Focus On Petcare: 20 September

by Rob Brown (rob_j_a_brown@hotmail.com)

Publishing: 20 September 2025

Advertising deadline: 5 September 2025

Submissions deadline: 5 September 2025

Specialist petcare retailers are looking to establish themselves as leaders in specialised pet nutrition, with some trialling dedicated ’nutrition hubs’, increasing their range of raw and fresh pet food and talking up the specialist training its staff undergo. How else are retailers looking to up their game in terms of the instore experiences they offer in pet care aisles? How is all this impacting market share? And how are petcare brands working with retailers to maximise the opportunities?

Retail share: This feature will explore how different retailers are managing the category in terms of ranging, promotions and balancing brands and own label product assortments. How are brands working with retailers to create excitement in the fixture? Which retailers are in strongest growth and why?

In-store marketing, merchandising and theatre: This feature will pay close attention to how retailers are trying to improve shopping experiences in store and online and the extent to which this is helping different retail groups win share and create points of difference.

Brands v own-label: This feature will explore how the balance between brands and own-label has changed over the past year. Which retailers have been pushing own label products the most in the past year and how are brands fighting back? How do they compare on price, product quality and the like?

Marketing: We will also be looking at how the big brands are using their marketing budgets to convince shoppers to continue putting them in their baskets. How reliant are they on celebrity endorsements, primetime TV ads and digital? And how can challengers with shallower pockets cut through the noise?

Innovation: The past year has seen plenty of innovation in pet care, from bone broth for dogs to premium tins for cats. This feature will explore the latest trends and how this is playing out in terms of product innovation. We will profile four new products or ranges, ideally ones that have not appeared in The Grocer before. We need launch date, rsp, and a hi-res picture of each.