A third container has left Shanghai for Haifa. But a repeat order isn't proof we got everything right the first time — it's proof we fix things together. What three shipments taught us about manufacturing, feedback and the Israeli market.
Case Details
Another container has left the yard — this time bound for Haifa.
There's a moment in this business that never gets old: the container doors swing shut, the seal goes on, and a few weeks later a shipment of cat trees is being unpacked on the other side of the world. Last week was one of those moments at Relipet.
A full container — flat-packed cartons, stacked and strapped — departed Shanghai for Haifa, carrying multi-level cat trees alongside window cat hammocks. A mixed load, built for a partner who by now knows exactly what moves on their shelves.
Here's the part that means the most to us: this is our third shipment to this customer.
We Don't Take a Third Order for Granted
In this industry, a first order is a test. A second order is a confirmation. A third order is something else entirely — and if we're honest, it isn't proof that we got everything right the first time.
There is no such thing as a perfect first shipment in this business. Not in ours, not in anyone's. Freight is long, materials vary, and a product that performs beautifully in a factory sample can behave differently after three weeks in a container.
What a third order actually tells us is this: when something needed fixing, we fixed it — and we fixed it together.
Every shipment in this partnership has made the next one better. Our partner's feedback from the field has shaped real changes in how we specify, build and pack — carton engineering, plush selection, sisal wrapping, hardware fit. Not glamorous work, but it's the work that matters.
A third order is a verdict on responsiveness, not on perfection. And that's a standard we'd rather be measured by.
To our partner in Israel: thank you for holding us to it, and for staying with us through the calibration. We're genuinely rooting for your sales to keep climbing. 🇮🇱
A Note on What We Ship
Two things about this category are worth saying out loud, because they shape how smart buyers source cat trees.
Cat trees are bulky but light. A container like this one fills close to its volumetric limit while using a fraction of its weight allowance. In other words, you are buying cubic metres, not kilos — which is why ocean freight can account for a substantial share of landed cost in this category.
That's why we spend so much time on carton engineering. Everything ships flat-packed, and shaving a centimetre off a carton isn't a packaging detail — it's margin, directly.
And that's why the mix matters. Pairing a volume driver with lower-volume, higher-value items — like the window hammocks on this shipment — lifts the value per cubic metre. It's exactly how this container was built.
The Israeli Market: What We're Learning
Israel is a small country with an outsized pet market — and a demanding one.
It's a high-income, urbanised, apartment-dense market, with a strong culture of pet humanisation. But it's also a market where affordability matters more than ever right now: inflation and VAT increases have put real pressure on household budgets, and pet products spending is growing at a modest, value-driven pace.That combination creates a very specific brief:
Vertical, not horizontal. Smaller apartments mean the answer is height, not floor space. Tall towers on compact footprints outperform wide, sprawling ones.
Value, not cheap. Shoppers here scrutinise price carefully, but they're still trading up on comfort and enrichment. "Good value at a fair price" beats both "cheapest" and "premium."
Breathable materials. A hot climate means heavy, dense plush is a hard sell for much of the year. Natural sisal and lighter coverings simply make more sense.
Multi-cat capability. Two condos beat one. Households with more than one cat need separate territory, and towers that deliver it convert better.
For buyers building a program here, the practical advice is the same as anywhere, just more so: optimise the cube, and plan the mix. With freight such a large share of landed cost, a supplier who can save you two cubic metres per container is effectively giving you a price cut without touching quality.
A Note on Haifa
Our cargo clears through Haifa, home to Israel's newest deep-water terminal. A modern, high-throughput gateway means faster turnaround and less dwell time — which, for plush-covered goods sitting in a hot climate, is not a trivial thing.
From all of us at Relipet: safe voyage, and here's to container number four. 🐱
Building a cat tree program for your market?
[Talk to our team about MOQ, container mixing and OEM / custom designs →]
