Brand Spotlight: HOWND
At ThePurposeLed, our work means that we get the great opportunity to meet and talk to passionate purpose-led brands. These rising stars come to us because they’ve recognised the gap in the market for products that have a positive social and environmental impact, but they require support in reaching like-minded consumers on Amazon. This can certainly be said about the brand we are spotlighting today, HOWND - The Sustainable & Healthy Lifestyle Brand for Dogs.
Our journey with HOWND began in 2020, where despite strong retail and professional grooming presence they hadn’t hit the ground running with Amazon yet due to multiple reasons (more on that soon). But by enlisting the help of ThePurposeLed, they have been able to market their products to conscious consumers and communicate their brand story on Amazon. Today, we’ll be spotlighting their incredible brand story.
The HOWND Story began in 2013. A shared love of dogs brought co-founders Mark Hirschel and Jo Amit together, who have founded great initiatives such as ‘Bring Your Dog To Work Day’, and the online zine ‘Happiness of Dogs’. All of these projects are in the name of their healthy lifestyle and sustainable brand for dogs, HOWND. They’ve grown from having a product range solely catered for dog grooming to now covering multiple areas of dog care, solidifying their position as the dog lifestyle brand to be reckoned with.
However, for HOWND, it isn’t simply about creating great products for dogs. “Everything we do in the business is all about ethics and sustainability,” says co-founder Mark Hirschel. This purpose-led focus has awarded them with accreditations from Cruelty-Free International, The Vegetarian (Vegan) Society, PETA, and many more. These accreditations are brought into focus through their brand motto: “Powered by plants, not animals.”
That has been the brand’s motto since day one when they launched with 15 products. “We decided to go full on from day one… we wanted to make an impact” - Mark Hirschel. Their first range included dog conditioners, shampoos, wipes, deodorisers, mists, and some products for professional pet groomers.
HOWND has had a purpose-led approach from the very beginning. They identified the lack of quality and ethical dog grooming products available in stores, brought a wide range of natural and sustainable dog-grooming products to market, and through the success of HOWND they’ve powered their charitable initiatives. Bring Your Dog To Work Day was founded by Jo & Mark in 2014 and the viral event combines the love we have for our furry friends with raising money for great causes.
HOWND’s ever-growing passion for what they do has resulted in its products being available in 11 countries worldwide, with listings in the UK from big retailers such as Pets At Home, Ocado, Wilko, and Amazon. There is also a growing community of professional dog groomers that use HOWND, with over 2,000 professional dog groomers in the UK using their product range.
In late 2021 HOWND launched their dog food product range on Amazon, and with the help of ThePurposeLed in 2022 HOWND saw an 803% growth in sales on Amazon.
Want to know more?
Working with HOWND, learning about their brand story, and helping them grow, has been a great joy for ThePurposeLed team, Co-Founder Michael McPherson got the chance to sit down with Mark Hirschel on ThePurposeLed Podcast - Founders with Dreams Series, which you can listen to here.
For a more detailed look at the services and results provided to HOWND on Amazon read a case study here
Discover HOWND’s Amazon Storefront here or visit their website dogslovehownd.com
