Whisker scales pet-tech business under CEO Jacob Zuppke

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Whisker scales pet-tech business

Highlights

Under Jacob Zuppke, Whisker's in-house Instagram and TV marketing strategies drove a revenue increase of over 4x and doubled sales by 2016.
Whisker expanded its workforce from 25 to 650 and now sells Litter-Robot units priced $599–$999, integrating engineering and technology advances.
The company's latest products leverage cameras, weight sensors, machine learning, and an app with subscription features, strengthening its pet-tech ecosystem.

Leadership shift drives growth strategy

As first reported by Business Insider, Zuppke joined the company in 2015 as a digital-media consultant and later moved into executive management before becoming CEO in late 2021. He succeeds founder Brad Baxter in the top executive role, while Baxter remains chairman and chief inventor.

Zuppke says an early Instagram giveaway campaign featuring 25 cat accounts helped demonstrate that Whisker could build brand awareness without relying entirely on outside agencies. The company says that promotion helped sales nearly double by the end of 2016, and it later informed a broader in-house marketing strategy that included television advertising.

One of the best-known campaigns, "Don't Be a Scooper," became Whisker's flagship advertisement for two years. Zuppke says revenue more than quadrupled during that period, even as the campaign drew complaints from some cat owners, a reaction he viewed as evidence that the ads were breaking through in a crowded consumer market.

Product development expands pet-tech reach

Whisker, headquartered in a Detroit suburb with manufacturing in Juneau, Wisconsin, now sells Litter-Robot units priced between $599 and $999, along with litter and accessories. The business has also expanded its workforce from about 25 employees when Zuppke joined to roughly 650 today.

The company has invested more heavily in engineering as it pushes its litter boxes beyond basic automation. Whisker now employs more than 70 engineers, up from one in 2015, and its latest products use cameras, weight sensors, and machine learning to identify cats, track bathroom habits, and alert owners to changes that may indicate health issues.

An app tied to the devices lets owners monitor pet weight and litter-box routines, adding a subscription-style data and engagement layer to the hardware business. Zuppke says the company's next phase also requires him to adapt as a leader, and he plans to begin regular meetings with an executive coach as Whisker manages a larger operation.

Our earlier article on the KPMG U.S. CEO survey on AI agents explained that many large companies are already seeing efficiency and growth gains, even though only a small share of leaders view the technology as transformational so far. It also highlighted that CEOs largely expect AI to drive continued hiring, retraining, and sustained investment in data, infrastructure, and engineering talent as firms work through the harder task of redesigning processes around AI.

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