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PetFlow.com, a NY web startup that delivers pet food, recently surpassed WalMart as the most talked about page on Facebook, according to PageData, a research firm that tracks Facebook data. Xconomy sat down with co-founder Alex Zhardanovsky to talk about the rapid success of the company, and how Facebook was instrumental to their rise. The company ships more than 1.5 million pounds of pet food a month, and last month alone took in $2.5 million in revenue. Half of the sales come from the auto-ship feature on the website, which allows customers to schedule exactly when they will receive pet food to their front door.
The company was founded by Zhardanovsky and Joseph Speiser in 2009, and the idea originated with Zhardanovsky, who struggled to find enough of the high quality pet food that his dog liked. When the site launched, the company put the auto ship option on Facebook and had an extremely positive response. Within a short amount of time, PetFlow grew from 200,000 fans to 500,000. Another Facebook success for PetFlow has been with product promotions. PetFlow keeps its orders reliable and on-time with a flu-time staff of 33 and two dozen part-time staffers who work at the warehouses.
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