At the end of 2018, when we invested in @Petlove, we had surprisingly few doubts regarding the merits and economic fundamentals of our investment thesis in the pet care industry. Our investment team’s biggest doubts at that time were concentrated on the positive social impact of adopting pets.

In fact, the robustness and macro resilience of our thesis have been clearly proven in the midst of the current pandemic, being one of the few sectors that should grow close to double digits in 2020 – the online channel of which Petlove is a leader has grown close to 60% against the previous year, reaching a penetration of 10% of that marketⁱ.

Even more categorically, Covid-19 brought us certainty regarding the positive impact of pets on people’s emotional health. Like me, millions of persons found themselves isolated in their homes, uncertain about the future and in search of unconditional love.

Even before the pandemic, however, pet adoption had been accelerating thanks to demographic changes such as an aging population, later marriages with fewer children and other behavioral changes. In a recent survey commissioned by us, we found that 90 million people in Brazil own a pet and 36% of them consider their pet a member of the familyⁱⁱ.

With Covid-19, the physiological, psychological and social benefits associated with pet adoption became evident for an even larger segment of the population, a phenomenon widely documented by the global media ^iiiivv.

Given the industry boom based on this powerful discovery, it is up to us to correctly interpret the needs and desires of people who have adopted pets, making it easier for them to take good care of their pets so they have healthier and happier lives.

I am proud to be part of the @Petlove team, which has been looking at this industry not only from the perspective of excellent results and opportunities, but with the genuine intention of bringing tutors, veterinarians and entrepreneurs in the sector closer together in a vibrant ecosystem valued by all. After all, we don’t want the adoption of pets to be a passing fad due to abnormal times…

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ⁱSource: Abinpet, Euromonitor and internal Petlove data
ⁱⁱSource: Datafolha
ⁱⁱⁱhttps://www.wsj.com/articles/coronavirus-makes-us-upset-puppies-are-coming-to-the-rescue-11586530110
^ivhttps://www.wsj.com/articles/pandemic-pets-push-industry-stocks-to-pricey-valuations-11602667800?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=4
^vhttps://northamerica.covetrus.com/resource-center/blogs/animal-health/animal-health/2017/06/02/benefits-of-companion-animals