"Our eye-opener? Sales start with your end customer, not the stores."

About Pino Pets

• Specialises in animal-friendly bowls, adapted to the specific needs of cats and dogs
• Founded in Poperinge in 2021
• Production in Belgium
• 10,000 bowls sold in 2024

Why did you choose the Challenge Bootcamp?

“Pino has grown very organically. I started my business out of personal frustration, because I couldn’t find any good feeding bowls for my animals in pet stores. Bowls that slide away, smell bad or are too deep – which makes the animal’s ears or whiskers get dirty – have an impact on a pet’s eating habits. So I started designing them myself. First as a hobby, but when my products appeared to be successful, soon as a part-time job and later as a full-time job. Our bowls are now sold in 22 countries. But it also became too much for me to do everything myself. Last summer, my partner Xavier joined the company. It was the ideal time to reflect. How could we finance the next phase of growth? Which profiles should we recruit to strengthen our team? Were we targeting the right customers? Was our international approach the right one?”

What are the main insights you gained from the training programme? In what ways have they helped you address the challenges facing your business?

“Pet stores are not a customer, but a channel. That was a real eye-opener. Until then, our sales focus had been on these stores. But working with the business model canvas in the programme made it clear that Pino is not a B2B company at all, but a B2B2C company. We need to focus on the end customer, the consumer with pets. If they get to know us, sales will follow automatically.

Another revelation is that we need to be careful with international growth. Sales are driven by marketing. A customer needs to come into contact with your brand seven times before making a purchase. But it’s just not feasible to achieve this immediately in 22 countries. The oil-slick approach is much smarter: focusing on the Benelux countries and using our experiences here as a roadmap for further expansion.”

“I also found the module on financial strategy particularly interesting. Now we know what budgets we need to get where we want to go, as well as the different options for financing this growth.”

 How have you gone about implementing those insights?

“Although we had written out a vacancy for a salesperson, we’ve since changed it to a marketing profile. We’ve also undergone a rebranding. We had already started this before the Challenge Bootcamp, but the programme provided the theoretical foundations we needed and gave us the confidence to say that we are making the right choices. We launched a new collection, aimed at our largest customer group. And with Pino Studio, we offer a playful and slightly more affordable range that aims to engage a younger audience.”

“Xavier and I are also working on a financial plan, in which we are examining the various options for financing our further growth. A bank loan, a win-win loan, an external investor or a combination of these elements: we are now investigating all these possibilities.”

What impact have your chosen actions had on your business?

“Although it’s still too early for figures, we are already seeing the impact in our way of working and our self-confidence as entrepreneurs. Although I’m responsible for marketing at Pino, I certainly didn’t feel like a specialist. I have a background in interior design, and even after a general management programme at Vlerick, I felt that I was lacking know-how. But the individual coaching process – and especially the final jury presentation – has strengthened my belief that our story, our visual language and website are really good. We don’t necessarily need to look for someone with extensive experience or expertise for our marketing vacancy. Having a younger profile to assist me could work well too.”

“I’m also very pleased that we chose to take the programme together. Xavier has a background in sales. It wouldn’t have been easy to convince him of the need to focus on marketing. But because we went through the process together, we’re on the same page. This allows us to make decisions more quickly. Not to mention the fact that it keeps the peace at home!”