Snellman named winner of the GlobalPETS Forum 2023 Award
Judges considered the omnichannel strategies of this Finnish producer and how it ensures customer loyalty by creating awareness about raw nutrition.
Taking the award at the GlobalPETS Forum 2023 in Berlin, Snellman Petfood Director Magnus Pettersson said: “All these years, we’ve been advocating natural, raw, and unprocessed food and guiding consumers on handling it. I’m glad that we, as a manufacturer of natural dog food, get this recognition in an industry where ultra-processed dry food is still the most commonly fed.”
Pettersson added that his enterprise has come a long way “from a small company to an internationally known player in the animal food industry.”
Every year, GlobalPETS and PETS International honor a business within the pet industry that stands out in relation to the event’s theme. This year, the event highlighted the topic of ‘Lifelong customers in an omnimarket.’
Championing raw
The Snellman Group is a family business in the food industry with roots in Pietarsaari, Finland. The company was set up in 1951 by brothers Kurt and Lars Snellman to process meat and sausage.
They started producing pet food in the early 2000s. Today, it has 3 brands: Mush, all-natural, raw food for dogs and cats; Fodax, frozen raw food and freeze-dried snacks for dogs; and Raw for Paw, freeze-dried dog treats and nutritional supplements for dogs.
“We have done a lot over the years to educate consumers not only on how to [serve] raw products [to their pets] but also on the risks of handling raw foods,” said the company.
Consumer awareness
Snellman’s primary objective is to continue building consumer awareness for all its brands and support its customer’s commitment to the raw food cause. “We want them to share our belief in how a pet should be fed.”
A key strategy for the company is building on the ‘why’ concept, explaining to consumers its principles of feeding unadulterated food to pets.
Snellman’s pet food division also built a strong presence across various social media platforms to be part of the community and listen to its customers. “Our job is to make tools and mediums available for these genuine believers of raw to be able to share their experiences.”