A category built around a problem most pet brands ignored
Some pet products follow trends.
Oralade was built to solve a problem.
For nearly two decades, Mac Animal Health has focused on one thing: helping animals hydrate when they need it most.
The Northern Ireland family business launched Oralade in 2006, developing a liquid nutritional support product designed for dogs and cats experiencing vomiting, diarrhoea, recovery, stress, travel, and dehydration.
At a time when most alternatives came in powder form, Oralade took a different route: a ready-to-serve liquid designed specifically around how animals actually drink.
As founder Anthony Mackle explains:
“If the palatability is not perfect and they will not drink, then the formula does not matter.”
That thinking became the foundation of the brand.
Why the original product earned trust in veterinary clinics
For years, Oralade’s bottled range became closely associated with veterinary recovery support.
The original 500ml format was practical, immediate, and built around clinical confidence.
The formula combined purified water, electrolytes, amino acids, prebiotic fibre, and hydrolysed natural protein flavours to encourage intake, particularly in animals that had little interest in drinking plain water.
Today, the company says Oralade is used in over half of UK veterinary practices each week and distributed across around 60 countries worldwide.
That trust gave the business a strong foundation, but also revealed a new opportunity.
A new question: what if hydration was not only for sick pets?
As human hydration products became more sophisticated, Mac Animal Health began asking a broader question.
Why should pets only have access to hydration products when they are ill?
That thinking led to the creation of a second category within the brand:
Oralade Advanced
A veterinary-focused range designed for animals needing targeted rehydration support.
Oralade Active
A new line developed for healthy pets – aimed at travel, exercise, outdoor activity, warmer weather, and daily hydration support.
The goal was not just to launch another SKU.
It was to create products that felt natural in retail, not clinical.
The packaging had to signal something new
The original bottle format worked well in veterinary environments, but expanding into wider retail meant packaging had to do more work.
The new sachet format needed to:
- feel convenient
- reduce transport weight
- support export growth
- create stronger shelf impact
- align with premium brand ambitions
- offer a recyclable solution
That is where ePac UK became part of the story.
Why sachets changed the commercial potential
Adding sachets unlocked more than convenience.
It changed how the product could travel, sample, sell, and scale.
Compared with bottles, sachets offered:
- easier storage
- lower shipping costs
- reduced carbon impact in export markets
- stronger suitability for e-commerce
- simpler trial for first-time buyers
Because Oralade remains a liquid concentrate rather than a powder, the sachet format also preserved what made the product distinctive.
As Anthony Mackle puts it:
“We do not do powders. We do not do chews. We are hydration and liquid support.”
Designing packaging that could not disappear on shelf
The launch of Oralade Active came with a clear visual brief.
Pet retail has no obvious hydration aisle.
That meant the pack had to create its own category presence.
The result was a brighter, more expressive look built around flavour differentiation and visibility.
Four flavours were introduced:
Each colour was designed to make the flavour instantly recognisable.
Anthony Mackle explained:
“We wanted packaging that really shouted off the shelf. If it does not stand out visually, it gets lost.”
Premium finish mattered as much as colour
Packaging decisions went beyond graphics.
Mac Animal Health tested finishes carefully before final production.
The Active range moved from an early matte version into gloss to better support the vibrant branding.
Meanwhile, the Advanced veterinary line kept a more premium matte pearlescent finish with metallic details to reinforce its clinical credibility.
That balance allowed both ranges to sit under one brand while serving different audiences.
Anthony Mackle described the experience simply:
“The quality has been fantastic. The flexibility has been really important for us.”
The first reaction confirmed the direction
When Oralade Active appeared at Crufts, response was immediate.
Visitors reacted strongly to the colours, flavour choices, portability and the premium feel. The sachets quickly became more than a packaging launch. They became a signal that Oralade was entering a broader lifestyle category.
A packaging move built for what comes next
For Oralade, sachets are not the end point.
They are part of a wider expansion into liquid-support innovation, with future concepts already in development.
The ambition remains clear: to make Oralade the world’s leading pet hydration brand.
And in that journey, packaging is not just supporting the product. It is helping define the category.
Speed. Quality. Flexibility. It’s time to expect more from your packaging.
Talk to our team and discover how ePac can help you grow without compromise.