Swimming Into 2023 at HugglePets
You know what? 2022’s been one quick year, almost like it’s been whisked away by a current of giveaways, new product launches and Dave TikToks. But with all that’s gone on, and with a bright new year on the horizon, we thought we’d recap the highlights of this prompt and promising year before diving into all that 2023 has to offer.
We started the year with a servicing of our aquarium by CASCO Pet, a company that installs tailor-made animal enclosures and habitats, which was a terrific way to get over the January blues as the aquarium looked just as good as when it was originally built! A big thank you to CASCO for helping us out with this.
Then in February, we held the first of many giveaways on Instagram – on this occasion, for a Catit PIXI Cat Drinking Fountain and a variety of food and treats. We were overwhelmed by the amount of entries, and this led to several more giveaways in 2022! Like for some brilliant Laguna pond food in April, even more Catit goodies in July and November, and finally for a great bundle of Zeus Duo chew toys in December.
Following the continued success of our Fabric Crate Foldable Pet Carriers, one of our big goals for 2022 was to launch more products under the HugglePets brand, allowing us to grow as a small business and cater to more and more pets with a specific vision of care in mind. And we’re glad to say that we achieved this goal this year.
How? Well, the first of new HugglePets products was the Waterproof Dog Mat in February, for which we ran a giveaway on Instagram. Made of a high quality, 700 denier material, this mat is a great way to prepare for muddy and wet dogs in those unpredictable weather months and comes in a range of colours and sizes. If you’re looking for a versatile product to keep messy dogs happy, then check out the full range here!
In March, we brought out a new feature to our website that we’d been discussing for a long time – Pet Profiles. This personalised section gave our followers the opportunity to provide us with the unique details of their pets, allowing us to cater to those pets with an extra level of care. Those who made a Pet Profile were delighted to discover that they’d be rewarded with special treats whenever their pet’s birthday came around!
What came next was the Washable Pet Settee, an incredibly cosy place for pets to rest that also comes in a variety of colours and sizes. We teamed up with several different pet influencers on Instagram to get the word about these settees out there, and the feedback we got was superb! Check out this incredibly comfy range here.
We celebrated May the 4th with some in-store antics, featuring Davey-Wan Kenobi! The Force was definitely with us on that day…
In June, we had the privilege of becoming a Fluval Premium Dealer! Fluval is one of our most prestigious and trusted brands, and as we supply a variety of aquatic products from them, to get this title as a pet supplier was an enormous honour.
August came with a bang – two, in fact! Like on Friday the 19th when we hosted our Family Fun Day / Exo Terra Meet The Reptiles Event, where kids and adults alike could handle some reptiles, play some fun games and learn a bit about the animal kingdom. The turnout for this day was immense, with over 800 people in attendance!
And then later that month, we launched our brand new line of dog superfood, Skye & Murphy, a grain-free mix that’s been wagging tails all over Wolverhampton. At the Wings and Paws Rescue Fun Day on Sunday the 21st of August, we put out taster bowls of the new food for dogs to try, and over 250 dogs got their paws stuck into it – even those that were described as fussy with other brands were eager to eat it. With a whole bunch of flavours and portion options, this is a fantastic food option for your pup in 2023 – just see for yourself.
Jumping ahead to ‘Spooky Season’ in October, we celebrated the season of pumpkins, ghosts and fancy dress with the ‘HugglePets Month of Horrors’. Part of this was a Daunting Dog Dress-Up Competition, where our followers sent in pictures of their pup dressed up in the scariest costume they could think of, to win a premium Ancol dog coat for the cold winter months ahead. Finishing off the celebrations was a short video released on YouTube on the night of the 31st, ‘Night of the Living Pets’ – a horror spoof featuring our beloved store manager Dave as he attempts to avoid the paranormal while minding the shop on Halloween night.
And we’re delighted to end the year with a project that’ll take us into the beginning of the next year too – we’re of course talking about the Pond & Wildlife Education Centre, a brand new feature to our retail store in Wolverhampton that’s going to be open to the public in early 2023! This new instalment will feature a variety of tanks, containing a variety of fish and plants that educate young people on the water cycle, sustainability, hydroponics, aquaponics and a bunch of fun facts about pond fish! We’re enormously excited by the development of this project, so keep an eye out for info and dates about an open day in the beginning of next year!
So ultimately, 2022 was a busy but jampacked year with plenty to shout about and even more to look forward to in the coming months. We hope that all of our followers will join us in the New Year as we attempt to make an even bigger splash in 2023.
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