LOS ANGELES — Jinx, a premium dog food brand first launched in January 2020, partnered with venture capital firm Initialized Capital to launch a novel “text-to-buy” e-commerce platform.

The SMS platform allows the company to communicate with pet owners, and allows pet owners to engage with the brand and place orders directly through text message.

“I’ve spent a lot of time looking at the DTC e-commerce space and as a product-builder my whole career, realized I could build a better system for all the companies in our portfolio and that there’d be no better partner to launch it than Jinx, who have consistently been at the cutting edge of the industry,” said Alexis Ohanian, co-founder and board partner of Initialized Capital. “There are many plug and play text-to-buy options available in the marketplace, our goal was to create a proprietary technology that offered convenience and personalization to Jinx’s customers and allowed us to hone in on consumer findings that would be valuable to all our portfolio brands.”

San Francisco-based Initialized Capital is the leading capital investor in Jinx. The firm is piloting the SMS technology with Jinx as a flexible purchasing option that prioritizes direct customer relations and offers communications support, subscription management, easy checkout, order notifications, special offers and loyalty-building.

Jinx cited a survey by OpenMarket stating Millennials prefer text messaging as a channel for communicating with businesses. The pet food company also cited rapid e-commerce growth as a reason for launching its new text-to-buy services.

Customers can sign up for Jinx’s new text-to-buy platform on the company’s website by entering their cell phone number, a verification code, payment details and shipping information. The service will include direct access to the Jinx team for questions, subscription order management, one-time purchasing and promotional offers.

“Jinx is a customer-first brand that pushes the boundaries of DTC, it’s one of the reasons we invested in this company and team,” said Jen Wolf, chief operating officer and partner at Initialized Capital. “We’re excited to pilot a full commerce and customer text experience with Jinx, one that meets their customers where they are, and one that other companies in the Initialized portfolio can use going forward.”

Additionally, Jinx has established strategic partnerships to expand its availability to pet owners. It joined Postmates to offer same-day delivery; partnered with Petco to add its products to the leading pet retailer’s online shelves; teamed up with Barry’s Bootcamp to offer a co-branded accessory bundle and at-home workout offering; and launched on Rover.com to further engage with the dog-owning community.

“We believe that access to premium, high-quality dog food is critical in today’s world,” said Terri Rockovich, co-founder and chief executive officer of Jinx. “It’s not just about convenience, it’s about giving our customers access to everything they need at their fingertips. For many of our millennial customers, that means being accessible via text message - giving them the ability to purchase, manage their subscriptions, and connect with customer service, providing a fully comprehensive brand engagement experience.”

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