PetIQ CEO Keeps Eagle-Based Company Growing—and Innovating

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BY CHRIS LANGRILL

Sometimes starting a business comes down to a simple formula: find a need, and fill that need.

In 2010, Cord Christensen established his small business using that formula.

“I rented a single room in Eagle, and I didn’t have a lot of money, I was just starting from scratch,” Christensen said. “It was just me and a card table, putting together a strategy, talking to customers.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF PET IQ

But it turns out Christensen’s business, PetIQ, was on to something.

“Here we are today, with $1 billion in revenue,” he said.

Back in 2010, Christensen came to a realization.

“People were buying all their pets’ healthcare needs through veterinary offices,” he said. “I just thought, ‘Holy cow! There has to be a better process.’ What I found was…vets were expensive for stuff, and Walmart, Costco, and other retailers didn’t carry any veterinarian-grade pet products.”

So, PetIQ set out to change that model.

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“We decided we were going to test a few of the best-selling items in the veterinarian industry in Costco, in Walmart, and see how they did,” Christensen said. “The reality was that customers were saving 30 to 40% on the same items. The success was immediate, velocity, sales, just immediate.”

“So, that’s really what started the company, just the desire to create some balance in an industry that was extremely big,” he said.

And an industry that hits close to home for so many families, including Christensen’s.

…we are absolutely dog people, my wife and I, and we love pets. My wife would tell you that she’d take the dog over me.

“We’re a dog family, and we have a mini goldendoodle (Milo), and he sleeps in my bed every night, which is a point of contention sometimes,” Christensen said. “But we are absolutely dog people, my wife and I, and we love pets. My wife would tell you that she’d take the dog over me, if she had to pick one of the two.”

Christensen’s personal story is one that so many pet lovers can relate to: people want the best for their pets. And as Christensen found out, it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if people could provide the best for their pets at a reduced cost.

We make over 1,000 items in three different factories, which makes us the largest producer of over-the-counter medications for pets...

“There are a lot of things that have happened that have made the company what it is today,” Christensen said. “But today, we are a manufacturer of generic and different healthcare products for pets. We make over 1,000 items in three different factories, which makes us the largest producer of over-the-counter medications for pets–dogs and cats–in the country. We’re the back end for Chewy, Amazon, Walmart, Costco, you name it.”

And while PetIQ’s footprint has expanded into 41 states, the company’s headquarters have remained in Eagle.

“I was raised in Boise my whole life, elementary school, middle school, high school, college, worked at Albertsons,” Christensen said. “So, I was about as local as you could get…and as we built the company, I was very adamant about not only keeping it in the Boise area but even in the Eagle area because of my background there.”

In 2017, Christensen took the company public on NASDAQ. Since then, the company has turned some of its focus to pet-care clinics.

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“We provide walk-in, no-appointment-needed, minor-emergency pet care,” he said. “And our clinics pride themselves on our average ticket, which is only about $100.”

Christensen said he is especially proud of a clinic that might be familiar to many Treasure Valley residents.

“One of our most exciting locations… is located at Eagle and Fairview, inside the Walmart,” he said. “Our typical clinic, they’ll do anything from vaccines to flea and tick medicines, those types of things. But we’ve recently added a concept around hygiene services. So, we do light grooming, dental, ears, eyes, all the things you really should be doing on a monthly basis. We do it very affordably…and that location is one of our first hygiene centers.”

R. Michael Herrman isn’t surprised that Christensen and PetIQ continue to break new ground. Herrman, Executive Vice President and General Counsel at PetIQ, joined the company in 2019.

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“He’s dynamic, and he’s changing the healthcare industry space,” Herrman said of Christensen. “That’s a reflection of his personality. He’s really positioned to quickly respond to changes in the needs for pet owners and retailers.”

“Cord’s leadership has a huge gravitational force, and you feel it in every corner of this company. It permeates and inspires everybody, and it inspired me the moment I met him,” he said.

Herrman said that inspiration brings out the best in those that work at PetIQ.

“There are just some leaders that you just don’t want to let down,” Herrman said. “It’s not like, ‘Uh-oh, I’m going to get in trouble with my boss.’ No, I just never want to let Cord down. It’s OK to make mistakes in our organization and people learn from them…Cord just drives the business with results, and he cares fiercely about his people.”

“It’s pretty inspiring to work with him,” he said.