Intel and NutraSweet are two prominent examples of product components being advertised directly to end buyers through ingredient supplier branding, making end buyers feel that including these components in their products will enhance consumer appeal, according to researchers in Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing. Could pet-food ingredient suppliers market their products similarly like Intel, Splenda, Nutrasweet or ZEISS lenses?
Nobody in their home PC uses only Intel chips, yet the company markets their product directly to PC buyers. While AMD makes great processors as well, home computer buyers typically won’t recognize this brand name or associate its name with “Intel Inside.” Though hardcore gamers may argue their merits more vigorously than Intel, the latter clearly holds an advantage among nontechie customers. Most users don’t comprehend (or care much) about a chip’s single-threaded performance ratio – all they want to know is if their computer can play Civilization 6 without lagging behind or stream a HD movie smoothly. Pet owners don’t usually know much about amino acid ratios in novel protein sources; all they want to know is whether their pets’ food is safe, nutritious and ethical. Pet food ingredient suppliers could help provide this assurance by making consumers aware of their product, building brand recognition and increasing transparency.
Benefits of Marketing Pet Food Ingredients directly to Consumers Establishing positive relationships directly with consumers may benefit pet food ingredient suppliers. In 2007, during the melamine recalls, hundreds of dogs and cats died as mysterious crystals blocked their kidneys. Pets who became sick due to eating pet food adulterated with melamine and cyanuric acid from China had consumed food that had been adulterated with these ingredients; some customers continue to avoid purchasing products made with ingredients from this region. Numerous pet food companies market their products as not including ingredients from China – an approach some have dubbed Sinophobic. Another possibility would be for pet food ingredient suppliers to market themselves to consumers as a reliable source for tested raw materials. An image of that brand’s logo on a bag could provide consumers with assurance through positive marketing claims without alienating half a billion people or more. Meat renderers could follow in this trend after recalls for pentobarbital products were initiated recently.
Pet owners had long relied on the internet to conduct research on brands for their animal pets’ food and what is included in it, long before any recalls occurred due to melamine contamination. As pet food manufacturers and retailers sought out ways to ensure compliance, more pet owners began looking online at what ingredients went into pet food products they purchased for their furry friends. Pet food and treat brands have taken notice, offering more comprehensive information online about nutrition and health aspects of their products for pet consumption. Consumers also increasingly want to understand its provenance from both an environmental and a social viewpoint. After hearing reports of slave labor in the pet food supply chain, consumers have increased their scrutiny of brands’ human rights records and sense of social responsibility when considering which purchases affect others as well as environmental awareness. Climate change, habitat destruction and resource depletion will have far reaching impacts on people’s lives and increase concerns about maintaining current standards of living into the future. Pet food companies have taken on sustainability efforts with great enthusiasm, perhaps more so than any other industries given that pet owners tend to have compassion for wild animals and livestock due to having pets of their own like cats, dogs, snakes and even pigs! Pet food ingredient suppliers could tap into consumer needs by adopting practices to minimize resource use, pollution, and pressures on ecosystems that provide us with food, water, medicines and other goods.