Steve Joyce of of Tailored Pet: Five Strategies Our Company Is Using To Tackle Climate Change & Become More Sustainable
Utilize and build upon your strengths. I believe we tend to spend too much time thinking about and working on our weaknesses. Maximizing your strengths will bring the most value to yourself and your team long term.
As part of my series about companies who are helping to battle climate change, I had the pleasure of interviewing Steve Joyce.
Steve Joyce is the Co-Founder and CEO of Tailored Pet, where he works alongside a team of passionate pet nutrition experts to create personalized nutrition for dogs. With more than a decade of experience in the pet nutrition industry, Steve understands first-hand that the pet food aisle can be an overwhelming experience, and that pet owners want to properly care for their dog’s unique wellness needs. Previously, Steve was VP of Marketing at Ainsworth Pet Nutrition. He is a graduate of Cornell University.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about how you grew up?
I started my career working in several categories within the consumer package goods industry, and to be honest, I somewhat stumbled into the pet category through a connection at Ainsworth Pet Nutrition. I feel very fortunate for things played out from there the way that they did. The pet category is a fun and uplifting space. Pets bring such joy to people and to families. I see how much joy our dog, Sugar, brings to our family and how much love she adds. It’s definitely rewarding to be “responsible” for helping her — and thousands of other dogs — live their best lives through quality nutrition.
What is the mission of your company? What problems are you aiming to solve?
The short answer is we want to make pets’ lives better and pet parents’ lives easier. Tailored® Pet is a company that crafts health-first, personalized recipes, delivers quickly to your door, and does all these things at a fair price. Every dog has their own unique wellness needs, but with so many overwhelming options in the pet food aisle all claiming to do different things for our dogs, it’s difficult to find the one that checks all the boxes. We created Tailored to solve that problem. By taking a brief quiz and generating a personalized recipe for your dog, you can address their health concerns and activity needs much more effectively.
Can you tell our readers about the initiatives that you or your company are taking to address climate change or sustainability? Can you give an example for each?
Tailored encourages environmentally responsible pet ownership throughout each step of the business model, from thoughtful product creation to delivery. This includes carbon-neutral shipping, recyclable packaging, eliminating the use of dry ice or insulated packaging, and biodegradable food scoops and eco-friendly gifts.
We offset 100% of the carbon emissions released into the atmosphere from delivering our products by investing in environmental projects that reduce carbon emissions. These strides come at no extra cost to the consumer, simply giving pet parents another reason to feel good when feeding their pets Tailored. Over the past year we’ve partnered with sustainability experts, like Bluesource, an organizational climate action partner, as well as TerraCycle, a global recycling leader dedicated to finding ways to recycle typically hard-to-recycle materials.
I see the popularity of some of the new fresh pet food delivery services in the market right now, and I question whether people understand the environmental impact of dry ice, insulated packaging, refrigerated storage, single-use plastic serving packages, and higher shipping weight due to lower calories per pound (less dense nutrition). There are a myriad of reasons we could argue why feeding a dry diet is the best choice for a dog’s health, but from an environmental perspective, there’s really no question.
How would you articulate how a business can become more profitable by being more sustainable and more environmentally conscious? Can you share a story or example?
We understand that sustainability is important to the pet parents we serve. By providing several sustainability initiatives that come at no additional cost to consumers, we are able to differentiate Tailored from other direct-to-consumer pet food brands. Tailored makes sustainability easy for pet parents while also allowing them to provide their dogs with the best nutrition. There’s no compromise or guilt over waste from food packaging or shipping emissions. Modern pet owners recognize and appreciate these thoughtful additions and gives them another reason to be loyal consumers of the Tailored brand.
The youth led climate strikes of September 2019 showed an impressive degree of activism and initiative by young people on behalf of climate change. This was great, and there is still plenty that needs to be done. In your opinion what are 5 things parents should do to inspire the next generation to become engaged in sustainability and the environmental movement? Please give a story or an example for each.
As parents, there are a lot of opportunities to get even very young kids engaged in the environmental movement. Recycling and reducing waste are good places to start, and can be modeled by showing kids which items should be placed in the recycling bin at home, vs. the garbage can, and reducing the use of single use plastic — like water bottles — in homes.
An appreciation for nature and the outdoors is also a great way to foster a love for the environment, as is participating in community clean ups and other service-oriented environmental programs close to home.
Finally, instilling a strong sense of responsibility through pet ownership, or even tending to a plant or garden — can help kids learn how their actions impact others, both now and in the future.
What are your “3 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?
Be positive and seek out opportunities vs. focusing on the negative. It sounds corny, but I think a positive mindset has an impact on positive outcomes.
Utilize and build upon your strengths. I believe we tend to spend too much time thinking about and working on our weaknesses. Maximizing your strengths will bring the most value to yourself and your team long term.
Having said that, it’s also important to be aware of your weaknesses and recognize that a good team needs people with all different skill sets.
Look to work with, and team up with, successful people. I think success is contagious and there are a lot of lessons to be gained from watching and learning from how successful people handle themselves in different situations.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
My dad is the first person who comes to mind. He has always been so positive and encouraging. That support and encouragement helped me believe in myself and helped me to feel comfortable in my own skin. Sports were a big part of my life growing up and I remember multiple times coming off the field feeling terrible about a bad play, and my Dad would be there to “pick me up.” He helped me to feel better about myself and move on to the next play. That’s still a mentality that I find useful today.
You are a person of great influence and doing some great things for the world! If you could inspire a movement that would bring the greatest amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Our society has become so polarized over the last several years. That is one of my favorite things about working in the pet industry; it’s hard to find someone who doesn’t love dogs and cats. It’s something people can find commonality around — just look at the positive comments dog and cat videos generate on the internet vs. your typical internet post. I think the world would be a much kinder place if we could channel the same of empathy we feel towards our pets and apply it to the way people feel about — and treat — each other.
Do you have a favorite life lesson quote? Can you tell us how that was relevant to you in your own life?
There are two quotes that come to mind:
“It is not the critic who counts” by Teddy Roosevelt. This quote is well known. To me, the key lessons are (1) don’t waste too much time listening to the critics and doubters, and (2) if you want something in life, it is worth giving it a shot — if you fail while giving it all you have, will feel better than if you had never tried.
“A man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for” by Robert Browning. This quote has a somewhat similar meaning to the first. To me it means, you should always dare to dream.
What is the best way for people to follow you on social media?
You can follow the Tailored Pet brand on Instagram at @mytailoredpet.
Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!
Steve Joyce of of Tailored Pet: Five Strategies Our Company Is Using To Tackle Climate Change &… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.