The ultimate goal for any business is to keep a customer, ideally for life. That’s why Royal Canin is putting its focus on Start of Life Puppy and Kitten foods from March to June, backed with a variety of activities designed to engage with pet owners and drive footfall in to the specialist pet trade, and encourage them to keep coming back.

Royal Canin retail marketing manager Ben Hurley says: “Focussing on the Start of Life stage is one of the most important ways of driving category growth due to the potential lifetime value of each customer. Converting new puppy and kitten owners to the specialist sector from the very early days is the key to keeping that customer’s loyalty throughout the pet’s life.

“It is also a way of making sure puppies and kittens receive great nutrition right from the very start which helps to support health long term.”

Royal Canin will use digital media to reach 3.5 million pet owners, providing information and education. Brand awareness will be driven via video content and social media activity, driving new pet owners to the Royal Canin website and hence to the specialist pet trade.  A bespoke Kitten hub will support first time kitten owners.  The combination is expected to result in 50,000 visits to the website.

Approximately 900,000 puppies and 600,000 kittens go to new homes in the UK every year, many of them to first time owners. Royal Canin says that each single pet represents a fantastic opportunity for the specialist pet trade, especially as the specialist sector is a fantastic source of advice and recommendation on how and what to feed a new pet.

“With many new pet owners shopping exclusively in grocery (70% of cat owners only shop there for example), Royal Canin is putting together a variety of activities to provide a unique, engaging and educational experience so that we can bring more customers to your stores,” says Ben Hurley.

“Shopper research shows that pet owners will spend 40% more over the lifetime of their pet in the specialist pet trade if this is where their first purchase is made, because of the relationship built up between retailer and owner.  In fact, the first year of a pet’s life is when owners are most engaged, doing the most research and most in need of education and advice – so this is the key time to engage these customers and establish a relationship based on trust.”

Royal Canin research also shows that there is a need for more education around nutrition – 35% of kitten owners and 28% of puppy owners feed adult foods right from the start, and also tend to transition to an adult food at around eight months of age, when there is a temptation to add pet food to their grocery shop.  

“This is clearly not putting the animal’s needs first, and nor does it enable the specialist pet sector to maximise the opportunity,” comments Ben Hurley.  

“We have the ability to do the right thing for the pets and for our specialist pet trade partners by educating pet owners about the specific needs of kittens and puppies, and the importance of feeding age specific foods.”

Puppy and kitten owners are high value customers, with a typical Royal Canin puppy or kitten owner spending £200-£300 on food alone in the first year of life.  Owners will spend more on their pets during the first year too, so items like toys and accessories are also a significant opportunity for the specialist pet trade.

Royal Canin’s Start of Life campaign centres around supporting retailers in creating engaging displays in store, with digital media to specifically target new pet owners with the ambition to drive them in to store. 

For retailers who want to be involved in the activity, Royal Canin have developed a range of in store point of sale that can be used on and off shelf to create noise around puppy and kitten displays. In addition, Puppy and Kitten packs are also available for a limited time, 

worth over £25 and retailing at £6.99 for pet owners to purchase in store.  This will encourage pet owners to convert to the specialist pet trade, and continue buying for their puppy or kitten with the trade.  

Ben Hurley sums up: “With 1.5 million new puppies and kittens arriving in homes every year, we are putting major effort and investment into bringing these new pet owners into the specialist pet trade, with a view to delivering these shoppers a quality service and optimum nutrition for the whole of their pet’s life.”

For more information, contact your Royal Canin business advisor, visit www.royalcanin.com or call 0330 678 1520