SmartPak is a business headquartered in Plymouth, Massachusetts. SmartPak was founded in 1999 by two Harvard Business School graduates, founder Becky Minard, and her husband Paal Gisholt, who served as CEO. SmartPak provides nutritional supplements specially packaged in daily dose packages for horses and dogs. In addition to a patented feeding system that provides convenient administration of supplements and medicines, SmartPak has since expanded the sales of clothing and equestrian equipment, and added products for dogs, including dog supplies.
Video SmartPak
History
Becky Minard got the idea for SmartPak in 1999, after learning that the cage where she keeps her horse has difficulty following eating and supplementation. She asks for the cage to add her horse food supplement to help her degenerative eye disease that can lead to blindness. When he found out that his horse supplementation was inconsistent, the stable manager explained how it was a challenge for workers to feed and track some supplements for 30 horses. In response to this problem, Minard finds SmartPak, creating ways to choose, premeasure, and prepare medicines and supplements for individual horses.
In October 2005, Inc. Magazine named SmartPak Equine, the 106th fastest growing business in America on an annual list of the 500 fastest growing personal businesses in America, marking the first time a horse business was named on the list. SmartPak has been assigned to the 500/5000 Inc list 9 times.
In Spring 2007, SmartPak recalls with LiveSmart Weight Management Chicken and Brown Rice Dog Food after being told by one of its suppliers that a weight control formula might contain melamine. Certain Chinese exporters are suspected of using melamine to increase protein levels especially pet food. Melamine-tainted animal food is associated with making thousands of sick dogs and cats all over the country, even causing the death of some pets who have consumed other pet foods.
SmartPak commissioned its own independent test that indicated the subject of the original withdrawal did not contain melamine. However, the company issued a recall in May 2007 for Adult and Chocolate Rice Food Products. Independent testing conducted for all LiveSmart brands indicates that this product has been tested positive for melamine due to cross-contamination in Chenango Valley Pet Foods, which produces the SmartPak brand other than other pet food brands.
SmartPak immediately responded by calling every customer ordering the affected food and telling all his customers about the withdrawal by mail, email and website. SmartPak also made changes to the "rigorous evaluation process" to select vendors, by requesting notice if one of Chenango Valley's suppliers changed vendors. The company also added another layer of chemical analysis in the testing of finished products.
SmartPak provides several horse-related videos, including a series titled "If Horses Were People" featuring horse behavior.
In late 2007, SmartPak secured a $ 25 million equity investment from North Bridge Growth Equity of Waltham, Massachusetts, to help the company expand its offerings and strengthen its technology and management team. This is the fourth round of funding received by the company.
SmartPak opened its first retail outlet in 2007 in Natick, Massachusetts. In July 2014, Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ: HSIC) announced that its US Animal Health business, Henry Schein Animal Health, has completed the acquisition of a 60 percent ownership position at SmartPak. Ownership in the remaining 40 percent shares is held by a private equity firm, Oak Hill Capital Partners and the existing SmartPak management team. Transaction balance not disclosed.
The SmartPak business model is featured in the 2007 book Outsmart! How to Do What Your Competitors Can not Do by Jim Champy, who last served as Chairman of Emeritus, Consultancy for Dell Services. SmartPak is also featured in 2015's business book, Above the Noise - Creating Trust, Value & amp; Online Reputation Using Digital Basic PR by Carrie Morgan. Maps SmartPak
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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