WELLINGTON – A non-alcoholic, pet-friendly “wine” for cats and dogs has been launched in New Zealand using catnip as a key ingredient to boost the moods of furry friends, with its maker keen on exporting it to countries including Japan.

Named after co-founder John Roberts’s beloved childhood pet, Muttley’s Estate offers catnip-based wines with playful names like “Sauvignon Bark” and “Purrno Noir” — that have been a hit with cats and dogs alike.

“Sometimes it’s nice to just relax with your pet and have a glass of wine,” Roberts, 32, told Kyodo News in a recent interview in Wellington.

Priced at NZ$12.99 ($7.61) for a 150ml bottle, the wines are currently only for sale in New Zealand, but talks are under way to sell them in Australia and the United States, with Japan also “high on the list” of potential export destinations.

“Japan is definitely a place that we love and would like to try and bring the brand when it’s ready,” Roberts said, referring to his personal affinity for Japan, where he practiced Ashihara karate growing up and proposed to his wife.

Earlier this year, Muttley’s Estate began selling the wines after Courtney, his 32-year-old wife and the co-founder of the company, noticed the growing trend of “dog beers,” drinks for canines based on bone broth. Given New Zealand’s reputation as a wine-growing country, she thought pet wines could be the next big thing.

While other companies marketing pet beers or wines use bone broth as their base, the pair chose catnip as the key ingredient in their wines for its mood-boosting abilities. Catnip is known to make cats more playful and improve their mood, while for dogs, it helps them relax.

“We noticed post-COVID, there was a lot more stress in households with animals,” said Roberts, pointing out that animals can sense their owners’ panic. He added that when owners returned to work after spending more time at home during lockdowns, their pets also started to experience separation anxiety.

Roberts drew on his experience working in his family’s veterinary pharmaceutical business to develop a line of wines with varying strengths of catnip to appeal to different pets’ palates. The beverages harness the natural benefits of each type of catnip, such as mood enhancement and digestive aid.

According to Roberts, the reception has been positive so far. Customers have said things like, “My dog is so much less stressed,” and “My cat is running around playing like a kitten again.”