Redefining the raw pet food market

Pet parents’ awareness of their pet’s nutritional needs has grown. They know the best thing for their pets is the simplicity and purity of the diet they’d have in nature. The diet they were designed to eat. Raw meat.

Trouble is… it’s gross. And a faff. A faff to fit in the freezer. A faff to remember to defrost. A faff to prepare, to clean up after serving, to clean up… let’s say after eating.

That was our opening. Premium-quality raw food, but freeze-dried to remove all the unpleasant admin. Raw without the chore.

We were given the hero colour, but everything else was left to us to explore – name, packaging, positioning lines and tone of voice. The brand needed to feel premium but inviting. Shelf stand-out and brand blocking were essential.

In terms of messaging, audience empathy and education were the key, in that order: empathising with the problems associated with feeding pets the most nutritional option, and educating them on COYA’s unique solution.

First, we gave the client a name: COYA, meaning ‘queen’ in Peru’s indigenous Quechua language, in honour of the Incan originators of the freeze-drying process. We paired this with a versatile and striking branding device that uses stylised pet bowls to spell out the name, and an eye-catching design that simply leaps off the pet store shelves.

Once the look and feel was established, we rolled it out across a comprehensive range of product packaging, point of sale assets, exhibition stands and a website. A veritable feast of creativity.

COYA has been the belle of the pet trade show circuit as it’s been introduced to enthusiastic retailers. And now you can find COYA in many independent pet speciality stores, with the range set to hit Pets at Home shelves later in the year.