But perhaps the greatest testament to their success is that some
"Offering family-friendly benefits means giving people the resources they need to support their loved ones. For me and millions of other families, that definition includes our pets," says Duncan Micallef, former SVP and global head of total rewards at PepsiCo and an Airvet board member since 2022. "I was deeply inspired by Airvet's mission, and knew there was an immense opportunity for what they're building to transform our thinking around family benefits."
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Many other benefits experts share Micallef's enthusiasm, and Brandon Werber, Airvet's CEO, has added more HR muscle from companies like Lyft, Dayforce and Synchrony Financial to the advisory board table.
"There is so much constantly changing the conversation that benefits leaders are having — we wanted to make sure that we have close tabs on market trends, employee needs and benefit strategies," Werber says. "So we brought this board together to help shape our product, our business goals, our expansion, and also make sure we continue to have a pretty key role in elevating our own presence through thought leadership and industry influence."
The pet benefit space was long limited to voluntary pet insurance — a nice-to-have offering, but not an essential one, Werber says. Access to convenient, affordable veterinary care, however, is a vital part of keeping pets healthy. And since 70% of American households have pets, according to the American Pet Products Association, it's a benefit that connects with the majority of the workforce. On the other end, employers are looking for ways to recruit and retain talent in a chaotic labor market.
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Airvet reports a 10% utilization rate and 100% or more ROI within the first year, as well as an average annual savings of $1,000 on vet and pet care expenses. In addition to virtual vet visits, the platform also offers an online pharmacy, discounted pet insurance and other forms of specialized care. With a current vet shortage that is expected to worsen over the next several years, benefits like this will only become more necessary.
Tanner Brunsale, director of benefits and mobility at ride-share company Lyft and an Airvet board member, saw a need for pet parent support within his workforce and added Airvet to Lyft's suite of benefits last year.
"One of the most rewarding aspects of working in benefits is ensuring people have access to the resources they need to care for themselves and their families — pets included," he says. "Airvet's innovative approach to pet care immediately caught my attention, as pet benefits are long overdue for disruption to better meet today's needs."
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Meanwhile, expert input from benefits leaders like Micallef has been especially helpful in Airvet's recent expansion to the global benefits market, says Werber.
"He oversaw global [in his former role] — that's a beautiful thing for us, because we just launched in India, and we're going to be launching in five or six more countries this year," he says. "Many of [our existing customers] are global, and their workforces made Airvet so popular in the U.S. that their employees in other countries asked why they weren't getting this [benefit as well]. That's forced us to move a lot faster than a typical company would go [and] Duncan was pivotal in helping me think through that, along with other advisors as well."
As Airvet continues to navigate the benefits space, Werber is increasingly confident in its ability to offer employers exactly what they need going forward, thanks to the current advisory team.
"I can hear and understand the conversations people are having today, but what comes next, and then what's going to come after that — only experience can give you that perspective, and almost everyone on our council has that type of experience," he says.
