Pet CBD wellness brand Kitsie added a subscription-based payment option for its product line of CBD bites, oils and topicals.
“People are using Kitsie as part of a daily wellness routine for their pets,” said CEO and co-founder Nik Topolovec. “We’re in a unique space to build a subscription offering very quickly because of the nature of the product.”
Launching a business in the U.S. with CBD products comes with a particular set of challenges. Hemp-derived, THC-free CBD products — like Kitsie’s oils, bites and balms — are legal federally. However, the laws for selling CBD-products vary from state to state. There are strict rules around licensing, tracking manufacturing history, processing product claims, packaging and more. In some cases, there are also restrictions. Topolovec spent months exploring payment processors to find the ideal fit. He soon realized another complication.
“Kitsie needed a payment provider that would accept and process payments for CBD products that also worked with a subscription app,” said Topolovec.
After many exploratory conversations with different payment processors, Topolovec chose Authorize.net, a subsidiary of Visa and one of the most popular options on the market with easy, safe and affordable processing that also integrated with Bold Subscriptions.
“Learning that Authorize.net integrates with Bold Subscriptions was a match made in heaven, because Bold was the subscription app company we wanted to use the most,” he recalled. “It was one of the biggest moments of relief that I’ve felt in this entire journey thus far.”
Topolovec was set on using Bold Subscription for Kitsie because of his experience with the app at Mieux Digital, a design, development and consulting agency he also founded that builds world-class creative experiences online for clients like Netflix and LeBron James.
“We’ve always been fans of Bold and recommend Bold Subscriptions to many of our clients,” said Topolovec. “The way Bold thinks about subscriptions as so much more than a traditional approach is market leading. It’s about more than a transaction from a product to a subscription. It’s about the entire holistic experience.”
When it came time to launch Kitsie’s subscription offering, Topolovec was thrilled at how fast his team could add Bold Subscriptions to their site and get started. It took less than 10 days to get the offering up and running.
Additional Value
As subscription orders start rolling in, Topolovec is already planning to grow the offering. “We’re looking at how to create value in our subscription beyond the product, and we’re in a super unique position to do that,” he explained. “It is important to us to create additional value through content and thought leadership that not only serves the community of pet parents, but also helps to push the industry forward. We’re aiming to offer private community groups and offer access to experts for exclusive AMAs for those in our community who want to experience it.”
Topolovec is also looking at how to get the most out of Bold Subscriptions. He’s particularly interested in the location-based pricing feature.
“You can price products differently based on customers’ locations, which is great. That’s really complicated to build because it’s highly specialized and expensive to do. It’s amazing that Bold offers pricing capabilities integrated into subscriptions,” said Topolovec.
Topolovec founded the company along with business partner Hamza Ayach after noticing his new golden retriever puppy Kitsilano (Kitsie for short) would tear slippers to shreds, scratch at walls or get into the garbage. Topolovec knew the young dog was displaying signs of anxiety.
In addition to treating separation anxiety, Kitsie’s products can be used to treat ongoing issues such as pain management, joint health, noise aversion, lack of appetite and more. Pet CBD is the future of pet care and a key part of ongoing pet wellness. That’s why subscriptions are a key part of Kitsie’s business model.
As for Kitsie, a daily wellness routine of CBD has dramatically reduced his anxiety, said Topolovec.
“I’ve seen the positive impact that Kitsie CBD products have had on him,” Topolovec added, “so when I hear a lot of dogs are facing these different issues on a daily basis, I want people to know there’s a product out there that can help them out.”
