Bark & Co. doubling employment at its Columbus ‘pawffice’
Man’s best friends and their dogobsessed owners are creating jobs in Columbus.
Bark & Co., best known for its dogtoy-and-treat subscription boxes, plans to double employment at its Downtown office to about 250 workers during the coming year as the company caters to people who treat their pets like children.
It wasn’t even two years ago that the company opened its Columbus office, its first outside of its New York City headquarters, with the help of state tax incentives. Now it plans to take over another floor of the Carlile Building, and the company will soon have more employees here than it does in New York.
“It’s about really honing in on the special relationship that people and dogs have together and creating
products and services for them,” said Henrik Werdelin, a co-founder of the company that got its start in 2012.
Consumers spent an estimated $62.8 billion on pets in 2016, up from $60.3 billion in 2015, according to the American Pet Products Association.
“It is just an enormous industry,” Werdelin said. “There hasn’t been a lot of innovation in the past 20 years. Dog toys are pretty much dog toys.”
Bark & Co.’s signature product is the BarkBox, a service that delivers a box of company-designed toys, all-natural treats and a chew to subscribers each month. The average customer pays about $21 a month.
In addition, the company has an online store, called BarkShop, that sells Bark & Co. designed treats and toys. It’s also behind BarkPost, a media outlet for all things dog and BarkLive, which host events such as dog jogs and what it calls “yappy” hours.
In Columbus, new workers are part of Bark & Co.’s “pupstomerservice” operation who deal with customers across a variety of platforms: Facebook, Twitter, text, email and phone.
The company interacts with about a quarter of its customers every month and emphasizes a personal touch meant to make customers — and their dogs — feel special and connected with the company.
That connection can take the form of a handwritten note welcoming the addition of a new dog to the family. The staff also will send condolences to a customer whose dog is ill or has died.
Humor and dog puns are an important part of what workers utilize in the thousands of inquiries that they handle. The top-selling toy at its online store is the Dognald, a toy that resembles President Trump and grunts when it’s chewed. And a Bark & Co. office is called a “pawffice.”
Demand for the company’s products has sparked hiring. New workers earn $11 per hour. After 30 days, they’re eligible for a $2-an-hour bonus.
Benefits for fulltime workers include pet insurance and, of course, workers can bring their dog to the office. On any given day, a dozen or so dogs of various shapes and sizes can be found walking on tables, sitting on laps and lounging on couches, chairs and the floor while employees work at laptops.
“When we hire, first and foremost, you have to be a dog lover. We don’t compromise on that,” said Hernan Giraldo, who leads the company’s Columbus operations.
Many workers are young. Though a college degree isn’t necessary, many workers are in college and work part time, while others have recently graduated and are looking to be part of a growing company.
The company doesn’t guess about its customers’ wants and needs
It uses the data it collects to refine what it sells and enhance the way it engages customers, said Deborah Mitchell, a professor of marketing at Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business and a dog owner. The combination of products, media content and experiences gives consumers more ways to be exposed to the company, she said.
“They are a great example of marketing in 2017,” she said. “It’s data-driven, brandsmart and engaging in customers in a 360degree way.”
Touches such as the handwritten notes are meaningful to customers, she said.
“You would be loyal for life, particularly dog people,” Mitchell said.
Teresa Way, 52 of Centerburg, said her dogs Tara and Chloe can tell when she walks in the house with the monthly box.
“The dogs really get excited. I’m pretty sure they smell the treats in the box,” she said.
Way begins opening the box and then Tara, a German shepherd, does the rest.
“She uses her nose to open the box and takes the stuffed animal to another room. Chloe is mostly interested in the treats,” she said.
For Tatum Foster, 40, of Granville, BarkBox is about convenience as well as fun for her dog, Zoe.
“She likes all the things. It’s a nice treat to give to her without having to get to the pet store,” she said.
Her subscription reflects how just much people love their pets.
“The dog is incredibly spoiled,” she said. “We don’t have kids, so we have this dog that we dedicate more time and resources to than most people have.”