The $20 Gold Coast invention that every pet owner needs

Publish Date
Tuesday, 19 June 2018, 11:10AM
Photo / Instagram

Photo / Instagram

Many pet owners feel guilty for leaving their animals at home for extended periods of time, especially if their cat or dog suffers from anxiety.

There is now a new invention from the Gold Coast that has taken off across the world as it promises to help animals deal with their anxiety, as well as feeds them slowly.

It's called the LickiMat and it works by putting foods like peanut butter into the plastic mat, which has small shapes and grooves that the food gets caught in.

One mat sets customers back $8.95 and in May, a staggering 160,000 units were sold. 

'Because of the different shapes and patterns, the stuff gets in the corners, it can take the dog from 20 to 90 minutes to clean it,' one of the creators, Joe Clarke, told the Gold Coast Bulletin.

This means that the animal will be distracted by trying to eat all of the food instead of worrying about the fact that they're home alone.

It is also an alternative to giving your pet a biscuit, as it goes in seconds.

The idea came to Joe and Hazel Clarke, who sold their successful premium pet accessory business Hamish McBeth in late 2014 to focus on Innovative Pet Products. 

Although the business has been around for four years now, it was this addition in 2016 that saw it take off. 

Mr. Clarke said social media has responded really positively to the product, with the #lickimat being popular in the UK, USA, and Europe.

He explained that animal behaviouralists are also now promoting it as they believe it can help relax animals before procedures. 

The duo said that a TV marketing campaign will soon be launched in the US in August and Pets at Home, a large pet store chain in England, is on its fourth order for the year.

A post shared by Eva 🐾 (@evathescottiedog) on

On top of this, Amazon UK has bought 24,000 units to sell on its website and the couple said the website has predicted huge sales. 

Although it's taken a year for the product to gain traction the wait has been worth it, as it has even caught the attention of the royal family.  

'The Duke of York uses the LickiMats for his dogs. We met him when he was here at Bond University. He said the royal family loves our products, but they can’t endorse it as such,' Mr. Clarke said.

Despite all of this international popularity, Mr. Clarke said it has been difficult gaining similar traction in Australia.  

'We cannot get any of the major retailers in Australia to pick this up. We talked to Petbarn and they were unconvinced,' he said.

If you want to purchase a Lickimat for your own pets, Ebay Australia will ship them to New Zealand for around $20 NZD.

This article was first published on dailymail.co.uk and is reproduced here with permission.

 

Take your Radio, Podcasts and Music with you