The truth as to why Petfluencers are friends (or foes) to pet brands...
By mrmattanderson · September 10, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
The truth as to why Petfluencers are friends (or foes) to pet brands...
Here's the ☕ all pet brands need 'Pet-fluencers' (or 'Cat-fluencer' in my case) - why?
Well they are shaping the whole industry and how consumers think about their pets by:
1 - Accelerating 'aesthetic pet parenting' over welfare‑led innovation. I.e. they are focusing on Instagramable moments with their pets so the look, feel and astetic of your products are important.
No influencer wants a dodgy bit of plastic on their Tiktok feed, so think about it...
2 - They are compressing the product cycle and push for 'trend food'
By their nature Petfluencers drive viral spikes in content around trends and those trends typcially are led by human consumption. Reference the push for insect food in the pet industry that has fallen flat...
Think novel botanicals, proteins and supplements that are popping up in pet food and treats.
3 - Blurring the lines between entertainment and 'veterinary authority'
Perhaps my biggest concern and expect VMD to get stricter on this around claims and advice (on behalf of brands) by Petfluencers.
4 - Power of the Uber-Unfluencer to increase CAC
Pet content typically gets 2-3 x more engagement than human led. That is a lot of eye balls and as Petfluencers gain agents and agency support. Expect CAC (Customer acquisition cost to increase).
5 - Performative consumption (on behalf of our pets):
Sponsored posts, unboxings, and “day in the life” routines encourage continuous purchasing (treat subscriptions, enrichment toys, cameras, DNA tests) as part of responsible pet ownership.
This perhaps provides one of the biggest trends in pet ownership that I am looking to take advantage of with The Catnip Queen.
If you own a pet brand I'd be interested in your thoughts too?