Vetlife

What Vetlife does

Vetlife is a privately held New Zealand veterinary services group operating across the South Island from Timaru, with over 25 clinics spanning Canterbury, MacKenzie, Otago, Tasman, and Marlborough regions. The company delivers mixed-animal veterinary care for companion animals (dogs, cats, lifestyle pets), production animals (dairy, sheep, beef, deer), working farm dogs, and equine, combining in-clinic consultations with on-farm visits and a 24-hour emergency service. Its clinic network is complemented by purpose-built facilities including catteries, hydrotherapy, orthopaedic surgery, and ultrasonography referral services, and by digital self-serve booking via the EzyVet platform at Tasman clinics.

The business is built on a clinical services backbone augmented by recurring subscription products (Best Mate pet health plans and Vet Club membership for production animal owners) and retail sales of premium pet foods and veterinary products. Technology investment centres on the CowSmart consultancy, which interprets time-series data from third-party smart cow collars and tags into actionable dairy herd insights (heat detection, transition cow monitoring, reproductive management), together with Parasight faecal egg count testing for parasite resistance work, and the TeamMate longitudinal research programme with Massey University.

The company is a subsidiary of Comhla Vet Limited, owned and operated by working veterinarians with five decades of operating history. Revenue is generated primarily through professional service fees (consultation, surgery, diagnostics, emergency care), supplemented by subscription/recurring wellness plans, product retail, and on-farm production-animal contracts. The Vetlife brand consolidates former 'The Vet Centre' clinics across the South Island, and the group has earned Best Practice accreditation at the Richmond clinic and a 2011 Deer Industry Award for Johne's disease control work.

Name

Vetlife

Legal name

Vetlife Limited

Website

https://vetlife.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1971

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Vetlife is a privately held New Zealand veterinary group operating over 25 mixed-animal clinics across the South Island, delivering companion, production-animal, working-dog, and equine care with on-farm visits, 24-hour emergency service, and dairy data analytics through its CowSmart consultancy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Veterinary Services

NAICS

Veterinary Services (54194), Support Activities for Animal Production (1152)

SIC

Services-Offices & Clinics Of Doctors Of Medicine (8011), Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Companion Animal Veterinary Clinics & Hospitals (AFAEANAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Diagnostics & Laboratory Services (Sampling, Necropsy, Disease Investigation) (AFACADAF), Regulatory, Certification & Compliance Veterinary Services (Health Papers, QA Programs) (AFACADAJ), Nutrition & Production Medicine Advisory (Transition Cow, Performance Optimization) (AFACADAI), Food Animal (Bovine/Dairy/Beef) Veterinary Services (HLAMABAA)

Keywords

• Mixed animal veterinary services
• Production animal veterinary
• Companion animal healthcare
• Dairy herd health programs
• Veterinary clinic services

Headquarters

HQ city

Timaru

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices17 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Veterinary Consultation and Treatment Services: In-clinic consultations, surgeries, diagnostic services (X-ray, ultrasound, blood analysis), and emergency services for companion animals, production animals, and equine
2. Product Sales: Sale of veterinary products including pet food (Hills, Royal Canin, Black Hawk), medications, and working dog food through clinic retail locations
3. Wellness and Health Plans: Best Mate pet health care plans providing ongoing preventive care for pets
4. Vet Club Membership: Optional membership programme offering discounts on services and products for production animal owners

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Vetlife provides mixed-animal veterinary services across more than 25 South Island clinics in New Zealand, delivering consultations, surgery, diagnostics, hospitalisation, emergency care and retail products for companion animals, dairy, sheep/beef, deer and equine production animals. Core offerings are augmented by specialised programmes: CowSmart (data consultancy interpreting smart-collar monitoring data for dairy farmers), DogTrax (monthly worming subscription for working dogs), TeamMate (working dog health research with Massey University), Best Mate (preventive pet health plans), hydrotherapy, puppy classes, catteries and specialist referral services in orthopaedics and ultrasonography.

Product overview

Vetlife is a South Island veterinary practice offering a comprehensive, integrated animal health service across pets, farm animals (dairy, sheep, beef, deer), and lifestyle/equine animals. The core offering is veterinary consultations and treatments across multiple clinic locations, supplemented by specialised programmes including CowSmart (animal monitoring data consultancy interpreting smart collar data), DogTrax (working dog worming subscription service), TeamMate (working dog research programme with Massey University), Best Mate (pet health care plans), Hydrotherapy, Puppy Classes, Cattery boarding, and specialist referral services in orthopaedics and ultrasonography. Farm production animal services include velveting, reproductive planning, calf scour prevention and treatment, and herd health management. The company also offers retail products including premium pet foods (Hill's, Royal Canin, Black Hawk) and pet supplies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CowSmart: Animal monitoring data consultancy service that interprets data from smart cow collars and tags, transforming raw information into actionable veterinary insights for dairy farmers.
• DogTrax
• TeamMate

Products and services

• CowSmart Animal-monitoring data consultancy that interprets data from smart cow collars and tags, transforming raw sensor information into actionable veterinary insights for dairy farmers to optimise herd reproductive performance, transition cow health and overall farm efficiency.
• DogTrax
• TeamMate Working Dog Health Programme
• Best Mate Pet Health Care Plan
• Hydrotherapy
• Puppy Classes
• Cattery Boarding
• Vet Referral Services (Companion Animal, Orthopaedic, Ultrasonography)
• Deer Velveting Services
• Orthopaedic and K-Laser Surgery
• Diagnostic Imaging (X-ray, Ultrasound, Blood Analysis, Dentistry)
• Veterinary Retail Products (Hills, Royal Canin, Black Hawk, medications, working dog food)

Quantifiable outcome

• 74% of working dogs had clinical abnormalities found in TeamMate study
• +4 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CowSmartcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCowSmart is an independent consultancy partnering with Vetlife to empower dairy farmers with data-driven decisions using animal monitoring technology. CowSmart specializes in interpreting data from smart cow collars and tags, transforming raw information into actionable veterinary insights. Their team of experienced veterinarians and data analysts work closely with farmers, veterinarians and farm consultants to optimise herd performance, improve reproductive outcomes, and enhance overall farm efficiency.
• Massey UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMassey University Working Dog Centre collaborated with Vetlife on the TeamMate study - a four-year longitudinal study of ~641 South Island working dogs. Massey researchers are conducting PhD analysis of study data and have published papers in Frontiers in Veterinary Science and BMC Veterinary Research on working dog health findings.
• Deer Industry New Zealand (DINZ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVetlife Scientific Ltd is working with DINZ, Massey University, and deer farmers to investigate reports of severe lameness in adult stags. This collaborative research initiative aims to identify the extent of the issue and discover common threads between cases and farms.
• FonterraminorOthersVetlife stays informed about Fonterra's sustainability requirements and customer expectations through training sessions. Fonterra's customers want assurance around emissions, welfare (WelFarm programme), and brand safety.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• LIVESTOCK VET (NZ): NZ production-animal veterinary network with deep dairy focus and membership/running-on programs. Closely comparable to Vetlife's Vet Club and on-farm production-animal subscription model.
• VetEnt: Large New Zealand mixed-animal veterinary group operating across the North and South Islands. Closest like-for-like peer to Vetlife because of comparable mixed companion-and-production-animal services, multi-clinic network, and on-farm production-animal emphasis.
• Pet Doctors (NZ): NZ companion-animal-focused vet clinic group operating under a co-operative-style brand with multiple locations. Comparable in clinic network model though narrower than Vetlife on the production-animal side.
• Tararua Veterinary Services: NZ regional mixed-animal practice serving sheep, beef, deer and dairy farmers as well as companion animal owners. Comparable to Vetlife in scope and rural production-animal focus.
• South Waikato Veterinary Services: NZ mixed-animal veterinary practice with multiple clinics across the Waikato, offering dairy, sheep/beef and companion animal services. Comparable scale and service mix to Vetlife's South Island operations.
• Animates Veterinary Clinics: NZ veterinary clinic chain embedded inside a pet retail brand, with broader companion animal and select production animal services. Comparable in multi-site clinic operations, though weighted more toward companion animals than Vetlife.
• Totally Vets (Masterton): NZ mixed-animal veterinary group with strong production-animal focus (sheep, beef, deer, dairy) and active community/extension programming. Highly comparable to Vetlife's farm-side service model and multi-clinic footprint.

Regional players

• Hamilton Veterinary Services: NZ-based mixed veterinary practice primarily serving the Waikato dairy heartland. Comparable on production-animal scale and herd-health programming, but operates in a different geography from Vetlife's South Island base.

Others

• Massey University Working Dog Centre: Academic partner of Vetlife on the TeamMate working-dog research and parallel deer/lameness projects. Ecosystem partner rather than competitor, but its research output is integral to Vetlife's IP pipeline.

Broad incumbents

• Mars Veterinary Health (Banfield/VCA): Global veterinary consolidator with thousands of clinics under Banfield, VCA and BluePearl. Relevant as a broad incumbent demonstrating the consolidator playbook (M&A, central services) that Vetlife could replicate at NZ scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCWozbC4flKVSs9nRbxAhaHA
• Facebookfacebook.com/VetlifePets
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vetlifenewzealand
• Instagraminstagram.com/vetlifenz
• Xx.com/VetlifeNZ

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Vetlife