Brakke Consulting publishes professional reports on a variety of animal health industry topics. Our studies offer a cost-effective way to acquire a comprehensive understanding of areas of high interest to both current industry participants and companies seeking to understand the dynamics and potential of the animal health industry.
Studies currently available or soon to be published include:
COVID-19: Impact on Pet Care (a study in 3 waves), May – July 2020
Pet industry leaders can monitor the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and economic downturn on pet owner purchasing and pet care thanks to a new tracking study from Brakke Consulting. The study is conducted in three monthly waves beginning in May 2020.
The research tracks changes in pet owner income, pet ownership, purchasing behavior for key products, and veterinary visits. The study is based on three separate Internet surveys, each conducted among a random national sample of 1,000 pet owners. A report is issued after each survey with full results.
For more information call Amanda McDavid 336-396-3916 or contact us at info@brakkeconsulting.com.
Pet Health Products: Changing Channels, December 2019
A new research study from Brakke Consulting is mapping the changing dynamics of pet product distribution and retailing, especially health and nutrition products.
Pet Health Products: Changing Channels aims to show how pet owner purchasing patterns are changing in light of new sales channels, as well as new ways to obtain veterinary services.
The new Brakke study includes nationally representative surveys of 1,000 pet owners and 500 veterinarians. Findings will be segmented by pet owner purchaser segments, regions of the country and type of veterinary service provider.
Among topics covered in the pet owner research are:
- Where are pet owners purchasing health and nutrition-related products, at what frequency and at what spending level?
- Has their preferred channel changed within the last year, and how?
- How important are convenience, online ordering and home delivery?
- Does where they get their veterinary services impact where they buy products?
- What role does the veterinarian play in influencing brand choice, regardless of purchase location?
Topics covered in the veterinarian survey include:
- Percentage of revenue from product sales
- Impact of outside services (Chewy, 1800PetMeds, etc.) on product sales
- Availability of online sales and home delivery through practice
- Sales volume of home delivered products, and trends
- Service providers used, if any
- Satisfaction with service providers
For more information call Amanda McDavid 336-396-3916 or contact us at info@brakkeconsulting.com.
US Flea Control and Heartworm Markets, December 2019
Small animal parasite control continues to be one of the largest market segments in animal health. Regardless of the general economy’s direction, sales of flea, tick and heartworm products have grown year after year, at a greater rate than the animal health market as a whole. Brakke Consulting’s 2019 update of our annual study addresses the fascinating dynamics of the flea and heartworm preventatives markets. The 200-page report also includes the following information:
- Overview of the veterinary and OTC flea control markets
- Review of new product launches in 2019 including PROHEART 12, CORAXIS and MILBEGUARD, and products in development
- Product descriptions, prices, and sales for the leading flea and heartworm products
- A 2019 survey of 390 veterinarians regarding brands carried; awareness of new products; the impact of product sales outside the veterinary clinic channel; and many other topics
- A 2019 survey of 500 pet owners regarding their flea, tick and heartworm product choices, including brand switching
For more information call Amanda McDavid 336-396-3916 or contact us at info@brakkeconsulting.com.
Pain Management Products for Dogs and Cats, May 2019
Pain management is one of the leading topics in veterinary medicine today. While pain management products for dogs and cats represented a minor part of the pharmaceuticals market 20 years ago, they now represent a substantial market segment.
The new Brakke Consulting report, Pain Management Products for Dogs and Cats, includes information including an overview of acute and chronic pain in small animals, a review of products currently used to treat pain in dogs and cats, and estimates of US sales and prices of leading pain management products.
Key Insights
- New product introductions continue while many new pain management products are in development
- Therapeutic diets and nutritional supplements for joint care and chronic pain are prevalent and growing Review of nutritional supplements used for chronic pain
- A survey of 370 small animal veterinarians regarding their use of pain management products reveals innovative approaches this therapeutic category
For more information call Amanda McDavid 336-396-3916 or contact us at info@brakkeconsulting.com.
Field Sales & Veterinary Teams of Leading Animal Health Companies
“Field Sales & Veterinary Teams of Leading Animal Health Companies” is a census of U.S. field sales reps, inside sales reps, sales management, professional service veterinarians and management and other field specialists for 11 animal health and diagnostic companies.
The report provides insights on not only size, but also organizational structure for field organizations, reported separately for companion animal, equine and food animal markets. Food animal sales and service teams are further broken down by species. Sales teams for pharma companies and diagnostic companies are reported separately.
Companies included in the report include:
- Bayer Animal Health
- Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health
- Ceva
- Dechra
- Elanco Animal Health
- Heska
- IDEXX
- Merck Animal Health
- Virbac
- Vetoquinol
- Zoetis
For more information call Amanda McDavid 336-396-3916 or contact us at info@brakkeconsulting.com.
US Flea Control and Heatworm Markets (December 2018)
Small animal parasite control continues to be one of the largest market segments in animal health. Regardless of the general economy’s direction, sales of flea, tick and heartworm products have grown, year after year, at a greater rate than the animal health market as a whole. This annual study addresses the fascinating dynamics of the flea and heartworm preventatives markets.
The 200-page report also includes the following information:
- Overview of the veterinary and OTC flea control markets
- Review of new product launches in 2018 including CREDELIO and CENTRAGARD, and products in development
- Product descriptions, prices, and sales for the leading flea and heartworm products
- A 2018 survey of 360 veterinarians regarding brands carried; awareness of new products; the impact of product sales outside the veterinary clinic channel; and many other topics
- A 2018 survey of 500 pet owners regarding their flea, tick and heartworm product choices, including brand switching
For more information call Amanda McDavid 336-396-3916 or contact us at info@brakkeconsulting.com.
Sales Force Effectiveness Study (December 2018)
Leading veterinary manufacturers have field sales forces calling on companion animal veterinarians and these sales organizations represent major costs to companies. Understanding how veterinarians perceive the performance of a company’s sales force in absolute terms and as compared to major competitors is important information to sales management and
company top management.
Based on Brakke Consulting’s previous marketing research, we know veterinarians have strong feelings about:
- Sales representatives in general;
- Which, if any, representatives they will or will not see;
- What they expect from representatives, and;
- What representatives can do that has influenced past purchasing and might influence future purchasing.
Brakke Consulting’s 2018 Sales Force Effectiveness Study includes an in-depth, online survey of 1000 companion animal veterinarians in the U.S. who rated the performance of the 20 largest company sales forces. The report also includes performance comparisons versus the 2016 SFES report for companies evaluated in prior studies. The report also includes new content covering inside sales representatives and an analysis of the differences between corporate-owned and independently owned veterinary practices.
For more information call Amanda McDavid 336-396-3916 or contact us at info@brakkeconsulting.com.
The Companion Animal Veterinary Telehealth Landscape (October 2018)
Telehealth and telemedicine are among the hottest topics in human medicine. Over half of all human health hospitals use some form of telehealth, and the leading telehealth provider boasts over 20 million subscribers. In the past few years, veterinary medicine has also seen the launch of telehealth providers aimed at connecting pet owners and veterinarians using new technologies.
What exactly is veterinary telehealth? Is it legal? Who are the companies offering telehealth services? How many veterinarians are already integrating telehealth into their practices, and how many are thinking about it? What kind of telehealth services do veterinarians want? How many pet owners are aware of these healthcare options, and are using them?
Brakke Consulting’s new report, The Companion Animal Veterinary Telehealth Landscape, answers these questions and more.
The report includes:
- The evolution of veterinary telehealth
- A review of the regulations governing veterinary telehealth
- An overview of the players in the veterinary telehealth space
- A survey of nearly 450 companion animal veterinarians probing their awareness and use of veterinary telehealth, interest in using telehealth in the future, and the services they would desire in a telehealth platform.
- A survey of 500 pet owners probing their awareness and use of telehealth for pets, interest in telehealth and the ways in which they would use telehealth for their pets
- Thoughts on the future of veterinary telehealth
For more information call Amanda McDavid 336-396-3916 or contact us at info@brakkeconsulting.com.
Veterinary Practice Home Delivery (June 2018)
Pharmacy sales represent an important component of a veterinary clinic’s revenues. In today’s competitive environment, veterinarians increasingly need to offer innovative, convenient solutions to successfully compete with online pet pharmacies and retail sources.
How are veterinarians serving clients who prefer to order products online or by telephone? What are the trends in writing prescriptions for online pharmacies? How many clinics have online stores, and which online services providers are they utilizing? Brakke Consulting answers these questions and more in a new, focused multi-client report.
Developed from the data collected for Brakke’s bi-annual Distributor Effectiveness Study, the Veterinary Practice Home Delivery Report contains key information about companion animal veterinarians’ approach to providing the convenience in purchasing veterinary products demanded by their clients.
The 20-page report, based on data from over 1,100 companion animal practice respondents, includes:
- Practice and Respondent demographics including practice gross revenue, annual product purchases per practice, respondent role in practice, respondent gender, Full-Time Equivalent veterinarians per practice
- How veterinarians address clients’ preference for online or phone ordering
- Frequency of prescriptions written for online retailers
- Percentage of clinics with an online store, clients’ use of clinic’s online store, and annual sales volume through the online store
- Online store/home delivery providers used, including market shares
- Performance ratings for the three leading home delivery providers – VetSource, Vet’s First Choice and My VetStore Online/JAT – for six attributes including overall performance
In addition to the aggregate data from over 1,100 companion animal veterinarians, the data is presented by region and by practice size. Comparisons to responses in previous reports (2015 and 2013) are also included
For more information call Amanda McDavid 336-396-3916 or contact us at info@brakkeconsulting.com.
Pain Management Products for Dogs and Cats (April 2018)
Pain management is one of the leading topics in veterinary medicine today. While pain management products for dogs and cats represented a minor part of the pharmaceuticals market 20 years ago, they now represent a substantial market segment.
The new Brakke Consulting report, Pain Management Products for Dogs and Cats, includes information such as:
- Overview of acute and chronic pain in small animals
- Review of products currently used to treat pain in dogs and cats
- Discussion of the impact of the human opioid crisis on veterinary use of opioids
- Estimates of US sales and prices of leading pain management products
- New product introductions
- In-depth look at pain management products in development
- Review of nutritional supplements used for chronic pain
- Review of therapeutic diets for joint care
- Discussion of cannabinoid use in treating pet pain
- Overview of complementary therapies for pain management
- Survey of 300 small animal veterinarians regarding use of pain management products
For more information call Amanda McDavid 336-396-3916 or contact us at info@brakkeconsulting.com.
Veterinary Technical Services Study (March 2018)
For any company selling products and services to veterinary practices, solid technical service support is a required function. Technical service teams not only represent a significant financial investment but also may be responsible for 10% or more of a company’s customer facing communication.
company’s customer facing communication.
Many companies have utilized one or more benchmarking surveys and tools to assess the effectiveness of their sales teams for many years. However, there has been a void of such resources available to evaluate veterinary technical teams. This study determines companion animal practitioners’ expectations for veterinary technical services and helps users compare how each company’s teams deliver on those expectations. Each company’s veterinary technical service team is compared to a short list of key competitors.
What are the practitioner’s expectations for veterinary services support? How effective is the veterinary services team? What are its strengths and weaknesses? Where does it outperform competitors? Where is it outperformed? What capabilities or attributes are most in need of improvement? What investment in training or other changes would benefit the company the most?
Brakke Consulting and Ipsos Agriculture and Animal Health answer these questions and more with a comprehensive study evaluating the effectiveness of US companion animal veterinary technical service teams.
Veterinary Technical Services teams evaluated include:
- Abaxis
- Antech Diagnostics
- Bayer
- Boehringer Ingelheim
- Ceva
- Elanco
- Hills
- IDEXX
- Merck
- Nestle Purina PetCare
- Royal Canin
- Virbac
- Zoetis
For more information call Amanda McDavid 336-396-3916 or contact us at info@brakkeconsulting.com.
Equine Mega Study IV (January 2018)
This major equine market survey examined the buying behaviors of horse owners by industry segment and by behavioral segment. Based on more than 1,000 respondents in a random national survey, the report examines purchasing frequency by brand and by type of outlet, including veterinarians, Internet/catalog suppliers, event exhibitors and brick-and-mortar retail outlets.
More than 400 brands! The study tracks purchases of individual brands in these categories:
- Dewormers
- Insect Control
- Feed
- Treats
- Skin, coat and hoof care
- Liniments, other muscle treatments
- Joint therapy
- Ulcer prevention, treatment
- Wound care
- Pain Management
- Joint Supplements
- Hoof supplements
- Skin and coat supplements
- Electrolytes
- Weight Supplements
- General Vitamins/Minerals
- Breeding Supplements
- Digestive Supplements
- Calming Supplements
- Vaccines
The study also measures readership of individual equine publications, catalogs and websites, and provides a wealth of information on horse owner demographics and segments. The 2018 edition also measures the use of social media and mobile devices.
Equine Market MegaStudy IV is an indispensable tool for any company that provides products or services to the equine industry, or contemplates doing so in the future.
For more information call Amanda McDavid 336-396-3916 or contact us at info@brakkeconsulting.com.
Distributor Effectiveness Study (December 2017)
The 2017 Distributor Effectiveness Study is a follow-up to the previous bi-annual studies. The study utilizes a quantitative survey of over 1,000 companion animal veterinarians to identify what they view to be the most important traits of a distributor, and to have them rate the performance of distributors that serve their practices on approximately 50 business activities and measures.
Some of the key data presented in the report include:
- Practice demographics and purchasing preferences information
- Performance ratings for key distributors for 11 company level attributes, 19 field sales representative attributes and six inside sales representative attributes, as well as overall performance of the company, field sales rep, and inside sales rep.
- Percentage of accounts purchasing from each distributor nationally and by each of five geographic regions
- The “Share of Customers’ Wallet” captured by each distributor nationally and by each geographic region
- Inferred market shares for individual distributors reported nationally, by geographic region and by practice size
- Regression analyses to identify key drivers of a high overall distributor company performance rating, a high overall field sales representative performance rating, higher product purchase levels and likelihood of recommending company to another veterinarian.
- Information is summarized at the national and regional levels. Selected data will also be summarized by practice size.
For more information call Amanda McDavid 336-396-3916 or contact us at info@brakkeconsulting.com.
Cancer in Dogs and Cats (September 2017)
Do you know the leading killer of dogs and cats in the USA?
Do you know the #1 health concern of US dog owners?
Both of these questions can be answered with a single word: cancer. Pets are enjoying better health and wellness care than ever before and are living longer because of it. Consequently, geriatric diseases are becoming more commonplace, and cancer is at the top of the list. According to a survey of pet owners conducted by the Morris Animal Foundation, cancer represented nearly half of disease-related deaths in dogs, and one-third in cats.
How do veterinarians diagnose and identify cancer in their patients? Which cancers are most commonly diagnosed? What treatments are commonly used? Who actually administers the treatment? What are the new and experimental therapies being researched in veterinary medicine? The answers to these questions and more are answered in Brakke Consulting’s updated report Cancer in Dogs and Cats.
The 2017 Cancer Study includes information on the incidence, diagnosis, and treatment of the common veterinary cancers, including treatment cost estimates. The study includes a survey of general veterinary practitioners and pet owners, as well as interviews with veterinary oncologists. Reviews of current and developing veterinary cancer chemotherapeutics are included in the report as well.
As cancer becomes a more important issue to pet owners, they are more willing to spend money to diagnose and treat their pets, instead of just euthanizing them because of a poor prognosis. Find out where the market opportunities are in this growing area of veterinary medicine.
For more information call Amanda McDavid 336-396-3916 or contact us at info@brakkeconsulting.com.
New Strategies for Health and Performance in US Livestock and Poultry Production (January 2017)
Livestock and poultry producers face major changes with the loss of shared use antibiotics for growth promotion and the new Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD), which became effective Jan. 1, 2017. Some producers are even exploring antibiotic-free production in response to consumer demand.
“New Strategies for Health and Performance in US Livestock and Poultry Production, from Brakke Consulting, examines how producers are responding to these new challenges. It examines:
- Changes in production systems
- New approaches, technologies and products producers are adopting
- New feed additives they are considering
- Who and what most influence decision-making
- What initial information is necessary to entice a producer to investigate a new product or approach
- Quality of information and support from specific supplier companies
- How producers will measure results of changes
The study is based on both qualitative and quantitative research among producers, veterinarians and nutritionists in beef, dairy, poultry and swine production. Reports include a comprehensive set of analytics, including means and median, significance testing, mean variance analysis, regression analysis and peer group comparisons.
Of special interest to subscribers will be an analysis of perceptions of company image, product quality and customer service of individual animal health and nutrition suppliers, including pharmaceutical companies, feed, feed additive, and environmental hygiene companies.
For more information call Amanda McDavid 336-396-3916 or contact us at info@brakkeconsulting.com.
US Veterinary Generic Drugs Market (September 2016)
Brakke Consulting’s report on the US market for small package generic products is an in-depth look at a part of the market that intrigues many industry participants. The report includes such information as:
- The origin and evolution of animal health generics
- Estimated market size
- Generics use in large vs. small animals
- Profiles of generics manufacturers
The report also includes surveys of small animal, mixed animal and equine veterinarians and producers, probing their understanding and perception of generic products, current and expected future usage.
For more information call Amanda McDavid 336-396-3916 or contact us at info@brakkeconsulting.com.
Changing Pet Ownership Study (April 2016)
Brakke Consulting and Trone Brand Energy, a leading pet category advertising and marketing insights company, originally conducted a study to help predict the future of the U.S. pet pharmaceutical marketplace. The companies joined forces again to gather even more pet owner insights. This research, the Changing Pet Ownership Study, explores the evolutionary change in pet owner attitudes, lifestyle and purchase behavior and the implications to future pet ownership.
The study helps manufacturers and all who participate in the veterinary and pet supply industries to better understand the
evolution and convergence of pet owner life stages and lifestyles.The study addresses how pet owners and the pet population are likely to change and how to best communicate with these groups in the future, as well as where pet owners will obtain information and how they will make their purchase decisions.
Key analyses determine:
- Differences in pet ownership including size and type of animal owned
- Generational and lifestyle-based behaviors and attitudes, including pet-drug purchasing
- How to best communicate with the “early adopter of new product purchase channels” (previously identified in the 2015 Pet Pharmacy Study)
- The reasons why non-pet owners do not own pets, future intent of pet ownership and what could prompt pet ownership in the future
- Differences in Hispanic pet owners such as types of animals owned and where they find information on pet health and pet health products
For more information call Amanda McDavid 336-396-3916 or contact us at info@brakkeconsulting.com.
Pet Pharmaceutical Market Shift (2015)
Brakke Consulting, Inc., and Trone Brand Energy joined forces to paint the picture of the future U.S. pet pharmaceutical marketplace. The first place pet owners go to purchase veterinarian-prescribed medicines began to change as new distribution models and proposed legislative measures evolved to give consumers more choice. This research defines how this change of the pet pharmaceutical industry would affect manufacturers, distributors, retailers and veterinarians once a critical mass of consumers began to adopt new models.
The research partnership identifies with data the early adopters of the new pharmaceutical distribution models and forecast the factors and timing required to push a large majority of pet owners into the new purchase channels. These continue to affect veterinary practices as well as impact pharmaceutical companies and retail channels. Understanding the relationship between consumers and drug retailers, and the lifecycle of the imminent changes, will help all vested organizations address these issues.
For more information call Amanda McDavid 336-396-3916 or contact us at info@brakkeconsulting.com.
Food Animal Sales Team Study (2015)
One of the most significant investments an animal health company makes is the recruiting, training, managing, supporting, and retaining field sales personnel to represent the company in the beef, dairy and swine markets.
But how effective is that sales team? What are its strengths and weakness? Where does it outperform competitors? Where is it outperformed? What capabilities or attributes are most in need of improvement? What investment in training or other changes would benefit the company the most?
Brakke Consulting and Ipsos Agriculture and Animal Health answer these questions and more with a comprehensive study evaluating the effective of sales teams in the beef, dairy and swine markets.
The study was conducted among both producers and veterinarians in the following markets and sub-markets:
- Beef
- Cow-calf
- Stocker
- Feedlot
- Dairy
- Traditional
- Large-scale
- Swine
- Integrator
- Independent
Sales teams evaluated include:
- Bayer Healthcare LLC Animal Health
- Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica
- Elanco Animal Health/Novartis Animal Health
- Merck Animal Health
- Merial, Ltd.
- Zoetis
For more information call Amanda McDavid 336-396-3916 or contact us at info@brakkeconsulting.com.
Pet Dental Market Study (2015)
A comprehensive new study of the pet dental market was published by Brakke Consulting and Ipsos Agriculture and Animal Health.
The “Pet Dental Market Syndicated Report” quantifies pet owners’ awareness of the need for pet dental care, as well as their purchases of dental products and services in both the professional and OTC channels. The study also analyzes the role of dental care products and services in veterinary practice.
According to the study, while dental care is a major business development focus of veterinarians, there is a significant communications gap to bridge with pet owners. Pet owner are not adequately aware of the need for dental care nor care that veterinarians provide.
The 116-page study is based on nationally representative surveys of both pet owners and veterinarians.
For more information call Amanda McDavid 336-396-3916 or contact us at info@brakkeconsulting.com.
Veterinary Drug Compounding (2013)
The exhibit halls at veterinary conferences have seen a proliferation of veterinary compounding pharmacies. In response to frequent questions about this topic, Brakke Consulting conducted a study of the phenomenon of veterinary compounding. The study answers questions such as:
- How big is the veterinary drug compounding market?
- What is driving the growth of compounding in veterinary medicine?
- What drugs and services do veterinary compounders offer?
- What types of companies are offering compounding services, and how many are there?
- How frequently are veterinarians using compounding services?
- Are there differences in veterinary usage between equine and small animal practitioners?
- What are the laws and regulations governing drug compounding?
In addition to profiles of the leading veterinary compounders, the report includes surveys of both small animal and equine veterinarians regarding their use of compounded pharmaceuticals.
For more information call Amanda McDavid 336-396-3916 or contact us at info@brakkeconsulting.com.
Pet Owner Channel Use Study (2012)
Channel strategy has become more critical than ever before for marketers of pet products and services. The new Pet Owner Channel Use Study provides data and long-term perspectives to provide actionable data to use in designing marketing and sales
channel strategies. Product categories included:
- Wellness and therapeutic pet foods
- Flea and tick control
- Heartworm prevention
- Dental treats and products
- Pain management and other chronic-use medications
- Joint health supplements
- Pet Health insurance
For more information call Amanda McDavid 336-396-3916 or contact us at info@brakkeconsulting.com.