(PRESS RELEASE) The COVID-19 pandemic created a renewed focus among pet owners on their pets’ well-being and nutrition. A national study from Trone, a North Carolina-based marketing agency and leader in audience engagement, identified three emerging pet owner segments driven by pandemic-era conditions, including more time spent with pets as a result of work-from-home circumstances and pricing and availability challenges with their preferred pet foods and treats.
The Trone study of more than 466 pet parents examined the topic of pet nutrition coming out of the global pandemic to understand differences in behaviors and beliefs. After applying a rigorous multivariate analysis, the study revealed three distinct pet owner nutrition segments, each with strategic viability for pet food marketers: Healthy Advocates, Selective Loyalists and Hopeful Explorers.
Key survey findings around these segments include:
- Healthy Advocates: Less brand loyal due to their desire to purchase a wider variety of pet treats and supplements, Healthy Advocates see their pets’ nutrition as a reflection of their own.
- Selective Loyalists: The most brand-loyal segment, nearly half claimed they had not switched pet food brands in the past three years despite supply chain issues present during the global pandemic.
- Hopeful Explorers: The newest emerging pet owner category, Hopeful Explorers indicated a belief that their pet improved their life during the pandemic and voiced a desire to keep that pet happy and healthy going forward. The segment represents the greatest potential area of opportunity for pet food marketers to grow and expand their audience in the years to come.
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