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

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

“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.