A trend is currently spreading from the USA to Germany that is set to bring a breath of fresh air to the world of veterinary medicine. Young chains such as Filu from Munich and Rex from Berlin want to score points with modern practices, digital services, and better working conditions for employees, thereby asserting themselves in an industry that is actually growing but still faces challenges.

One of these challenges is the sharp increase in the proportion of women among veterinarians. Of the total of 23,123 veterinarians practicing in Germany in 2023, women clearly made up the majority with a share of 70%, according to the latest „Veterinary Atlas,“ an industry overview compiled by several professional associations. Among students, the proportion of women was even higher at 87% that year. The situation is similar in countries such as the US and the UK.

There is a correspondingly high demand for flexible working time models, with employment relationships often being preferred to self-employment. This makes it difficult for practice owners to find successors. And it is one of several reasons for the increasing consolidation of the domestic practice landscape into larger chains. In addition to closure, owners often have no choice but to sell to an investor. The three largest operators of German veterinary practices are currently Tierarzt Plus GmbH with just under 100 locations, IVC Evidensia with over 80 locations (in the DACH region), and Anicura with 78 locations. Behind the market leaders are financial investors such as EQT, Silver Lake, and Mubadala Capital, but also food companies Mars (at Anicura) and Nestlé (at IVC Evidensia). The proportion of German veterinary practices and clinics belonging to larger chains is still quite modest at 5% compared to countries such as the UK.

Filu and Rex nevertheless want to address the changing needs of professionals in this country in a different way. Instead of simply acquiring existing practices, the two startups prefer to concentrate on opening completely new practices and focus on the „customer experience“ – for example, with modern facilities, price transparency, and digital services such as telemedicine and appointment booking via app.

On the other hand, the focus is also on the employees. Filu's company motto, „Happy vets, happy pets,“ is to be reflected in salaries above the industry average, bonus systems for continuing education and training, a proper feedback culture, more say in decision making, and individual solutions for part-time models.

„The job needs to become fairer and more attractive again,“ summarises co-founder and veterinarian Anna Magdalena Naderer, who launched the startup in 2022 with Justus Buchen (COO) and Christian Uwe Köhler (CEO). From the entrepreneur's point of view, it is unacceptable, for example, that veterinarians „have to take on numerous emergency services, for which they often receive no compensation at all, or if they do, then only at the lowest limit.“ Today's generation of young veterinarians is no longer willing to put up with this: „We are no longer the baby boomers who work 48-hour shifts and put up with extremely low salaries. Young people today are much more likely to draw the line, which I think is a good thing,“ says Naderer.

Filu now operates seven practices in Germany, the latest of which has just opened in Berlin Charlottenburg. Its competitor Rex, which is a few months older, has nine practices. Both startups are focusing their expansion primarily on major cities, including Frankfurt am Main, Munich, Hamburg, and Cologne. Among Filu's first investors are the founders of Bond Vet, a veterinary startup founded in 2019 and based in New York, which now operates more than 50 practices and advertises to pet owners with a similar range of services to Filu and Rex.

Another US player in the field of innovative veterinary chains is Modern Animal. The startup was also founded in California in 2019, currently has just under 30 clinics, and recently raised 46 million dollars from investors. In the UK, the two veterinary startups Creature Comforts and Pickles are also competing for the market for innovative veterinary practices. Some of these companies offer their services to pet owners on a subscription basis. For example, US customers of Modern Animal pay just under 200 dollars per year for unlimited access to telemedicine services, and can visit the practices as often as they like.

The startups are primarily focusing on opening new practices as part of their expansion. Naderer sees this as an advantage over traditional chains: „When you take over established practices, you usually also buy the technology that is in place there, such as the practice management system,“ she says. „In the end, you have ten or a hundred practices with ten or a hundred different IT systems that you can't integrate with each other.“ At Filu, in contrast, „there is a certain uniformity in IT from the outset.“

But it's not just IT that can complicate the acquisition of practices. Corporate culture also plays a role, says Heiko Färber, Managing Director of the German Veterinary Practitioners Association. „If it's not taken seriously, it can lead to problems.“ For example, when financial investors take over, there is a risk that employees will „run away“ if the former owners are no longer on board at some point. „The staff is often very attached to their people,“ says Färber. „New startups don't have all these problems.“

However, the new practices first have to prove themselves economically. At Filu, it takes about two years for a practice to become profitable and build up a customer base, says Naderer. She herself did not acquire the necessary business management know-how during her veterinary studies, but only years later through an MBA program. „Until then, I hadn't dared to open my own practice and had actually given up on the idea, even though it had always been my dream,“ she says. „I think that's the case for 99% of all veterinarians.“

As Managing Director of the German Veterinary Practitioners Association, Heiko Färber is particularly concerned about this problem. Despite the market performing well, there is a great deal of risk aversion among prospective veterinarians, „which is why they often shy away from the investments involved in setting up a practice,“ he says. Yet with good planning, the risk is „completely calculable.“

However, there is still a lack of knowledge in some areas. Färber attributes this to the training: „In Germany, veterinary medicine is still studied in state examinations,“ he says. „It's an extremely school-like and tightly organised programme that doesn't really emphasise other topics such as business administration or communication.“

In many other European countries, training is already being approached in a more progressive manner. „There is an EU regulation that sets minimum criteria for veterinary training,“ explains Färber. „In many other countries, the universities themselves are responsible for deciding how best to implement this training at the national level. In Germany, on the other hand, it is the state that decides.“

Naderer also considers business management training for veterinarians in Germany to be inadequate. „Here, you really only receive medical training and then perhaps some training in legal issues relating to veterinary medicine, food, and other subjects that have little to do with curative practice management,“ she says. „The course is hardly practice-oriented, but very theoretical.“

The Veterinary Practitioners Association is therefore currently working with universities and ministries to develop a new licensing regulation. Topics such as economics, communication, and digital skills are to be given greater consideration. „Around 90 hours are to be devoted to this in the course of study,“ says Färber.