelly bed, but not the owner. The pain points a pet experiences are also equally important.
Think of a solution
Now that the pain points have been determined, the next step is to think of a product design that will do the job and address the pain points associated with this particular job. Pet product design services are often composed of diverse 3D design professionals who support each other with problem-solving skills and creativity. The team members usually include pet product designers, marketers, and engineers. By working together as a creative group, pet product design services can develop new innovative designs and ideas that can help address some common problems among pets.
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They may sometimes look for solutions that other industries already used in the past and adapt and tailor them for the pet industry. It’s also common for these services to look at and take inspiration from products already introduced in the market and make some improvements to them. By understanding their clients, the jobs that should be done, and the different pain points customers go through every time they do these jobs; pet product designers can look for solutions to solve an issue, ensuring a higher market success rate.
How Cad Crowd can help
The industry of pet products has yet to stop or slow down any time soon. As a result, more and more companies require services that can provide pet product designs and, more importantly, pet product prototypes that they can use for their projects. Suppose your company is currently searching for these services. In that case, Cad Crowd is the leading platform where you can find skilled professionals to ensure the success of the following pet product design project.
