In this next article, Knut Heggen, Senior Vice President of QRILL Pet Sales, and our team krill expert, shares his valuable insights on how to create a remarkable brand that stands out in the pet food industry.
Establishing your pet business and standing out in the market comes down to trust and loyalty, especially as the trend of pet humanization continues to take center stage.
Pet owners are seeking out brands that will ensure their pets long, healthy, and happy lives. Engaging with your customers in a meaningful and sincere way helps build trust, and it’s essential to lead with science and education as a first step in creating long-term value.
How do you address the growing concern among pet owners regarding the quality and safety of pet food products?
The pet food industry has faced increased scrutiny over the years. It’s important for ingredient companies like QRILL Pet to share their approach to transparency, quality control, and safety in their pet food range. This will gain the trust of brands, manufacturers, and pet owners alike.
Now, this isn’t just a ‘nice to have’ business strategy, it’s a must. You can't only talk about what you are doing, you also need to follow up your brand story with tangible actions.
What key elements are essential in building a trusted and reputable brand?
Always lead with science, and remember to communicate the documented health benefits and science of your product in a comprehensive way. Pet parents are more educated these days and want to know what is on the inside of their pet food and treats.
Work to continuously improve the quality of your product. Remember that sustainability for all reputable brands is business critical.
Be genuine in your marketing and show that the health benefits your product brings differentiate it from the rest.
Can you describe a successful branding campaign or initiative that significantly enhanced a brand's reputation?
In 2016, we tested our first Omega-3 Index tool on pets. The Omega-3 Index is considered a ‘gold standard’ for measuring omega-3 status in the human body by showing how much EPA and DHA are found in the blood cells.
The Omega-3 Index method shows not only acute omega-3 intake (like plasma measurement does, for example) but also long-term omega-3 intake, which is related to real omega-3 health benefits.
As a comprehensive and valuable tool for humans, we decided to use the same testing method on pets, therefore in 2016, we did our very first Omega-3 Index study on dogs.
"The Omega-3 Index method helped us
set the standard for the pet food industry."
The results were astonishing, and we realized how krill can work in a dog’s body. With this tool, we were able to help set the standard for the pet food industry by using an innovative method to demonstrate the importance of backing up a product’s quality with measurable factors.
Read more: QRILL Pet Science
In today's digital world, how do you handle online reputation management and respond to potential brand reputation threats?
We pay attention to what is around us and also to what's trending, making it a point to be ahead of the curve.
We know that it is crucial to always be up-front, honest, and transparent. There is no extra room for speculation, especially in our business. All the information a customer or consumer wants to know is easy to find, therefore transparency is vital.
It is essential to have people with special knowledge (such as our communications department) to help navigate and lead the narrative. It’s important to have honest and meaningful discussions in order to be taken seriously.
Read more: How To Market Your Pet Food With Krill
What role does customer experience play in shaping a brand's reputation, and how do you prioritize it in your branding efforts?
We learn a lot from our customers and their real-world experiences as it relates to our products. And we take those learnings seriously.
As a leading ingredient for pet health, we are continually looking for ways to use krill in different applications and to innovate in a way like no other company is. It’s all about adapting to our customers to give them what they want.
How do you measure the success of branding initiatives in terms of building trust and reputation?
It’s all about lifetime value. We know that we are successful with our initiatives when we have created long-term relationships with our customers.
We value their recommendations and insights, and together we are leading a category with huge potential and possibilities.
How do you leverage customer feedback and testimonials to strengthen your brand's reputation in today's market?
It’s essential that we listen to our customers and that we offer products and services that fit into their portfolios.
One example is finding solutions for our customer’s needs. We have customers who are interested in oils as supplements for their portfolios, so we did our best to connect them with factories that could facilitate this service for them.
Another example is creating content marketing strategies. We have taken the lead in helping some of our customers develop content and visuals that will help take their businesses to the next level.
