Best-in-show FitBark pet tech now groomed for 2019 launch on FitBit

December 17, 2018  |  Austin Barnes

FitBark

Kansas City-bred FitBark is set to unleash a new partnership with industry-leading fitness wearable FitBit in early 2019, the company announced Monday.

“For many of us, happiness is about helping others achieve their goals,” said Davide Rossi, CEO and co-founder of FitBark. “We may not have the motivation to get in the gym every day, but if we know our pets desperately need their exercise to stay healthy, we’ll go out of our way to make sure they get it.”

Davide Rossi, FitBark

Davide Rossi, FitBark

“The commitment to the health of our pets is the key to our own health and happiness,” he added.

FitBark’s app and watch face will launch in the Fitbit app gallery within the first quarter of the year, allowing users to track their steps, calories, and other activity alongside and in comparison with those of their pet, Rossi explained.

Click here to read about fellow KC-based startup Sickweather’s integration into FitBit.

This partnership enables us to put our mission on the radar of millions of health-conscious dog owners — with more than two-thirds of households owning a pet in several of our key markets,” Rossi said of momentum the FitBit partnership brings to FitBark.

Click here to read more about Rossi’s philosophy on the pet lifestyle industry.

Named by Startland as a startup to watch in 2017, FitBark — developed by Rossi alongside his sister, Sara Rossi and Fabrizio Filippini — aims to improve the physical fitness of consumers’ four-legged family members through the use of wearable tech.

Expanding its market reach, Fitbit launched the Fitbit Ace activity tracker, earlier this year — designed to monitor  the physical fitness of kids — a move that aligned the brand with FitBark’s commitment to whole-family fitness, Rossi added.

“We’re humbled that Fitbit is now supporting our mission to include not only kids, but also fur kids in everyone’s health journey,” he said.

Click here to learn more about another FitBark partnership with Animal Planet.

startland-tip-jar

TIP JAR

Did you enjoy this post? Show your support by becoming a member or buying us a coffee.

Tagged , , , ,
Featured Business
    Featured Founder

      2018 Startups to Watch

        stats here

        Related Posts on Startland News

        ‘Another tool in my tool bag’: Digital artist uses AI to collage KC Streetcar stop

        By Tommy Felts | July 18, 2025

        Editor’s note: The following story was published by KCUR, Kansas City’s NPR member station, and a fellow member of the KC Media Collective. Click here to read the original story or here to sign up for KCUR’s email newsletter. Artificial intelligence had a hand in a new art installation at a Kansas City Streetcar stop; David Morris’ abstract digital collage…

        Why a globally-trained Spanish chef is building his new homebase from City Market

        By Tommy Felts | July 18, 2025

        It’s all about the pan for Carlos Saura, a Spanish chef whose new paella and tapas spot in Kansas City’s bustling and diverse City Market is set to arrive in late summer or early fall — helping bring the historic marketplace district to 100-percent-leased capacity. The Paella Mix, at 25 E. Third St., is expected…

        On the map and in the mirror: 1 Million Cups contrasts international eship visitors with KC startup scene

        By Tommy Felts | July 16, 2025

        The fail-fast mindset and high risk tolerance many American entrepreneurs employ in their quests to build unicorn startups are arguably foreign concepts to business builders on the other side of the globe, said Lucy-Llonna Larbi. Her experiences in Germany reflect a slower, security-first focus, she said, expressing admiration for the American approach. “We think that…

        After coffee, calm: Messenger co-founder, partner envision West Bottoms bathhouse as retreat from what has been

        By Tommy Felts | July 16, 2025

        Nearly a year in the works, a first floor space in an 1890s-era West Bottoms warehouse is open and envisioned as the place for a “ritual of pause.” Klā Sanctuary — with its special spa baths and body-oriented treatments — and the tea-focused Selah Lounge share the 6,000-square-foot spot at 1400 W. 13th St. Matthew…