Checkout Chats: Russell Breuer, Founder of Spot & Tango

Russell Breuer, founder and CEO of Spot & Tango, has built something remarkable: a $100+ million dog food company that owns its entire supply chain. In an industry dominated by co-manufacturers and third-party producers, Spot & Tango's decision to build their own 70,000 square foot factory in Allentown, PA, represents a bold bet on vertical integration that's clearly paying off in a big way.

From Management Consulting to Dog Food Empire

The Spot & Tango story begins with a simple observation: American dog food is lacking. Russell, a management consultant and private equity professional from Cleveland, moved back to New York from London in 2012 to find his wife cooking fresh, human-grade meals for their dog, Jack.

What started as weekend experiments in their Upper East Side studio apartment quickly evolved into something bigger. After involving animal nutritionists and developing proper recipes, they discovered what millions of other pet parents were feeling—a deep distrust of commercial kibble and a desire for something better for man's best friend.

"I'm a curious creature and I kind of dreamed of being an operator."

The transition from side hustle to full-time business came in 2017 when Russell's wife delivered an ultimatum. So Russell took the plunge, and Spot & Tango was officially born!

"This is great and also crazy. So if you want to do this thing full time, go for it or maybe I'll do it or nobody does it."

The Unkibble Innovation

While Spot & Tango launched with fresh frozen meals, think "Lean Cuisine for dogs," Russell quickly realized the limitations of the fresh format. It was expensive, required constant refrigeration, and simply wasn't practical for many urban pet parents dealing with space constraints. Myself included!

"We take the same ingredient inputs as fresh and remove the water. We don't need cold chain or dry ice or insulation to get product to the end user, and we pass those savings along to the customer."

The breakthrough came with UnKibble, a revolutionary product that maintains all the benefits of fresh food while eliminating the drawbacks. The result was a product that's 30-40% less expensive than fresh competitors like Ollie, Nom Nom, and The Farmer's Dog, while still delivering human-grade nutrition. UnKibble carved out a crucial middle ground in the pet food market. It's more affordable than most premium fresh brands, but significantly better than traditional kibble.

The $25 Million Factory Bet

When UnKibble launched in April 2020, Russell expected their first PO to last four to six months. Shockingly, they sold out in just four days! The co-manufacturer didn't believe them when they immediately placed a second order for half a million dollars worth of product a week later.

During COVID, while restaurants lost demand and traditional retailers struggled with supply chain disruptions, Spot & Tango faced the exact opposite problem, explosive growth they couldn't keep up with.

"That's the power of e-commerce. The demand side outstripped supply."

The company quickly scaled from one co-manufacturer to six across the US, but managing multiple facilities, freight logistics, and quality control became increasingly complex. Eventually Russell realized they needed to own their destiny.

The solution was to build their own factory. Partnering with Valor Equity Partners (the same firm that invested in Tesla and SpaceX), Spot & Tango invested ~$25 million in a 70,000 square foot facility in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

The facility went live in October 2022 and has been scaling ever since, growing from 10 employees to running multiple shifts with extensive automation.

Owning their manufacturing gives Spot & Tango complete visibility and control over their supply chain, something many brands simply don't have the luxury of.

"Our meats are produced for Spot and Tango, but they're also literally on shelf at Whole Foods. The meat that you are consuming is also being fed to our pets."

This level of control becomes even more important when you consider that pet parents go straight to the ingredients, analyzing what's in the food before considering anything else.

"The number one consideration to inform a purchase decision is actually the ingredient label."

Solving the Dental Care Problem

The manufacturing capability has also enabled rapid innovation beyond food. After two years of development, Spot & Tango recently launched PupGum, a patent-pending postbiotic dental chew that's clinically proven to reduce bad breath in just seven days.

"It's really first of its kind. It's a patent pending postbiotic. And what it does is it reduces the biofilm on the teeth. There's a novel fermentate in the product that reduces plaque on the teeth and plaque leads to odor, bad odors. So by reducing the biofilm, you address this issue in particular. "

The product addresses a massive gap in pet wellness. While 93% of dog owners believe their pet's health is equally or more important than their own, a staggering 67% admit they don't brush their pet's teeth enough, and 29% have never brushed their dog's teeth at all, according to research commissioned by Spot & Tango.

"So there's bad breath mitigation and there's also functional cleaning and it's actually scientifically proven to reduce bad breath after seven days. So the use case is seven days. We're going to call it the seven day kiss challenge. Kiss your dog."

The Direct-to-Consumer Advantage in Pet Food

Unlike most CPG brands racing to retail, Spot & Tango remains almost exclusively DTC. While brick-and-mortar brands sell through intermediaries and can often lose customer connection, Spot & Tango's direct relationship enables personalization, rapid feedback, and product development insights.

"The beauty of DTC is that we know a lot about our customers."

Pet food is also uniquely suited for the subscription model because it's a consistent need that requires reliable, on-time delivery.

"We're not selling T-shirts and tennis shoes. Food is a need, not a want."

The subscription model creates natural retention because dogs don't get tired of their food the way us humans do. Pet parents need the same high-quality nutrition delivered consistently, making the DTC approach ideal for building long-term customer relationships.

This customer intimacy drives innovation, as seen with PupGum. The company also moved off Shopify and built a completely custom platform to handle their personalization engine, which calculates the exact portions based on each dog's weight, activity level, and dietary needs.

But Russell isn't anti-retail forever. He acknowledges that eventually, Spot & Tango will need to meet customers where they shop. The key difference is that their DTC-first approach has allowed them to build a sustainable, profitable business before the margin pressures of retail.

The shelf-stable nature of UnKibble also makes retail expansion much more feasible when the time comes, though it's not part of their 2025 roadmap. For now, the focus remains on perfecting their direct relationship with customers and continuing to innovate based on the insights that only come from owning the entire customer experience.

The Future of Pet Food

Spot & Tango's journey from an apartment startup to vertically integrated manufacturer represents more than just a successful business, but a blueprint for the future of pet food. As pet parents increasingly treat their dogs like family members, they're demanding the same quality and transparency they expect from their own food.

"The dog used to sleep outside. Now the dog sleeps in the bed."

This shift in how we view our pets drives demand for premium nutrition and care, making Spot & Tango's comprehensive wellness approach even more powerful. Their expansion from food into supplements, treats, and now dental care shows how deeply they understand their customer's needs.

In an industry still dominated by traditional kibble and co-manufactured products, Spot & Tango's commitment to owning their entire supply chain sets them apart. They've proven that with the right product, strategy, and execution, it's possible to build a truly differentiated brand in even the most competitive categories.

"At the end of the day, we are a manufacturer with a consumer veneer."

That combination—manufacturing excellence wrapped in direct-to-consumer innovation—might just be the recipe for the next generation of pet food companies!