It’s not just what’s in the bag or can…

By Bob Wheatley

Have you noticed changes at the pet store lately? More brands are occupying in-store real estate than ever before. The impact of ongoing trends in pet care driven by humanization of the pet relationship, followed closely with premiumization of the pet food business generally, have changed the competitive paradigm for brands and businesses in this space.

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New formats, new ideas, new media, new channels — all at once

By Bob Wheatley

What’s for dinner anyway? Well that could be curry braised baby carrots in shallot sauce with duck confit that you picked up from the hot table area of your favorite supermarket-as-restaurant store. What was once a four-walled pantry and acres of shelving to serve up a mind numbing array of umpteen thousands of skus of packaged items, is now leaning into lifestyle relevance in a big way. Food shopping organized around how people actually live, what their food passions, interests and concerns are about, now factored into store and retail brand concept.

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