A Wider Net

So what happens when the America finds out that the premium brands it trusted to feed fido and fluffy is the same slop sold under store brands? Say “buh-bye” to your customers and the poor pets that were poisoned.

Talk about “brand awareness”, people are more aware now that these premium brands have a value proposition equal to that of 40lb bag of Winn Dixie dog food. Ouch. It would have been one thing if a premium brand had a quality control problem, you could recover from that.  Consumers are now exposed to the dirty truth that they have been charged outragous premiums for a product sold under store brands like Walmart or Stop & Shop. Do you think Colgate or P&G will regain the trust of consumers who for years happily paid a premium for what they believed to be a superior product? Does Colgate or P&G think these customers are going to forget?  Some may be tempted, but I hope not. 

Lesson; Packaging and marketing will not be enough to save you (Eukanuba, Iams & Science Diet). When you have built your brand on a house of cards (or your ubiquitous kibble), take pause and think about creating some level of differentiation on a product level.  Until then, I bid thee farewell.