How Reggie Found Its Repeat-Purchase Engine (It Wasn’t the Mats)

37 vetted industry experts · A full chews + enrichment line tested · A strategic read on where repeat revenue lives

About

Reggie is a dog wellness brand making natural calming chews and enrichment gear (lick mats, snuffle and feeder mats) to soothe anxious dogs and keep them engaged. This study put the full line in front of 37 industry experts and their dogs.

The Challenge

Reggie had a promising line spanning consumable chews and durable enrichment mats. Before scaling, they needed to know: which products win, does the natural calming positioning land, and how does this become a repeat-purchase business?

What We Did

A sampling study by The Product Lab with 37 industry experts, who used the products with their own dogs and reviewed each across product, packaging, positioning, and price.

What the Study Revealed

• The calming chews are the emotional hero. For anxious dogs they landed: “the first chew my dog hasn’t spat out,” “a natural, safe substitute for harder medications,” a go-to for fireworks, vet visits, and travel. The enrichment mats earned strong marks for quality and engagement (“the perfect level of challenging,” “a lifesaver at bath time”).

• The strategic catch: the repeat business lives in the consumables, not the mats. Experts said it plainly, over and over, the mats are durable and reusable, so they’re a one-time purchase. The recurring revenue has to come from the chews (and the spreads and refills experts kept asking for). A razor-and-blade the study made obvious.

• Two product fixes surfaced: dosing and potency (experts wanted clear by-weight dosing, a small-dog dose, and stronger options, and efficacy was mixed across dogs), and mat sizing and structure (smaller sizes for small dogs, sturdier walls that don’t flop, easier cleaning).

• And a branding flag: “I’m not sure the branding reads ‘pet,’ I’d have guessed it was a women’s supplement brand.” The look needs to signal dog, faster.

Where Reggie Is Now

Reggie walked away with validation for its calming hero and a strategic reframe of the model: build the repeat-purchase engine on consumables (chews, spreads, refills), position the mats as the durable draw, fix dosing and sizing, and make the brand read unmistakably “pet.”

“It’s the first chew my dog hasn’t spat out. It gives him less anxiety, a natural substitute for harder medications.”
— Industry expert, Reggie sampling study

“The mats are reusable, so they don’t require repurchase, but the calming chews would be a frequent purchase.”
— Industry expert, Reggie sampling study (the constructive read that reframed the repeat-revenue model)