Pet-loving partners scratch a retail itch

DOES every time your dog or cat itch, it ends up scratching itself – and perhaps doing some damage?

Wellington business partners Ana Tomari and Heather Murphy have created their Eezapet antiitch, anti-allergy barrier cream to deal with the problem.

‘‘Every pet should have access to natural health where possible,’’ Tomari said.

Using a base of beeswax, the cream includes six herbs but no preservatives or steroids. It can be applied directly to broken skin.

Since launching Eezapet in 2014, the pair have managed to secure orders from 54 stockists from Auckland to Invercargill, and run a business that supports them both. At present it is in startup stage, with seeding money from Creative IQ’s global growth programme.

Neither comes from a pharmaceutical background; Tomari was an English language teacher in Japan for 12 years before returning to New Zealand with her Japanese chef husband, while Murphy worked as an investment banker in London, then made the decision to work at the SPCA as a dog handler.

Both have a love of pets in common, but also complementary skills. Tomari has formulated the business plan; Murphy works on the financials.

The genesis of their cream was the eczema suffered by Tomari’s daughter. In 2006, she created something ‘‘which worked wonders’’ and soon found herself inundated with requests for it from family and friends.

‘‘In 2011, I decided that if there was a market need for the cream I should share the joy,’’ Tomari said.

She underwent a Grow Wellington activate course and in 2012 set up a company called Soothfast Skincare, taking on Murphy as her business partner.

Because Murphy’s dog Coco was having problems with itchy skin, the pair decided to develop a cream for animals.

Since then, they have discovered that the greatest demand (85 per cent) is for the animal cream, forcing them to re-focus the company towards developing products for the pet market.

Eezapet, which is produced in Auckland, was tested on humans first. The manufacturer has the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) stamp of approval. No clinical trials have been carried out, although the women plan to do so.

Retailers carrying the cream include pet stores, ‘‘doggy daycare’’ centres and the SPCA.

The partners launched their eezapet.com website in July with plans to sell to Australasia, and are investigating markets in the United States and Britain. At $26 a container the cream is not cheap, but79 per cent of retailers stock it.