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Why are Premium Beauty Brands turning to Pets?
Inside the Luxury animal Grooming Trend, it´s clean Ingredients, considered Formulas, and the Beauty Brands Leading the Way
Words by Sanna Fischer Nordström
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There is a moment, somewhere between reaching for your own sulfate free, pH-balanced, dermatologist approved shampoo and grabbing a supermarket bottle of something vaguely labeled "for dogs", when the contradiction becomes impossible to ignore. We have never been more careful about what we put on our own skin. So why has it taken us this long to extend that same thinking to our pets?
In a time where our pets have become a part of our family and as our relationship with them has deepened, so has the willingness to invest in their wellbeing, including the products we use on them. Luxury beauty brands have taken notice and the market is filling up with products for our fur babies.
In this article we have gathered our favorites for dogs, as well as the even newer market, horses. We also sat down with the founder of Penny's Dog Spa to understand this new phenomenon.
Ouai - Fur Bebe
Ouai, the cult haircare brand behind some of the most coveted shampoos in the human beauty space, now sells its Fur Bebe pet shampoo permanently at Sephora and Ulta.
Aesop - Animal
Aesop launched a You and Your Dog duo, designed to be used by both owner and pet as part of the same ritual.
Kiehl's - Cuddly-Coat
Kiehl's offers its Cuddly Coat Grooming Shampoo and Pride and Groom, a luxury pet grooming brand founded in New York in 2019, sells through Bloomingdale's and Selfridges.
Ingredient transperency
What these launches share is not just a price point but a philosophy that the ingredients we have learned to avoid for ourselves, sulfates like parabens, artificial fragrances and synthetic fillers, are worth avoiding for our dogs too.
Paw Controlled Beauty
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The dog shampoo market is undergoing a shift that mirrors exactly what happened in human skincare years ago.
Consumers got tired of proprietary blends and started demanding full ingredient lists. Pet owners are doing the same thing now, and brands that rely on synthetic fillers, artificial fragrances, and sulfates are losing ground. The brands gaining market share are not necessarily those with the biggest marketing budgets but the ones being transparent about what is in the bottle.
Taking care of our pets the same way we would take care of ourselves
What is perhaps most telling about this trend is what it reveals about us as consumers. The same instincts that led us to read the ingredient list on our own moisturizer, to care about where our food comes from, are now being applied to our dogs. It is not indulgence for its own sake. It is an extension of a broader awareness that what we put on and in our bodies and those of the ones we love, matters.
Whether your dog is a rescue from the local shelter or a carefully groomed Shipoo as mine, they will not know the difference between a thoughtfully formulated shampoo and a generic one. But for me as a dog owner it feels so good to know you give the absolute best to your Fur baby. And let me tell you, it really shows when you use great products and my dog Frasse really shines along with the sun right now.
Penny's Dog Beauty
Closer to home, Stockholm-based Penny's Dog Spa has taken the next natural step and launched its own product line. Founded by Linnea Jöhncke, known as one of the city's most beautiful dog salons, Penny’s has translated its grooming expertise into a range of Scandinavian dog beauty products, including a signature shampoo with a vegan, pH-balanced formula made in Scandinavia and suitable for all breeds and coat types.
The brand also sells home fragrance and accessories, blurring the line between pet care and lifestyle in a way that feels very of the moment. I have tried them out and immediately fell in love with the smell, the look and of course the ingredients.
The founder tells us: I wanted to create products that live up to the same standards as modern beauty for humans: feel function and aesthetics in the same product...This is not about improving an existing category. It is about redefining it.
And Then There Are the Horses
Dogs may be leading the luxury grooming conversation right now, but there is another animal quietly waiting in the wings. The equestrian world has long been one of the most passionate and invested communities when it comes to animal care, and anyone who grew up riding knows that a good grooming kit was practically a personality trait. Now that same energy is being channeled into something more considered.
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Tagel - Scandinavian Horse Care
Swedish brand Tagel, founded by entrepreneur Carl Hedin together with Madelene Törnblom, the founder behind Maya Delorez, is doing for horse care what Caia Cosmetics did for beauty. The idea is simple but overdue, equestrian products have been too clinical and not enough lifestyle. Tagel wants to change that, bringing the same kind of thoughtful, beautifully packaged approach to horse grooming that premium brands are now bringing to dogs. It is a space worth watching, and if the trajectory of the pet beauty market is anything to go by, the horses are next and I like what I see.