Ultaca

What Ultaca does

Ultaca LLC is a privately held, family-owned consumer products company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, that develops and distributes niche pet and lifestyle hardware under a multi-brand portfolio. The company was founded in 2015 by Scott and Shanelle Johnson, originally as Wittle LLC, and rebranded to Ultaca LLC in December 2017. Its flagship brand, Door Buddy, sells an adjustable door latch and door prop (U.S. Patent #11591836) that holds interior doors open 2.5-5.5 inches to allow cats to access litter boxes and food areas while restricting dogs and human babies; the product installs using existing door hardware without adhesives, cutting, or new holes and is manufactured in the USA. The company also operates Celebrimo, a giftable drinkware brand (wine glasses and coffee mugs with permanent ceramic-ink designs), and is developing TabbyWag, a pet supplies brand focused on pet beds.

Ultaca monetizes exclusively through one-time hardware sales (no subscriptions or recurring revenue) distributed direct-to-consumer via its own Shopify-powered websites (TheDoorBuddy.com, Celebrimo.com) and the Amazon marketplace, with active social media marketing on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr. Its primary customer segments are parents with babies/toddlers who own cats, multi-pet households (cats plus dogs) seeking separation between pets, and gift buyers purchasing Celebrimo drinkware. The company has reached hundreds of thousands of families since 2015 across North America, Canada, and Europe, and operates with a small team of 11-50 employees. In April 2021, Ultaca divested its Wittle Baby Safety Products brand to WBPAC, LLC, narrowing its focus to pet care and gifting. The business is self-funded, with no reported institutional investors, venture capital, or external debt.

Name

Ultaca

Legal name

Ultaca LLC

Website

https://ultaca.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ultaca LLC is a family-owned, Birmingham, Alabama-based consumer products company that sells patented pet-proofing hardware (Door Buddy) and giftable drinkware (Celebrimo) direct-to-consumer via its own websites and Amazon, serving cat owners, parents, and gift buyers across North America and Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Consumer Pet & Baby Safety Hardware

NAICS

Pet and Pet Supplies Retailers (45991)

SIC

Cutlery, Handtools & General Hardware (3420)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYCRAFACAH

Pet Care & Pet Supplies DTC

Consumer Products & Retail/E-commerce & Marketplaces/Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Brand E-commerce

SECONDARYCRAFAEAJ

Pet Supplies Omnichannel

Consumer Products & Retail/E-commerce & Marketplaces/Omnichannel Retail E-commerce

SECONDARYCRALAHAF

Pet Bedding, Crates & Carriers Retail

Consumer Products & Retail/Specialty Retail (Hobby, Books, Office, Pet, Toys)/Pet Supplies Retail

Keywords

• Pet door latches
• Baby proofing products
• Cat litter barriers
• Door prop accessories
• Consumer pet products

Headquarters

HQ city

Pelham

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Product Sales - Door Buddy: Sale of patented adjustable door straps and door props for pet and baby proofing. One-time hardware purchase with no recurring revenue.
2. Product Sales - Celebrimo: Sale of giftable products including wine glasses, coffee mugs, and gift sets. One-time product purchases.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Ultaca develops and distributes patented, made-in-USA consumer hardware products across three owned brands: Door Buddy (adjustable door latches and door props for pet and baby proofing), Celebrimo (premium drinkware gifts including wine glasses and coffee mugs with permanent ceramic-ink designs), and TabbyWag (pet bed and supplies brand under development). Products are sold direct-to-consumer via own e-commerce websites and the Amazon marketplace.

Product overview

Ultaca is a multi-brand consumer products company that develops and distributes unique products for pet owners and parents. The portfolio consists of three active brands: Door Buddy (flagship pet door latch product launched 2015), Celebrimo (giftware brand launched 2019), and TabbyWag (upcoming pet bed brand). Door Buddy products allow cats to access litter boxes while blocking dogs and babies. Celebrimo offers high-end wine glasses and coffee mugs. A fourth brand, Wittle Baby, was sold to WBPAC LLC in 2021.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Door Buddy: Baby proofing and dog proofing product line. The flagship adjustable door strap that keeps doors open wide enough for cats to enter and exit while restricting babies and toddlers access. Products include Door Buddy Door Latch and Door Buddy Prop.
• Celebrimo
• Tabby Wag

Products and services

• Door Buddy Original (Adjustable Door Latch) Patented adjustable door latch that keeps interior doors open wide enough (2.5–5.5 inches) for cats to enter and exit while restricting access for dogs and babies; used for baby proofing and dog proofing cat litter boxes, food bowls, and pet areas. Non-permanent installation using existing door hardware; made in the USA.
• Door Buddy Prop Door prop accessory that keeps interior doors propped open (2.5–5.5 inches adjustable width) to allow cats access while keeping dogs out. Non-permanent installation, patented (U.S. Patent #11591836), made in the USA.
• Celebrimo Wine Glasses and Coffee Mugs Giftable premium drinkware including wine glasses and coffee mugs made in the USA from thick, scratch-resistant glass with vibrant, fade-resistant, permanent, dishwasher-safe ceramic-ink designs, sold for special occasions and gifting.
• TabbyWag Pet Supplies

Quantifiable outcome

• Used by hundreds of thousands of families since 2015
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• WBPAC, LLCminorOthers · 1 April 2021WBPAC, LLC acquired the Wittle Baby Safety Products brand from Ultaca LLC in April 2021. The acquisition process began in July 2020 and took approximately 9 months to complete. Ultaca sold the Wittle Baby brand as part of their brand portfolio strategy.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• PetSafe (Radio Systems Corporation): The largest US pet behavior and containment brand offering pet doors, gates, training, and containment solutions. Highly comparable because PetSafe addresses the same multi-pet household pain points as Door Buddy (keeping pets separated/contained), but operates at vastly greater scale and breadth.
• Skip Hop: Multi-category baby and parent lifestyle brand covering gates, monitors, travel gear, and feeding. Comparable to Ultaca in serving parents-of-toddlers with practical household hardware solutions and gift-friendly products.
• Outward Hound: Established multi-category pet brand selling toys, beds, puzzles, and outdoor products. Comparable to Ultaca as a multi-brand pet lifestyle company, but at materially greater scale and category breadth across dog and cat segments.

Emerging players

• FurHaven Pet Products: Pet bed and pet lifestyle brand with strong Amazon presence. Closely comparable to the upcoming TabbyWag line and overlaps with Ultaca's Amazon-led distribution model for pet accessories.

Direct peers

• Regalo Baby Gates: Specialist in baby gates, play yards, and child-proofing hardware sold primarily through Amazon. Directly comparable as a small-team DTC hardware brand solving parent/pet containment problems and competing for the same 'parents of toddlers with pets' segment.
• Dreambaby: Child safety and baby-proofing hardware brand including door latches, finger-pinch guards, and gate products. Comparable to Door Buddy because it serves the same parent-of-toddler buyer persona with similar safety-hardware SKUs and a focus on non-permanent, tool-free installation.
• K&H Pet Products: Manufacturer of heated and specialty pet beds, plus pet care accessories. Directly comparable to the TabbyWag brand extension given the bed focus, and shares Ultaca's profile of a US-manufactured specialty pet brand selling on Amazon.
• Carlson Pet Products: Specialist in pet gates, doors, and pet access/containment products for multi-pet homes. Most directly comparable to Door Buddy as a DTC-leaning brand selling inexpensive hardware solutions for keeping dogs out of specific areas or rooms.
• MidWest Homes for Pets: Manufacturer of pet gates, crates, and pet containment accessories sold through Amazon and mass retailers. Comparable to Door Buddy because it shares the same Amazon-driven DTC-plus-retail distribution model and serves the multi-pet household buyer.

Others

• Bramton Company (Simple Solution / FURminator): Mid-sized consumer pet products company that owns household-name pet brands. Comparable to Ultaca as a multi-brand pet product portfolio operator with a similar brand-house structure (Door Buddy / Celebrimo / TabbyWag vs. Simple Solution / FURminator).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ultaca
• Facebookfacebook.com/ultaca
• Instagraminstagram.com/UltacaBrands
• Pinterestpinterest.com/ultacabrands
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ultacallc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ultaca