Trone Research and Consulting

In 2014, Trone Research + Consulting fielded a proprietary study that examined how pet parents care for their animals. The goal was to help brands speak the health language of their audience. We explored trends, consumer perceptions and the differences between wellness and prevention to determine the opportunities and challenges facing brands today. We spoke with more than...

The days of veterinarians ruling supremely over pet medications are over. In a recent study with partner Brakke Consulting Inc., we learned that more than 20% of human pharmacists are filling CVM approved pet prescriptions. We also confirmed veterinarians’ concern about pharmacists’ preparedness to accurately fill these prescriptions and their intent to seek new ways of maintaining control.

Just like their curious, furry feline pets, not all cat owners are alike. Some are heavily involved in their cats' lives, while others simply feel their cats can fend for themselves. These cat owners range from highly attached caretakers to laissez-faire pet owners and are grouped into four main categories. Want a deeper look into...

Starting in 2012, researchers, veterinarians and media outlets began to debate the impact of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis on the future of pet ownership. Initial reports revealed declining US pet ownership. Yet, within the past two years, new data suggests growing pet ownership among the largest generational segment known as Millennials (Americans born between…


Doug Barton, President & CEO

Doug Barton

President & CEO

Doug is a career research, analytics and brand marketing executive with more than 35 years of experience working with Top 50 market research firms, Fortune 500 companies and marketing firms on client and supplier side.

Read More

He is a leader and advisor with a proven track record of solving business challenges for start-ups as well as small to large businesses across the world. Doug’s industry experience spans across hospitality, telecom, CPG, financial services, insurance, textile and apparel, turf and ornamental, animal health and retail.

Kimberly Ness

Kimberly Ness

SVP, Insights & Marketing

With 25+ years of experience across research, branding and marketing, Kimberly has the unique ability to transform complicated data into a simple strategic plan that achieves results.

Read More

She has led marketing efforts for global and national brands and has a specialty in animal health, working with brands like Zoetis, Boeringer Ingelheim and Mars Petcare. She is known as an industry thought leader and has been a featured speaker at Global Pet Expo, AAHA, CBI, Brakke Consulting and Fetch, a dvm360 conference.

Tom Minsel

Tom Minsel

PhD, Head of Research & Data Science

Tom is our PhD Statistician and master data miner with 25+ years in direct marketing, customer targeting, modeling and research design.

Read More

His areas of expertise include statistics, applied and theoretical measurement, psychological research, survey research, summative and formative evaluation, SAS, sampling, trend analysis and generally all things analytics. Tom oversees more than 65 comprehensive studies each year to help clients better understand their customers.