10,000 orders on Shopify: the IP protection a fast-growing brand chose

Bad actors’ new target: fast-rising and small brands

Fast-rising brands win consumers over with creative, original products, but they’re also easily exposed to IP infringement. Small brands and brands that promote through social media get big results for little spend, but sudden popularity also makes them easy targets for fakes.

As online shopping has changed, bad actors have become skilled at selling counterfeits through social media. Small brands often focus on running the business and developing products rather than systematic IP management, which can make the damage even worse.

Unlike luxury brands, small brands find it very hard to recover a reputation once it’s damaged. With small brands’ products, many consumers buy fakes without realizing it, and low-quality counterfeits can seriously damage the brand’s image. That can turn into a serious threat to the company’s survival.

Small brands growing in the pet market: a feeder for pets and people alike

With 15 million people in Korea now living with pets, the pet care market is growing fast. The same trend holds overseas. According to Bloomberg Intelligence, the global pet market was worth about $320 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow 1.5 times to $493 billion by 2030. Source: Dailyvet

Amid this trend, Houndsy’s pet food dispenser has become hugely popular for its premium design. It started drawing attention when a product video reached 11,000 views on TikTok. Houndsy’s pet care product makes it easy to keep to the portion size set by a vet or owner to suit a pet’s eating habits, and it stores food in hygienic plastic and silicone containers, which are major reasons for its popularity. Devoted to pets, Houndsy is also recognized as a brand that offers a safe, convenient experience for owners as well as their pets.

But as the brand grew more popular, Houndsy became a target for bad actors. Cases of Houndsy’s product being copied and sold surged.

Houndsy’s strategy for business growth: adopting online brand protection

IP infringement against Houndsy: counterfeit sales

When Houndsy’s pet food dispenser went viral on TikTok and other social media, bad actors started copying the product and selling it. They exploited a product with proven popularity and a small brand’s weak IP management. Houndsy spotted the infringement and immediately reported it on online marketplaces, but the bad actors kept operating, promoting the product with videos and images Houndsy had made itself. As a result, Houndsy’s trust and reputation suffered, eventually leading to lower sales.

This kind of IP infringement is common for small brands and viral products. Just when a brand needs to focus on new product development and marketing to grow, bad actors use that busy period to sell fakes. Counterfeit sales are also an endless cycle: take down one bad actor and another listing appears. Houndsy decided that reporting individual bad actors and removing listings one by one wasn’t sustainable, and chose to adopt a more systematic, effective brand protection solution. It wanted to respond quickly to counterfeits and restore the brand value they had damaged.

How MarqVision protected Houndsy from counterfeits

Houndsy chose MarqVision to act effectively against fakes and bad actors. MarqVision’s AI-powered brand protection platform detected and categorized online stores selling products similar to Houndsy’s in real time. Monitoring more than 1,500 marketplaces, it removed stores selling confirmed counterfeits and reported and blocked bad actors. It also made test purchases from sellers suspected of selling genuine products without authorization, so it could verify authenticity directly and take action. Houndsy saw and managed the entire process through its dashboard.

MarqVision’s AI and IP experts detected and acted on even small warning signs, giving Houndsy the most effective online brand protection it had experienced.

The journey with Shopify has been truly amazing, and reaching 10,000 orders is thanks to our team’s hard work and dedication and, above all, to the customers who trusted Houndsy. Houndsy is committed to offering products that make raising pets easier and more beautiful. This milestone motivates us to keep innovating in pet care and the pet market, and it wouldn’t have been possible without our partners. Thank you to our R&D partner [Informal], our 3PL partner [Red Stag Fulfillment], our web development partner [Foxbox Digital], and our brand protection solution [MarqVision].
Pavan Bapu | Co-founder, Houndsy

A business strategy that protects small brands and helps them grow

Counterfeiting steals the creative idea behind a product and disregards the creator’s time and effort. Fakes also sell for less than the genuine product, and when distributed at scale they can threaten the original’s price competitiveness. That’s why detecting and responding to these problems quickly is essential for small brands.

MarqVision uses AI to protect brands online and offline and help companies grow safely. Request a free consultation now to protect your brand from bad actors selling counterfeits and unauthorized goods, and restore your customers’ trust.

Is your brand suffering from IP infringement and bad actors? Request a free consultation now and build a brand protection strategy tailored to you.