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The benefits of treats for the pet aisle
With many pet owners spending more time at home with their four-legged friend, dog treats are showing strong, sustained growth.
June 3, 2020
3 Min Read
Sponsored Content
By Joe Toscano, Vice President, Trade & Industry Development at Purina
Sponsored by Nestlé Purina
Dog treats, a category that has always held great potential for retailers as a basket builder and profit driver, has sustained throughout the pandemic as compared to other categories that have seen a dip after initial pantry loading. The bright spot for retailers is that dog treats are an incremental purchase for consumers and our data indicates the more treats consumers have, the more they’ll treat.
Some of the key trends driving this growth include the human food trend of “better for you,” the belief that treats should provide a health benefit and the desire of dog owners to create more special moments together. In fact, 25 percent of the pet treat category is currently made up of functional treats. It’s these better-for-you treats that are growing faster than the rest of the treat category (at nearly 5 percent growth vs. 3.6 percent).
Purina has developed several new innovate “better-for-you” treats this year including Prime Bones, which are safe, long-lasting natural chews dogs will love without the potential hazards of treating with animal bones, antlers or rawhides. The tasty chews are crafted to satisfy a dog’s instinctual love of chewing. Prime Bones are made without corn, wheat, soy, artificial flavors or preservatives in Purina’s owned and operated facility in Dunkirk, New York.
There are multiple ways to capitalize on the growth of dog treats. Below are some strategies retailers can leverage to capture the valuable dog treat buyer.
Cross-promotion. Retailers can start by bringing in new households with dry dog food cross-promotions focusing on their health benefits and ingredient story.
Disruption. Treats are more likely to be an unplanned purchase than dog food, which means it is beneficial to disrupt consumers on their shopper journey. Try signage and secondary displays to disrupt the shopper in-store. For online shoppers, banner ads, pop-ups on food pages and add to basket at checkout are beneficial tactics.
Timing. Now more than ever, consumers want to create those special moments treats provide year-round. Pet retailers should ensure treats are part of their monthly merchandising programs in order to stimulate incremental sales and profits. The holidays are particularly important to the treat category with the weeks before Christmas being the highest sales volume treat weeks of the year. Retailers can capitalize on the timely bump with limited holiday items and displays such as the Beggin Holiday Tree or the Busy and Beggin Collectable Holiday Tin.
Multiples pricing. Because dog treat consumers are not as price sensitive, stimulate additional purchases by using multiples pricing. Instead of suggesting a $3.49 retail price either in ad or everyday, change to 2/$7.00 and see the incremental purchases and profits soar.
Education. For dental treats, only 15% of users report that they follow the recommend daily feeding routine. Provide education on feeding recommendations at shelf and create loyalty/challenge program to ensure daily use.
Are you capitalizing on this Prime Time to sell more treats and drive profitable sales in your stores? Please contact your Purina sales rep for a customized annual plan to take advantage starting today.
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