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the brief:
Find a new subscription-product D2C business opportunity
THE CONSTRAINTS:
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13 MACRO TRENDS IDENTIFIED → 200+ brands analyzed → 2 strategic DIRECTIONS
The outcome was a 130 page report exploring each macro trend in detail. The opportunity space lies in a combination of market size, CAGR and incumbent dominance - whilst satisfying all 4 business requirements. There were 2 clear winners: Petcare and Home Cleaning. Further analysis showed Petcare as the best fit.
petcare – a market ripe for innovation
KEY STATS
• 66% of U.S. households (86.9 million homes) own a pet.
• Pet ownership correlates with household income.
• Petfood, dog food in particular, is dominated by incumbents.
• 2 companies own over 50% of the petfood market.
• Pet ownership correlates with household income.
• Petfood, dog food in particular, is dominated by incumbents.
• 2 companies own over 50% of the petfood market.
dog food
• Shown to be recession-proof.
• Heavily subscription-oriented.
• $1.91 bn market size, predicted to grow to $3.12 bn by 2030.
• Heavily subscription-oriented.
• $1.91 bn market size, predicted to grow to $3.12 bn by 2030.
UNDERSTANDING THE DOG OWNER
200+ survey respondents –– 20 in-depth interviews
❝ I don't know if it is truly good for them... I wish it was less processed ❞
Product Requirement: Must clearly be a different, new format.
❝ It can be a pain to prepare... cutting it up, packing my freezer, the thawing ❞
Product Requirement: Must require no prep, no thawing, no fridge/freezer - as convenient as kibble.
❝ They're all basically the same... I just buy whatever's on offer ❞
Brand Requirement: Must be something people identify with, not compare against - emotion over function.
❝ I look for: high meat, grain-free, all-natural, no by-products, no fillers, no artificial flavours... ❞
Product Requirement: All-natural and high protein, with no grains, by-products, fillers or flavorings.
THE HUGE BRAND WHITE-SPACE IN PETFOOD
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THE BRIEF:
Create a new-format dry dog food with a brand that breaks category conventions and builds emotional identification strong enough to escape price-led comparison.
THE REQUIREMENTS
CREATING AN ALL-NEW SUPERFOOD
5 factories engaged –– 4 nutritionists consulted –– 6 formula iterations developed
Air-dried vs. everything else
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ITERATING A NEW & IMPACTFUL BRAND IDENTITY
an identity that captures what it means to have a dog life partner
A STRONG BRAND IDENTITY AT EVERY TOUCHPOINT
Launching March 2026
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