Dogs aren't just a mood, they're a way of life, and Fable created a brand to reflect that.

Today's consumers treat their canines as substantially different from previous generations. It's now meme-able.

New pet veterinary services like Bond Vet and Small Door have emerged, while pet food firms like Farmer's Dog and Spot & Tangohave entered the fray.

Fable is thinking about the collars, leashes, crates, and toys a pup parent needs to stay calm in an urban atmosphere—Series A funding of $9 million led by 14W with Female Founders Fund and Slow Ventures. And the new funding demonstrates the company's strategy of creating an ecosystem of canine accessories is sound.

The New York-based firm is riding both the pandemic-fueled puppy buying and the millennial pet care craze. Like, actual, living pals.

Fable subsequently expanded to other dog-related products, such as a crate that can serve as a bedside table, a dog dish, a poop bag dispenser (durable enough to last a few months), and, most significantly, toys. Fable's best-selling product is The Game for My puppy, has been a blessing. It includes a weighted bottom and a silicon frame for a cup of kibble or goodies. A sliding mechanism allows you to set the difficulty for your dog. From there, the pup is engaged for an extended period by both play and prey drive.

Puzzles and balls that give treats are either too easy for him (earn me five minutes) or too inexpensive and noisy. The Game appears to fix both issues.

The Falcon is a Fable toy that dispenses treats through a small opening that the puppy must squeeze to open. Falcon is great on its own, but you can chain together Falcons to make more complex games for your kid.

These products are all made to fit in a tiny space, with earth and jewel tones. This is where Fable's genius rests.

After getting the basics (collar and leash), getting a matching toy or poop bag dispenser from a known brand seems wise. Why not treat your dog to the Falcon? Buy two! And did you know that if you have a Falcon, it can hang inside the Crate to keep your dog occupied and stimulated? Get a matching bowl while you're at it.

But Fable isn't done yet. The company is considering new use cases and methods to improve existing goods. For example, Jeremy Canada and Sophie Bakalar described selling a Crate add-on. (There is currently no human-sized drawer or compartment.)

Fable Pets

Rather than focusing entirely on the pets, Fable also considers the pet parent. All Fables products are made to make pet care more accessible and more appealing. After a collar and leash, the business developed a new hands-free leash dubbed the Magic Link. Anyone who has tried to get coffee and walk the dog while multitasking knows the value of a hands-free leash.

Canade also hinted at a new element for The Game that would challenge the dog. Planned obsolescence isn't the goal here; instead, how can the corporation improve old items while introducing new ones?

This strategy has been very successful for the startup. Over the holidays, Fable sold a unit of The Game every five to ten minutes. Overall, the team estimates a 3x year-on-year growth. It also helps that people naturally enjoy sharing articles about pets. According to Canade and Bakalar, organic marketing around goods like the Magic Link and The Game has benefited significantly.

Fable's price tag is on the higher end of the Spectrum. The Crate sticks out at $395 – a crate from Amazon or PetCo costs $40. But, according to Bakalar, pricing is determined by product benchmarking. For example, the Crate is a bedside table; therefore, its price is comparable to West Elm or Restoration Hardware.

To give you an idea of cost, the Game is $55, the Magic Link is $65, and the Waste Bag Holder is $35. Those competitive products are designed to be discarded quickly," said Canade. We aim to create items that are good for both animals and humans. They're supposed to exist in both realms. No one does. Everyone is either developing only for humans, with a quality grade unsuited to a dog's use, or exclusively for dogs, without regard for human use.

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