How a $1.5B Pet Brand Wins at Ecommerce Marketing: Whisker’s CEO
OPERATORS · with Jacob Zubke · June 18, 2026 · 95 min
Summary
Whisker's CEO reveals how they scaled a niche hardware product (Litter Robot) into a $1.5B empire. The episode highlights the strategic rebranding from product to parent company, innovative marketing tactics that leveraged influencer marketing pre-2016, and how they expertly navigated supply chain challenges and media opportunities during the 2020 boom. This is a masterclass in long-term product iteration, brand building, and opportunistic scaling for ecommerce operators.
Key takeaways
Prioritize long-term brand building over individual product brands, especially when planning ecosystem expansion (e.g., 'iPhone before Apple').
Leverage unforeseen market opportunities aggressively; Whisker doubled down on news channel advertising during peak COVID-19 viewership when other advertisers pulled back, yielding massive growth.
Develop a robust, localized supply chain to mitigate global disruptions and maintain fulfillment speeds during demand spikes.
Invest in creative content development that resonates with your audience and can be repurposed across various advertising channels effectively.
Build a team that complements founder strengths, focusing on scaling operations and processes while the founder can dedicate to core problem-solving.
Operators Titans is brought to you by AppLovin. Get access to the Operators channel expansion playbook, online masterclass, and up to $5k in ad credits here: https://www.9operators.com/paid-growth Or, skip the waitlist and launch your AppLovin ads today with our Operators-exclusive link: https://axon.ai/en/9operators “We built our iPhone before we built our Apple.” How do you scale a hardware brand from $7M to $1.5B without chasing cheap CPMs? Jacob Zuppke (CEO, Whisker) joins Matt Bertulli (CEO, Pela Case & Lomi) and Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern) to break down how a self-cleaning litter box company became a $1.5B brand through US manufacturing, big creative swings, and a deliberate omnichannel strategy. Jacob breaks down the marketing that fueled a decade of growth, including how TV outperformed Meta for years, and why Whisker held off Amazon until branded search volume made the case impossible to ignore. He also gets into the Whisker app, which logs 4.7 million cat weigh-ins per day, and why that software layer is where the brand’s omnichannel strategy gets its deepest competitive teeth.
Prioritize long-term brand building over individual product brands, especially when planning ecosystem expansion (e.g., 'iPhone before Apple').
What does this episode say about dtc strategy?
Leverage unforeseen market opportunities aggressively; Whisker doubled down on news channel advertising during peak COVID-19 viewership when other advertisers pulled back, yielding massive growth.
What does this episode say about supply chain & operations?
Develop a robust, localized supply chain to mitigate global disruptions and maintain fulfillment speeds during demand spikes.
What does this episode say about paid acquisition?
Invest in creative content development that resonates with your audience and can be repurposed across various advertising channels effectively.
What does this episode say about brand & content?
Build a team that complements founder strengths, focusing on scaling operations and processes while the founder can dedicate to core problem-solving.
