Executive Summary
A legacy pet food brand needed to break into the premium wellness segment. Proactive Worldwide benchmarked portfolios, pricing, channels, and messaging while capturing voice of customer insights. The client launched a premium line in six months, achieving 18% growth and major retail placement.
Business Question
How can a legacy pet food brand win share in the fast-growing premium and wellness pet food category? Proactive Worldwide benchmarked leading brands on product portfolio, pricing, and messaging across Chewy, Amazon, Petco, and DTC. VOC interviews included retailers, vets, and pet owners.
Research Approach
Proactive Worldwide benchmarked leading brands on product portfolio, pricing, and messaging across Chewy, Amazon, Petco, and DTC. VOC interviews included retailers, vets, and pet owners.
Key Findings
- Clean ingredients and lifestyle-driven messaging dominated leaders.
- $40–$45 SKUs outperformed $30 options with premium claims.
- Subscriptions and DTC drove fast growth; whitespace existed in air-dried formats.
Business Impact
The client launched a premium line in 6 months, gaining 18% YoY growth in premium channels and 35% DTC revenue growth, plus shelf placement at two national retailers.
