Pet Food Branding: 21+ Tips to Build a Brand from Scratch

According to data released from the American Pet Products Association, it is estimated that pet owners spend $72 billion on animal/pet food every year. Well, these numbers are just an estimation, but it does strike a chord in the entrepreneur based within you, doesn’t it?

If not, here’s another- A recent study by 360 Market estimates that the pet food industry is set to grow by 3.1% by 2024! Neilsen’s consumer report also shows that this is one such domain where consumers are more worried about quantity and quality regardless of the price.

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Powerful Tips to Build a Pet Food Branding Strategies

We can make out from this that feeding the furry friend is truly one business opportunity you can venture into without a second thought! Here’s a step-wise guide for you on how to build a pet food brand from scratch.

Plan your business

The first step always has to be planning! Answer these questions –

Who is your target customer?
What are the costs involved?
What will make your business different from others?
What will you name your business?
When do you see yourself breaking even in this venture?

Costs involved

Money matters, and we know it better than anyone else! To start your pet food business, you do not need huge capital investment. Numerous authorities would permit you to make pet food from our kitchen itself!

You can rent a booth at the market to produce and sell or, on the other hand, produce from home and sell through established retailers. The second option will also save any cost of setting up the storefront.

You need to pay the licensing fees so that your produced pet food is worthy of being sold in the market. Other than this, you need to buy raw pet food materials from wholesalers for a lower price guarantee.

Ongoing expenses

These will basically include your packaging and shipping and delivery charges. Once you start placing bulk orders to wholesalers, you won’t need raw materials daily. These ongoing costs can be coupled up with the MRP for the customer to pay.

Target customers

Human beings! Though you are producing pet food, humans are your target customers. Those who care for their pets can pay even havoc to get the best pet food for their furry friend. This further establishes the fact that your marketing approach should be to make them realize the benefit of such food for their beloved pets!

Brand mission statement

Your pet food brand mission statement must concisely state what your brand is meant for. Be it for the pet wellness, energy, good hair, or strength, point it out in your brand mission statement.

It adds clarity to the customers regarding your pet food brand. The specialty of your pet food, why people should buy it, and the problem your pet food solves, are the typical questions you should end up answering via the pet food brand’s mission statement.

Niche

When you go out to sell everything, you end up selling nothing! This is why you need to pick a niche when you start your pet food brand. This will give you proper branding.

You can offer food for dogs, cats, fish, or even birds! Apart from these, just like humans, pets are also turning to organic food, which is in high demand these days. You can venture into the business of providing organic or health supplement food for pets, and people who wish to keep their pets fit will surely try your product.

Also, you can start a pet snacks section that shall have freeze-dried snacks for the pets, and they hold all the nutrients perfectly for consumption.

**PS- Make sure you do not use any steroids in the pet food to keep them fit and energetic.

Attend expo and seminar with your brand

When you have started your pet food business, it is extremely important to choose proper branding measures. There are numerous pet shows, expos, and seminars held across the nation throughout the year.

Make it a point to visit this along with your product and collaterals. If you can present your product samples for free, there are high chances of people getting back to you for more such products! It will also position you as a known brand in the domain where you are new.

Qualities of your brand

Brands such as Mars Petcare, Pedigree, JM Smucker, and Unicharm Corp will be your competitors when you step into this pet food domain. Compare your brand and product with them and find out a gap that you can fulfill via your products. This will set apart the quality of your brand from your top competitors.

Name the brand

The brand’s name must be in accordance with the special feature you promise to offer. You can also focus on the brand keyword and come up with a name. For a pet brand, it is always essential to make it catchy.

Remember, pet owners are in love with their furry friends, which is why your brand name must have this emotion to create the right connection. Check out a detailed guide here – 99 catchy pet food brand name ideas.

Colour of the brand

When dealing with branding, understanding the color pallete psychology is extremely essential. The emotions that a person relates with a dog, cat, or, say, any pet has to be showcased with the color of your brand to garner better interest.

Mostly, people connect joyous, happiness, energy, and warmth with their beloved pets, so your color selection should be along the same lines. It is advised that you do not mix too many primary colors and instead use one color which would make it look classy.

*Note- 90% of human interaction of a brand occurs in the first 60 seconds, and colors of the brand play around 62%-90% part in attracting the customer!

Build brand message and brand voice

Whatever your marketing assets convey or aim to offer is regarded as your brand message and voice. Right from the kind of words used to the type of packaging and the sentences that goes out from your brand will become your brand voice.

Closely connect your brand voice and message with your brand mission statement. Make a list of things your pet food does and doesn’t. It is a great way to develop an effective brand voice and message.

Brand logo, tagline, and marketing collaterals

Your logo should carry the legacy, heritage, and trust of the products you offer. For animal foods, the logo has to be reflective of the energy that a dog or cat will instantly relate to when they smell your food. The enthusiastic pet or maybe the food bowl of the pet can be a great choice of the logo as people relate it with their happy pets.

It instantly pushes the buyer to choose your product among a host of other brands. The tagline of your pet food brand can go viral if it is apt. Choose words that connect the emotions of happiness and care that the owner and the pet share.

Tip- As a part of marketing collaterals, you can have animation etched on flyers that can be handed out to the customer. Or even a scrapbook of the happy pet and owner can be a perfect choice for this.

In-store decoration

First of all, congrats if you have made it to a storefront! However, now you need more branding efforts to stand out from the rest in the market! For pet stores, it is suggested that you decorate the entire shop with images of pets along with your pet food. It will instantly create a sense of trust in the customer who would drop in your store to buy the product.

Also, offer emergency medicines and vaccination kits for the dogs in your store. It will add value to the store, and people will have more reasons to come to your shop.

Pro Tip- Remember, according to the rule of seven, a customer needs to see or come across your business and marketing collaterals seven times before they will choose to buy from you!

Are you online yet?

Well, now that you have finally started your pet food business, are you online? Given the splendid flurry of e-commerce, have you considered having your own website? If not, it’s high time now!

It is suggested that you have a website for your pet food brand. It will make your business a lot more credible as people tend to search for anything and everything on the internet these days. You can reach out to more people with your website, and at the same time, you can incur sales from the site too!

Add a shopping cart feature to your website and turn your normal informative website into a platform to shop for your brand’s pet food! You can promote your website on various online social media sites. It will boost your online branding to a new level altogether!

Brand packaging

You aren’t branding well unless you have done extensive research on how to pack your product! You could be the best pet food in the market, but unless you come up with something unique and exciting in your brand packaging, you cannot make a mark!

Make sure that your packaging is different from the competitors. Try to avoid the same color palette as people tend to regard such new brands of a similar color palette as fakes or first copies!

Choose unique and maintain one particular design and logo in all your product packages. It will add authenticity to your brand, and it is true that anything new that looks good gets a better response than the other.

Finally, brand extension!

Well, now that you are into the business for a considerable time, you should start thinking about extending your brand further! Apart from pet food, try and offer pet accessories or play goods that will bring more customers to you.

It will also help you earn more revenue because more products mean more money coming in sales!