MBA 5012: Using Analytic Techniques to Add Meaning to Data (7/22/2024)

Using Analytic Techniques to Add Meaning to Data 

Executive Summary

MSH Brands is a leading pet food company aiming to introduce a new vegan dog food product line to meet the growing consumer demand for environmentally sustainable and ethical dog food options. The pet food industry is experiencing a shift towards plant-based products due to consumer awareness of the impact of meat production on the environment. MSH Brands plans to reach net-zero emissions by 2030 and increase its revenue by 15% by introducing vegan dog food products. The company's SWOT analysis reveals its strengths in financial power, consumer trust, and brand recognition, while inertia and lack of presence in emerging markets are weaknesses. Competition in the industry comes from other top pet food companies like Mars Petcare and Nestle Purina, who offer vegetarian or sustainable dog food options. The PESTEL analysis highlights external factors such as political guidelines, economic trends, social shifts towards environmental consciousness, and technological advancements that impact the pet food industry. The marketing strategy includes product differentiation, targeting Millennials and Gen-Zers, using influencers for promotion, and pricing vegan dog food competitively. Distribution channels will include online platforms like Chewy and retail stores to reach the target market effectively. The company can measure marketing effectiveness based on revenue and sales data compared to the previous year. Overall, MSH Brands aims to establish itself as a leader in the vegan dog food market by offering sustainable and ethical products to meet the changing consumer preferences and market demands. 

Business Context

There has been a global trend towards environmental sustainability and green purchasing among consumers in recent years because consumers have become more aware of their carbon footprint and the impact their purchasing choices and consumption practices can have on the environment. Global warming, climate change, a growing population, and food scarcity concern many companies and consumers and are causing a shift toward conservation efforts. Meat production creates twice as many greenhouse gases as agricultural production (Xu et al., 2021). As a result, many consumers are switching to plant-based diets. Many companies have considered the environmental impact and consumer attitudes and have changed their production and marketing strategies to accommodate these shifts. For global warming to cease, greenhouse gases must reach net zero, which means the production of greenhouse gases (CO2) must equal the removal of the gas from the atmosphere to equal zero (Net Zero, n.d.). Many companies, like MSH Brands, have committed to achieving net-zero emissions in their operations, their electricity use, and the emissions created by their suppliers and consumers (Newman, 2024). MSH Brands must offer plant-based products to meet its consumers' needs and company goals to reach that goal.

The Pet Food Industry

Approximately thirty percent of global households have at least one dog, ranging from around 700 million to one billion dogs globally (World et al., 2024). Changing family structures and lifestyle changes are prompting people to adopt more pets, increasing the need for dog food (Future et al., 2023). In the next four years, the largest dog food markets will be the United States, Canada, and Western Europe (Statista, 2023). China is another fast-growing market where, by 2019, pet ownership (including cats and dogs) reached over 99 million, surpassing the number of pet owners in the United States (Xiao et al., 2021). The pet food industry is growing rapidly and will reach 186 billion dollars by 2028 (Statista, 2023), increasing conscientious consumers’ demands for alternative pet food.

The pet food industry currently consists primarily of meat-based products, which many consumers consider environmentally unsustainable and unethical. Pet food companies use many resources to manufacture the products, including land to raise the animals, agricultural land to grow food that feeds the animals, and water and energy for manufacturing.  The organization reported that meat manufacturing creates twice the amount of greenhouse gases as plant-based food production (Xu et al., 2021). Global pet food production accounts for “56 to 151 Mt CO2 eq. or 1.1 to 2.9 percent total” of greenhouse gases, uses “41–58 Mha (million hectares or 101 to 143 million acres) of agricultural land use and 5–11 km³ of freshwater use” annually (Alexander et al., 2020, p. 1). To reframe that from another perspective, if the dog food industry were a country, the land mass would be twice the size of the United Kingdom. It would be the sixtieth-highest greenhouse gas emitting country or “equivalent to the total emissions from countries such as Mozambique or the Philippines” (Alexander et al., 2020, p. 1). The magnitude of this environmental impact has caused an interest in dog food alternatives.

Several potential products on the market could meet the needs of conscientious consumers: dog food made from ethically farmed animals and plant-based diet options like vegetarian (made without meat products) and vegan (made without any animal products) dog food. Some of MSH Brand’s competitors have already expanded into the vegetarian or ethical dog food market with products available or a long-term plan to begin offering such products; however, the vegan market is somewhat new territory due to availability, pricing, and adoption, making vegan dog food an appropriate product addition to MSH Brands current offerings. Vegan dog food is a potentially profitable segment of the dog food industry. The projected value of the vegan dog food industry in 2023 was 13.58 billion USD, which will almost double by 2033 to 26.35 billion USD (Future Market Insights, 2023). The vegan dog food market has a historical compound annual growth rate (HCAR) of 2.6 percent from 2018 to 2023, expected to grow to seven percent by 2033. This growth expectation is slightly higher at 7.6 percent for the organic vegan dog food industry (Future et al., 2023). One study of  Canadian plant-based dog food found that only four out of eighteen met the nutrient standards recommended by the Association of American Feed Control Officials, only one met the dietary standards set by the EU Pet Food Industry Federation for adult dogs, and none met the standards for puppies (Dodd et al., 2021). By offering a vegan dog food product that fully meets the dietary needs of dogs and puppies, MSH Brands will be prepared to obtain a portion of a growing market that will gain popularity as more consumers adopt the product.

Situation Analysis

Founded in 1992, MSH Brands is one of the top five global pet food companies. MSH Brands is a multidivisional structure (or M-form) based in the United States with SBUs (strategic business units) that operate independently and have their own profit-and-loss responsibility. MSH Brands sells dog food under its SBU Good Dog in the United States and Canada. Good Dog offers wet dog food in pouches, dry kibble in recycled paper bags, supplements, and several chewy and biscuit treats. The company distributes 20 percent of its products online through the Amazon marketplace and 80 percent through various physical retailers like supermarkets and pet stores and bulk retailers like Costco and Sam’s Club. Good Dog’s annual revenue was  250 million in 2023, which the company would like to increase by fifteen percent in 2024. Good Dog has a business strategy to introduce a new product line to obtain more dog food market share. MSH Brands also aims to reach net zero emissions by 2030. A vegan dog food line of wet and dry food will help MSH accomplish both goals, especially if they can be the first company to introduce the products into their current markets.

SWOT Analysis

The SWOT analysis (Appendix A) analyzes a company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. One of MSH Brand’s strengths is its financial power. The company can afford to take some risks because of the overall capital. MSH Brand’s Good Dog company has an established consumer base and a well-known brand name. Another advantage is consumer trust, as dog owners tend to trust dog food manufacturers more than human food manufacturers (Pedrinelli et al., 2024). A potential weakness for MSH Brands is inertia. The company has done well with its current strategies; however, relying on the current success of a strategy can create resistance to future changes. Companies that do not plan for the potential effects of inertia are vulnerable to internal and external pressures (Rothaermel, 2021). Another weakness is its lack of presence and sales in emerging markets. Western Europe is expected to be one of the largest by 2028 (Statista, 2023). China is another growing market as its pet ownership population surpassed the United States in 2019 (Xiao et al., 2021). These are also opportunities for expansion for the company. Another opportunity is to meet the increasing demand for pet food and be one of the first companies to offer vegan dog food for the growing consumer segment. Threats for MSH Brands are market entry and competition. The industry has numerous smaller competitors as there are considerably lower barriers to entry into the dog food market.

Competition

The top five global competitors in the dog food industry per annual revenue are MSH Brands (7 billion), Mar’s Petcare Inc. (19.5 billion), Nestle Purina Pet Care (19.3 billion), Hill’s Pet Nutrition (3.7 billion), and J.M. Smucker (2.7 billion) (Statista, 2023). Mar’s Petcare Inc. offers vegetarian food through its Royal Canin brand (Chewy, 2024). Nestle Purina offers its product Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diet (Chewy, 2024). Some of the key players in the plant-based dog food market are Mars Inc., Hills Pet Nutrition, Nestle Purina Petcare, and Fresh Pet. Mars (2021) acquired Nom Nom Now and its Royal Canin vegetarian dog food line.  Hill’s Pet Nutrition joined Bond Pet Foods in 2021 to help the company create a sustainable fermented protein for pet food with a plan to eventually replace one of the company’s top brands with a plant-based protein product (Future et al., 2023). Nestle Purina offers its vegetarian product Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diet (Chewy, 2024). A notable vegetarian product released in 2021 was Fresh Pet’s Spring and Sprout food, made from vegetables, plant-based protein, cage-free eggs, and fruits (Future et al., 2023). It is important to note that one of the top five companies in the industry, J.M. Smucker, currently has no vegan or vegetarian dog food in their portfolio.

Some smaller competitors produce plant-based dog food, but fewer offer vegan food. However, The Pack is a notable vegan dog food startup company in the United Kingdom gaining momentum. The Pack’s mission is “revolutionizing vegan dog food one bowl at a time” (The Pack, 2024, para. 1). Founded in 2020, The Pack became the first company to offer wet vegan dog food by 2021. In October 2023, it became Europe’s first vegan dog food company, which is a certified B-corporation (The Pack, 2024). The Pack raised one million dollars in investor seed money in 2022 with plans to expand its product offering of oven-dried kibble and expand into Europe in 2025 (The Pack, 2024). Offering similar products or acquiring The Pack company and offering the products within MSH Brands' current market reach would make MSH Brands one of the largest companies in the United States to offer wet and dry vegan dog food products.

PESTEL Analysis

A PESTEL analysis (Appendix B) acknowledges the external environment within the industry, alerting the company to possible future threats and weaknesses. The acronym PESTEL stands for political, economic, social, technological, ethical (or environmental), and legal. MSH Brands has several external factors to consider. Politically, MSH Brands must adhere to guidelines set by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Per the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act), “all animal foods, like human foods, be safe to eat, produced under sanitary conditions, contain no harmful substances, and be truthfully labeled” (U.S. Food & Drug Administration, 2024, para. 1). If a company fails to adhere to the guidelines, either purposefully or unintentionally, may be faced with fines and recalls issued from the FDA. Political unrest may disrupt the company’s business or supply chains, so MSH Brands must know the political climate of areas critical for operations. Currently, there are no areas to report meeting these conditions. Federal and state taxes can potentially impact MSH Brands, so the company must follow any tax legislation. For example, in 2022, Maine added a twenty-dollar surcharge to its eighty-dollar registration fee to fund the state's spay and neuter program, with several states following their example. West Virginia, Maryland, and New Mexico tax companies a range of 20 to 100 dollars per product (Calderwood, 2022). While these programs provide many benefits, the company will still need to budget for these additional costs.

Economically, consumers have been affected by inflation and increased cost of living. For example, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a 3.5 percent increase in food, a 2.1 percent increase in energy, and a 5.7 percent increase in shelter over the last twelve months (2024). Dog food companies have also experienced inflation due to the current economic shifts. The COVID-19 pandemic affected the supply chain for many companies, and by 2023, they were paying 30 percent more than in 2019 to manufacture dog food products (Phillips-Donaldson, 2024). Socially, consumers' attitudes are changing, which causes lifestyle changes such as changing to plant-based diets. There is a social shift to change how consumers and companies impact the environment. Advancements in technology may be partially responsible for these social shifts and growing awareness. Various social media platforms allow users to share information and opinions rapidly, and countless websites and applications allow users to obtain information about environmental concerns. These sites are also tools for others to communicate with companies and use their influence to make changes. Companies must use this technology to promote open communication and transparency with others. Environmentally or ethically, there is a trend for companies to pledge to reduce their carbon footprint, and MSH Brands has already committed to reaching net zero by 2030. The ethical treatment of animals is also another point of concern. The dog food industry must adhere to the standards of the FDA and other regulatory committees or face potential fines and recalls.

Five Forces Analysis

Porter’s Five Forces analysis (Appendix C) further explores the external forces in the dog food industry. The Five Forces include competitive rivalry, a potential new entry, supplier power, consumer power, and the threat of substitutes. There are many competitors in the dog food industry. While there are some regulations for dog food safety, many areas lack regulations, such as labeling and diet recommendations, which allow more companies to enter the market. Consumers have many choices, which gives them considerable power. With so many options available to consumers, brand switching can easily and frequently occur. With so many companies in the industry, some manufacturing resources may be scarce due to competition. Suppliers can raise prices to this demand, making entry difficult for some companies, but overall, the dog food industry has a low barrier to entry. When the barrier to entry is low, a company must create a strategy that will allow the company to obtain a portion of the market share and position within that competitive market.

Target Market

Overall, Dog food owners are becoming more concerned with the health of their pets (Future Market Insights, 2023). One study regarding preservatives in dog food found that dog owners are more concerned about their pets’ diets than their own (Pedrinelli et al., 2024). According to one survey, 6.2 percent of dog owners claim vegetarian diets, and 5.8 percent are vegan, which is higher than the general population (Dodd et al., 2022). Moreover, apart from one vegetarian, 1.6 percent of vegans feed their pets a plant-based diet (Dodd et al., 2022). Forty-five percent of those surveyed expressed an interest in plant-based diets for their di but would require additional information regarding the nutritional adequacy of such a diet (Dodd et al., 2022). The survey also found that concern for the welfare of farm animals was a common concern for 39 percent of pet owners. The most common concern regarding a plant-based diet was nutrition for the pet. Among vegans surveyed, the main reason for not feeding their pets a plant-based diet was cost (Dodd et al., 2022). Forty-one percent of the dog food consumers purchased last year was premium, and 24 percent was generic. However, some product differentiations that consumers purchased last year were natural (19%), grain-free (14%), organic (10%), limited ingredient (8%), added probiotics (8%), gourmet (7%), Specialty(7%), raw (6%), added glucosamine/chondroitin (5%), added herbs and botanicals (5%), and personalized food (4%) (Chu, 2024).

Pet owners in the United States spend nearly 52 billion dollars annually on pet food and supplies (Shahbandeh, 2024). According to overall sales, retail stores remain the most popular shopping channel as retail stores generate approximately 34 billion dollars, and online shopping generates 18 billion dollars annually (Shahbandeh, 2024). The demographic information age range is 25 to 64-year-olds, who accounted for 74.3 percent of the annual pet store revenue in 2023 (Shahbandeh, 2024). The pet ownership age demographic by generation is 16 percent Gen Z, 33 percent Millennials, 25 percent Gen X, 24 percent Baby Boomers, and two percent Builder (71 and older) (Chu, 2024). Gen Zers will be the future trendsetters in the pet food industry. Gen Z accounts for only 16 percent of pet ownership in the U.S.; however, they were the only demographic to show a substantial increase in pet product purchasing over the last year (Chu, 2024). Therefore, MSH Brands' primary target markets are Gen-Zers and Millennials who own one or more dogs and seek vegan food options for their pets.

Marketing Strategy 

MSH Brands is the fourth top pet food brand globally, and it would like to position itself in the dog food industry as one of the top two significant companies. MSH Brands’ corporate strategy is to build a more robust brand name so that all its SBUs may grow its consumer base. The company would like to build more revenue for the stakeholders to grow its SBUs and to further invest in its corporate initiatives to reach net-zero carbon. The company wants to increase its revenue for the Good Dog SBU by 15 percent by the first quarter of 2025. The purpose of any company is to “deliver customer value at a profit” (Kotler & Keller, 2016, p. 19).To create more revenue, the company must reach more of the market and sell its products to those consumers. MSH Brands hopes to accomplish its goals with product differentiation so that it may offer more premium dog food at a higher price. The marketing strategy will assist the company in determining the needs of the consumers so it can market the correct product to the right consumer. A company can achieve these goals by creating a product positioning statement for the correct target market. Research indicates that consumers need vegan dog food products. Ninety-one percent of Gen-Zers want to purchase from sustainable companies (PDI Technologies, 2023). Millennials and Gen-Zers are willing to pay more for products with more perceived value. One survey found that 77 percent of Gen-Zers and 72 percent of Millennials will pay more for sustainable products (PDI Technologies, 2023). The product positioning statement for vegan dog food is: Good Dog vegan dog food is the first vegan food available in the United States and Canada that is made entirely of plant-based, sustainable ingredients that are better for our pets and better for the world. The B Corp company The Pack already aligns with MSH Brands initiatives and values, so an acquisition of The Pack would potentially be the fastest way to achieve these goals. Otherwise, the company can create its product, but either way, the marketing strategy will be essentially the same.

Marketing Tactics

Marketing tactics are the specific approaches MSH Brands will take to implement the marketing strategy through promotion, pricing, distribution channels, and communications. Promotion is a company's channel to inform consumers about product benefits and attract new customers. Branding matters more to Millennials and Gen-Zers than any other generation (Chu, 2024), so MSH Brands needs to continue building its brand of social awareness and environmental consciousness. Both groups rely on influencers for information, so another effective means of promotion is to partner with a celebrity or famous influencer to promote vegan dog food, MSH Brands, and its values. Gen-Zers learn about products on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, so MSH Brands can release commercials and promos to reach that generation. Millennials still obtain most of their product information from search engines, so the company must use search engine optimization to reach that target group (Chu, 2024). Millennials also engage brands through social media networks, so the company should maintain a presence on these channels and release engaging content frequently (Promodo, 2023).

The pricing strategy is essential because the wrong pricing strategy may deter consumers from purchasing the product. For a premium product, the company will charge within a reasonable markup but can charge premium pricing for the valued product. The pricing for higher-end, differentiated products varies in the market. For example, Royal Canin (Mar’s) offers Vegetarian Diet food for $89.99 per 17.6 pounds, or $5.11 per pound (Chewy, 2024). Nestle Purina offers its product Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diet at $50.99 per 6-pound bag or $8.50 per pound (Chewy, 2024). A smaller competitor, Addiction, charges $29.94 for four pounds of its vegetarian product or $7.50 per pound (Chewy, 2024). Good Dog will price its vegan food product around  $7.00 per pound for a five-pound bag with a slight discount for bags of larger quantities.

The distribution strategy establishes the channels through which a company will sell its products. In 2023, the most popular distribution channel for dog food was store-based retail channels, with 86.4 percent. The store-based channels include supermarkets, convenience stores, mom-and-pop shops, pet stores, discounters, independent grocery stores, and drug stores (Future et al., 2023). Supermarket distribution is most popular at 41% but is expected to decrease to 34.4 percent by 2033 ( Future et al., 2023). MSH follows this popular distribution strategy, which will still be adequate to reach its target audience for vegan dog food. Millennials and Gen-Zers frequently use online and retail shopping, although Millennial’s retail shopping has declined since 2023 (Chu, 2024). Chewy.com generates over 11 billion dollars in sales of various pet products (Shahbandeh, 2024). Chewy.com is an excellent distribution channel for MSH to add. Walmart and Amazon are extremely popular online shopping sites for pet products (Shahbandeh, 2024). MSH should also utilize these platforms for distribution. For the vegan dog food market share in 2023, the United States held 10 percent, Australia 3.2 percent, Japan 6.4 percent, China 3.5 percent, India 30.8 percent, Germany 5.9 percent, and the United Kingdom 6.6 percent (Future et al., 2023). So, MSH Brands should consider supplying the product globally to these countries.

The advertising strategy for MSH is to build online relationships with its consumers. According to one survey, over 60 percent of consumers want brands to engage with them online, and 70 percent feel more connected to active brands on social media (Sprout Social, 2019). Most consumers hesitate to purchase vegan dog food because they are uncertain if it will meet their dog’s needs. MSH Brands must advertise the product's benefits on multiple platforms: TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. The company will also need to actively engage audiences on their business pages on these social media sites and answer pertinent questions that consumers may have. The company can encourage users to use hashtags like #GoodDogGoodEarth for contests. MSH Brands can use referrals for discounts to encourage word-of-mouth advertising.

Effectiveness

To measure the effectiveness of this campaign, the company must set SMART goals, which stand for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. MSH Brands’ goal is to increase the revenue of its Good Dog brand by 15 percent by the first quarter of 2025 and sales by 10 percent by the first quarter of 2025. The company can measure these by looking at the revenue and sales data from its end-of-year statement and comparing it to the first-quarter reports of 2025.

Summary

Ninety-one percent of pet owners consider their pets part of their family (Promodo, 2023), and pet adoptions will continue to rise, creating a greater demand for dog food. Consumers today want to support environmentally conscious companies and create environmentally sustainable products. Most companies currently manufacture dog food with animal products, with only a few alternatives available. Meat manufacturing creates twice the amount of greenhouse gases as agriculture, making plant-based dog food a much more environmentally friendly product, yet of the top five global pet food companies, only three offer plant-based alternatives, and none offer any completely free of animal products. This allows MSH Brands to be a trailblazer in its current market and reach more consumers with a new product. A vegan dog food product line of treats, kibbles, and wet food will allow MSH Brands to reach its environmental sustainability, revenue, and sales goals while offering a product that Millennials and Gen-Zers want that others will adopt soon.

Appendices

 

Appendix A: SWOT Analysis

 

(Cyan and orange minimalist SWOT analysis by Humpback Studio and Canva, 2024).

Appendix B: PESTEL Analysis

 

(PESTEL Template by Borreguero, 2024).

Appendix C: Five Forces Analysis

 

(Porter’s Five Forces template by Edit.org, 2024)

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