Great Hill Fuels Woof Gang’s Growth Sprint

Two weeks after Great Hill Partners finalized a minority investment in Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming, CEO Ricardo Azevedo says the brand has new wind at its back.

The 330-unit franchise, now in 36 states and up from nearly 300 at the end of 2025, is channeling fresh capital into infrastructure and development while keeping its playbook intact. Azevedo points to Great Hill’s enthusiasm for Woof Gang’s white-space strategy and service-forward model as the spark that has energized franchise support and digital initiatives.

The investment caps a run of ownership shifts and operational upgrades.

Founders Paul and Cara Allen sold the brand to Garnett Station Partners in 2022. Under Garnett’s stewardship, Woof Gang doubled its store count and pushed into digital tools, including a mobile app launched last fall for booking grooming appointments. Azevedo credits that period with setting disciplined guardrails for expansion, and says the new backer is aligned on the fundamentals: find underserved pet communities and reinforce the systems that help franchisees open well and operate with consistency.

Talks between Woof Gang and Great Hill unfolded through 2025 into early 2026, leading to a signed agreement and public announcement in mid-June 2026.

The deal grants Great Hill an equity stake and two board seats. David Roberts, managing director, and Douglas Wigley, vice president, will take their seats at an August board meeting that will open joint oversight of expansion and technology investments. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Great Hill’s capacity to fund growth draws from Great Hill Equity Partners IX, a $7 billion fund that closed in September 2025, above a $5 billion target and the firm’s largest buyout vehicle to date.

The portfolio already includes consumer names like Bombas and Custom Ink, with Woof Gang as the firm’s sole franchise platform. Azevedo says funds will go to franchisee support enhancements, execution of the digital roadmap, and accelerated unit growth.

“Great Hill was so excited with what we are doing,” Azevedo said. “They are part of another group that now wants to make this brand even bigger and bring Woof Gang to every pet community in America. We’ve just started to work together, but they’re great partners, they get along very well and the whole process was extremely positive on both sides.”

He added that Great Hill’s due diligence affirmed Woof Gang’s support in training, past openings, and development processes rather than imposing new directives. The message to owners: expect more resources, not a reinvention of daily operations.

The timing meets a market on the rise.

U.S. pet product and service expenditures hit $158 billion in 2025, a 3.7% increase over 2024, and are forecast to reach $165 billion in 2026, according to the American Pet Products Association. An estimated 95 million U.S. households own a pet, underscoring white-space potential. Investor interest mirrors that demand. Capstone Partners reports 18 pet-sector M&A transactions in the first four months of 2026, more than double last year’s pace, and PEReveal data indicate private investors now control over 30% of general veterinary practices and upward of 75% of specialty clinics in the U.S.

Some details remain out of view.

Neither side has released valuation or stake percentages, and Woof Gang has not broken out the exact allocation among technology, marketing, or new-unit support. Azevedo has assured franchisees that operational continuity is the plan, yet questions linger about the long-term impact on profitability and the growth targets implied by the new capital.

Growth milestones are already queued up.

Entry into Arkansas, Oklahoma and Utah is underway, with 40 to 50 additional openings targeted before year-end. Leadership plans to apply learnings from 300 existing stores to sharpen site selection and rollout efficiency, pairing disciplined expansion with tech-enabled customer experiences and reinforced franchisee services. Roberts and Wigley will join the board in August, setting the stage for a second-half push that measures how quickly Woof Gang can translate new backing into groomers on the schedule and neighborhood storefronts ready to serve pet families.