3 values that drive pet food purchasers

Globally, 40% of consumers try to buy from brands that align with their values, according to data from NielsenIQ (NIQ). Do you know which values your target pet-owning consumers possess and follow?

If not, the research firm suggests you try and find out, given the increasing importance of considering values when marketing to consumers. That view is corroborated by David Allison, whose business, the Valuegraphics Project, is predicated on his strong belief that focusing on values can provide a more meaningful way to reach and appeal to pet food purchasers than can relying purely on demographics.

In fact, you can count on a 12.5% return on marketing investment of your pet food brand if you address consumer values, said Allison during his Petfood Forum 2023 keynote presentation.

Pet owners’ values differ from consumers in general

In a recent article, NIQ researchers provided a broad outline of values in favor — or falling out of favor — with global consumers. These include “protecting the family,” which has ranked as the most popular every year since the company first measured it in 1999. Ones consistently gaining in importance since 2016 are “health and fitness,” “learning” and “working hard.” However, “enjoying life” has dropped from consumers’ top 10 values over the past few years. (Somewhat of a surprise after everything that’s happened during that period, such as a pandemic, economic disruptions, social and political turmoil, etc., but perhaps that means more people are focused on simply surviving and getting by?)

Leading up to his Petfood Forum presentation, Allison and his team conducted research to determine the values of pet owners, so he was able to dial in specifically on your consumers. Among the top 10 values for U.S. pet owners:

1. Personal responsibility — with pet food, that means they like doing the research to fulfill the need to take responsibility for their pets’ health and well-being, Allison said.
2. Trustworthiness — tied to their personal responsibility value, trustworthiness for pet owners means they search for anything that helps them be a problem solver, thus they have more trust in that. An example Allison gave was functional ingredients.
3. Experience — pet owners value experiences and consider them rewards. Novel pet food ingredients can appeal to this value.

Allison commented that these are not among the top 10 values for U.S. consumers in general. He also cited loyalty and security among the top values for pet owners, the latter of which does seem to align with the “protecting the family” value named by NIQ.

Value-determining questions to ask

The NIQ researchers strongly recommend segmentation of your consumers to better understand their values and purchasing behaviors. That seems obvious, though determining their values likely requires in-depth research. (Of course, NIQ offers that!)

Again, Allison gets more specific and helpful for pet food brands, recommending three questions to ask to ascertain your own customers’ specific values:

• Why do you go to work?
• Why would you give away half of your lottery winnings?
• What would you say to your 10-years-ago self? And why?

Which seem like good questions for all of us to occasionally ask of ourselves.

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