Dogs will provide you with many things. One of those is a constant stream of poop.
Yep, smelly landmines will inevitably be yours to deal with if you choose to get a dog. Picking up poop on morning walks with my staffy is absolutely NOT the highlight of my day, nor will it ever be. I’m sure the owners of the 90 million dogs across the US would agree.
Sustainable and eco-friendly biopolymer producer SECOS (ASX: SES) is expanding into retail markets, namely the pet industry with their eco-friendly, compostable dog waste bags. As more consumers are looking to reduce their use of plastics, this environmental consciousness is extending to their pets.
Dogs reside in more than 63 million households across the US. The pandemic also saw an increase in pet ownership as people spent more time at home. In light of this, retailers have been expanding their pet product offering.
With recent success of their MyEcoPet branded waste bags in Woolworths (ASX: WOW) stores, SECOS is set to expand supply to the US Department of Veteran Affairs Canteen Services (VCS) stores, of which there are 97 throughout the US. Established in 1946, VCS was created to provide goods and services to veterans at reduced rates, and tax- free.
It is well established that veterans benefit greatly from canine companionship as they adjust to civilian life, helping to improve mental health and reducing the symptoms of PTSD.
The supply agreement is a strategic first step to the Company’s US launch which will be supported by social media marketing campaigns, trade show exhibits and other marketing strategies. The agreement will also act as a base for further supply and distribution agreements.
SECOS Group CEO, Ian Stacey said: “SECOS participates across the value chain of compostable products and sees a logical extension of this to sell our own SECOS branded consumer offerings into expanding retail markets.”
Despite producing over 50 million dog waste bags to date, this sector of the Company’s business is only small. SECOS operations are primarily in patented biodegradable and compostable resin packaging solutions such as flexible films (shrink wrap, shopping bags, waste bags), coating, blow mouldings (bottles and containers) and extrusions (formed trays, foam sheets). The Company delivers these bespoke solutions to a diverse customer base worldwide through sales offices in multiple jurisdictions.
As more businesses and consumers become increasingly aware of their environmental footprint and seek to reduce it, demand is growing for sustainable plastic alternatives. SECOS is well positioned to capitalise on this growing market opportunity and expand to numerous retail and business customers.
Samantha Freidin is a business journalist at Emerald Financial whilst also completing a Masters of Marketing and Digital Communications at Monash University.
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