Pet Care Belongs on the Grocery List. Your Media Does Too.
By Caroline Zerilli, Product Marketing Manager at Chicory
Ask any pet owner if their pet is part of the family and the answer is an easy yes. It’s no surprise, then, that pet food shopping isn’t treated as a separate task. Pet parents plan food for their pets the same way they plan food for the rest of the household.
During weekly grocery planning, consumers are building one list—not multiple ones. Pet food and treats are considered alongside everyday meals, snacks, and household staples. For pet care brands, that means the most effective time to show up is before the trip to the store, when consumers are in an active mindset and deciding what to buy.
Chicory has helped CPG brands reach consumers in these high-intent moments for years, and now it’s time to look beyond the human plate. Pet care is a natural extension of grocery decision-making, and a category that stands to benefit from the same contextual commerce approach by showing up during shared mealtime moments for both pets and pet parents.
Why Food Context Works for Pet Care
Food content like online recipes, meal planning tools, and shopping list apps is not just relevant for traditional ingredient brands. These environments represent high-intent moments where consumers are actively planning purchases and building their grocery lists.
That context naturally extends to pet care. Flavor profiles such as chicken, beef, and sweet potato are common across both human and pet food, while everyday routines like weeknight meals, snacking, and special occasion treats apply to the entire household, from parent to pet. Busy families looking for quick and easy meals are also looking to fulfill their pets’ needs in one fell swoop.
These parallels create opportunities for relevant, creative activations. By aligning pet care messaging with food content, brands can stay relevant without relying on pet-only environments, passive media channels, or retargeting based on past purchase behavior. Instead, Chicory helps pet care brands show up when consumers are thinking about their holistic grocery shop, including the pet aisle.
Driving Performance for Pet Care Brands
When pet care brands activate a contextual commerce media strategy and show up in the moments that matter, performance follows.
Recent Chicory campaigns for pet care brands delivered:
Up to 7.37X incremental ROAS
Up to 6.67% sales lift on featured items
Up to 4.02% increase in category share, with competitive brands collectively declining by 7.34%
These results reinforce a simple truth: reaching pet parents while they’re actively planning their grocery shop drives stronger, more incremental outcomes. Pet care is a grocery decision, and it’s time that media strategies reflect that reality.
By aligning pet brands with relevant food content and high-intent shopping moments, Chicory helps drive measurable performance when it matters most.
Interested in learning how Chicory can support your pet care strategy? Book a meeting today.
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