Features

Dog days are over: Why pet care brands are undergoing radical transformations

Pet care branding was once characterised by stock photography, dull copy and corporate colours, but no longer. Jack Cousins reports on how the pet care industry is barking back.

Messy, imperfect wordmarks paired with mucky palettes of browns and blacks. Simple illustrations that clearly capture the character of man’s best friend. Playful puns that speak to the joys of owning animals. And, of course, artistic photography of glistening snouts and big, fluffy tails. In the past year alone, there has been a not-so-quiet explosion in pet care branding. Within this increasingly lucrative market, design aesthetics are now as varied as the animals they cater to.

This trend is not just confined to one corner of the industry either. New dog wash brand Mud offers an authentic, unsanitised identity that mimics the reality of pet ownership. Redesigned pet food company Pooch & Mutt uses bright, friendly packaging to fight against ‘choice paralysis.’ Barkhouse, a new luxury dog daycare and hotel in New York City, leans into lifestyle branding with design directly inspired by Equinox.

This is no surprise when considering the vast capital backing the industry. Currently valued at around $243.5 billion, some sources suggest the global pet care market could balloon to over $480 billion by 2035. While many industries struggled during the Covid-19 pandemic, the pet industry thrived, as people had more time to spend with their four-legged companions. A more concerning long-term trend, however, is that declining birthrates in many parts of the world have resulted in the phenomenon of ‘pet humanisation.’ So, with people now more than happy to spoil their furry friends, companies are prepared to focus their resources on high-quality brand design.

Communicating as top dog

This wasn’t always the case. According to Madeline Shaw, marketing director at Pets at Home, UK pet care companies struggled to inspire until relatively recently. To her, the industry had clear dividing lines, with competitors attempting to communicate either value (basic and bright) or luxury (muted and professional).

This left Pets at Home stuck in the middle and – despite being the nation’s leading pet care retailer – lacking a clear sense of purpose, says Shaw. The company had continued to grow but in an industry that wasn’t brand-led. Pets at Home’s fractured offering of seemingly separate sub-brands and sister companies (from vets to retail to grooming) left consumers confused, meaning there was no ‘halo effect’ for its new business acquisitions.

It finally decided to do something about it in 2023. Turning to London-based brand agency Nomad, Pets at Home wanted to be seen once again as a big innovator in the pet market. The key was the word ‘Pets,’ a new brand name that speaks to the company’s purpose of doing right by pets and pet owners, while also offering a masterbrand that anchors the whole business together.

The result is strong recall across the business thanks to an easily identifiable wordmark with its friendly green colour and cheeky tail protruding from the letter ‘P.’ A new typeface, ‘Pets Headline,’ was crafted with the help of Colophon that balances being expressive and trusted – key to how the company wants to be perceived. In fact, the overall identity offers flexibility between these two moods and can be easily altered depending on the audience and occasion.

Shaw explains, “The heart of the brand always remains the same: we’re always bold, trusted, optimistic and warm. But if we’re in a veterinary space, we'll use less of the core green and more of the creams and beiges, so that it feels more wellness/clinical. If we’re talking to our Puppy & Kitten Club, which is a segment of our Pets Club for brand new pet owners, our messaging dials up warm and optimistic, and dials down bold and trusted.”

Now three years on from its initial launch, the redesign – considered by some as the hallmark of pet care branding – is paying dividends. Data collected by the company suggests that around two-thirds of people in the UK are now aware that Pets is a standalone brand, which Shaw believes has particularly benefitted its Vets for Pets sub-brand. But, as Shaw says, the rebrand’s greatest test will come with the launch of ‘Pets Insurance’ later this year. As it delves into a very new area of pet care, the business will heavily rely on the carefully crafted and flexible design created by Nomad to communicate Pets’ strong company values.

Driving distinctiveness

Indeed, pet insurance is widely considered to be one of the tougher sectors to crack from a design perspective. Kuba Wieczorek, founder and creative director of London-based creative design agency Kuba & Friends, says these companies often try to appear serious, but end up bland and corporate. As Wieczorek points out, however, vets are instrumental in selling insurance to pet owners through word of mouth. It’s therefore important to adopt a brand personality that isn’t overly serious and can connect to this crucial, very much human audience.

So, when his agency won the pitch to redesign up-and-coming US pet insurance company Pumpkin, it decided to completely flip the script. “Its old identity was so boring,” Wieczorek recalls. “It was very nondescript and totally expected, and played with all of the category’s conventions and cues. They realised they needed to do something different, something transformational.”

Recognising just how important pets have become to contemporary family life, Kuba & Friends created a bold identity that defiantly champions pet parent bonds. Taking the strategy to the extreme of ‘your pet is your child’ allowed for a design aesthetic that is totally distinct in the sector.

Wieczorek is particularly proud of the tone of voice, which he believes had been sorely overlooked. Humorous copy like “Do what’s best, even if they disagree. Cat insurance helps.” and “My kid came out growling.” pairs well alongside distinctive, commissioned photography. The bright colour scheme – featuring the very bold ‘Tennis Ball’ green – adds another layer of personality.

Its playful illustrations, meanwhile, were drawn in-house by Pumpkin’s senior designer, Ashley Turcheck. Wieczorek found himself impressed by the calibre of Pumpkin’s creatives, but feels not all in-house teams, especially in the US, necessarily share its bravery.

“UK clients are much more willing to take creative risks, and European branding in general tends to be a little bit more refined,” he says. “Then again, that's changing. If you look at some of the startup brands coming out of the US, I think you can say the gap is very quickly narrowing. Plus, budgets in the US tend to be larger, which enables you to drive distinctiveness.”

Coming from the Hartz

One such example of a creatively ambitious company with a budget to match is Hartz, a heritage pet care brand in the US. Despite its long history of success, Hartz refuses to stand still, recently marking its 100-year anniversary with all manner of digital initiatives and in-person events.

Stacy Kisla, Hartz’s senior director of marketing (cross-category), says the aim is to celebrate its employees, loyal consumers and the wider pet care community. The celebrations also include a new, special centennial logo. Keeping to its ‘Unconditional Love’ brand platform, the updated version boasts Hartz entering the centennial club, while retaining its iconic orange hue and snuggling dog and cat icon.

Elsewhere, a short-form, anthemic film was produced with employee-sourced footage that highlights the physical and emotional bond between pets and their owners. Kisla says, “Our overarching creative and strategic direction is to capture brief, authentic glimpses – almost a window – into the challenges and rewards of pet parenthood.”

The company also teamed up with Humane World for Animals, an animal protection nonprofit, to produce a limited-edition DuraPlay ball dog toy. With all proceeds going to the charity, Kisla says the initiative was well-received, and that it speaks to the authenticity that pet care brands must demonstrate. She adds that certain trends amongst millennial and gen Z pet owners are directly impacting Hartz’s long-term communications strategy.

“The next generation of pet parents are extremely pro-adoption and digital native,” says Kisla. “We see an opportunity, almost a responsibility, to amplify those narratives across social media as well as provide insights and resources to the community. For 2026, Hartz will be prioritising helping at-risk shelter pets find their forever homes in key cities throughout the country – thanks to our shelter outreach programme, Hartz Loving Paws.”

Pet care is undoubtedly going through a revolutionary phase. Whether it’s legacy brands like Pets at Home and Hartz, or disruptors like Mud and Pumpkin, the industry is quickly realising the necessity of building bold identities that place the reality of pet ownership at its core. For this to happen, the way pet care is represented at its two extremes (clinical or cutesy) must be recalibrated.

“I think the market is shifting,” adds Wieczorek. “But certain categories like pet food are still chasing their own tail a little bit. It just needs moments of bravery to break out of that.”