Opportunities await for e-commerce, subscription and vending machines

Although still early days yet, in recent years pet products subscription services have flourished. Already, several companies, including WufWuf and Tails.com, are experiencing high growth levels.

Opportunity to grow subscription trends

Subscription services have benefited from a significant rise in the already existing, pre-pandemic demand for convenience, as well as potential cost savings. This together with the shift to e-commerce and a significant growth in the number of pet parents – both being direct results of the lockdown – means a major impetus for online services.

Whereas this shift offers new opportunities for online sales channels, both in increased uptake and in expanding subscriptions into an all-encompassing service, traditional supply chains stand to be impacted even further.

THE PACK is a plant-based dog food start-up offering a subscription service. The brand offers wet plantbased dog food in three varieties, including No-Fishy Dishy, No-Cluck Casserole and No-Moo Ragu. These products contain key ingredients such as papaya for healthy digestion, vitamin-rich kale and pea protein for strength. THE PACK promotes its products as planetfriendly, nutritionally balanced and science-based, with happy, healthy dogs as a result. Customers receive a one-off 5% discount if they sign up for a monthly subscription.

Pet food vending and e-commerce lockers

Pet food vending machines are subject to ongoing innovation from brands: ranging from serving hot food to customizable items. Accessibility features are also constantly being improved, for instance, by enabling access for visually challenged pet parents using Braille. But, importantly, vending machines offer pet owners greater access to a wide variety of pet food items, as well as the convenience of longer opening times.

A similar development is the use of e-commerce lockers. Consumers can collect online orders at flexible times that suit their schedules. In fact, the COVID-19 pandemic catapulted the use of vending machines for pharmacies, who thereby enabled patients to collect prescription medicine 24/7.

In France, supermarket Leclerc Lamballe has installed a vending machine selling private-label pet food in its car park. The vending machine is available 24/7 and sells bulk dry pet food for dogs and cats as well as laying hens. Consumers can choose from multiples of one-kilo pack sizes (2.2 pounds) priced at €2.45 ($2.80) per kilo for dog food and €2.95 ($3.37) per kilo for cat food. This equals savings of 25% and 18% compared to the two-kilo bags sold in-store. The vending machine accepts contactless payments only.

Keeping pet owners informed and engaged via tips

Besides the convenience of online channels for pitching new products and services, pet food producers and retailers can also use online to provide pet owners with useful information. For instance, on how to keep their pets in good health and shape. This could even stimulate pet owners to visit a brand’s social media channels for tips. This, in turn, opens up the opportunity for retailers to act as a source of information, providing guidance to pet owners in purchases that support their pet’s well-being. Pet retailer Global Pet Foods runs a series on social media called #TipTuesday, appropriately providing owners with tips for their pets.

Local sourcing

Across the globe, pet owners are seeking locally sourced and made products, as they look to support their local economies.

In Latin America, Nufit Premium Food for Puppies contains amaranth and nopal grown by Mexican farmers, thus supporting domestic trade. Meanwhile, Naturalistic Maqui Cookies for Dogs from Chile are human-grade, grain-free and made with real fruit and protein. The next step will be for retailers to connect local sourcing with low-carbon emissions, and in doing so meet the needs of climate-savvy consumers.

Dogs as appreciated guests in cafés and restaurants

Although often welcome to join their pet parents in bars, cafés or restaurants, any potential dog menu usually features no more than a bowl of water. Not much longer! Innovative F&D concepts aimed at pets are helping the hospitality industry transition, from accommodating pets to considering them as real customers who would also like something tasty to eat or drink.

In Brazil, beer brewer Colorado launched Cãolorado: a meat-flavored dog beer. This non-alcoholic mixed drink contains blue hops and is retailed in a 269 ml can bearing the seal of the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture. Colombian brewery Bruder offers clients to the brewery a Dog Lover pack that features two beers, a treat and a water bottle, with a portion of the sales price going to an NGO. Burger King Brazil’s Dogpper is a grilled meatflavored dog cookie.

New brick-and-mortar concepts

The redirection of demand to online has required retailers with a store presence to do more to entice customers to their premises. Alongside traditional avenues, such as boosting staff expertise and new pet services, other interesting new initiatives have also been undertaken by store owners over the past 18 months.

In the UK, for example, Pets at Home started trialing dedicated recycling points for flexible pet food packaging. In August 2021 they launched this service in 40 of their stores nationwide, thereby tapping into mounting interest in sustainability. Beyond this, wholly new concepts are also being tried and tested, including pop-up stores and even pet food halls.