Del Monte Pet Foods had invented the cat treats category but held only 16% share against competitors at 52% and 32%, with a conservative, dog-minded culture giving cat treats little support. Vivaldi Group took an outside-in approach, combining one-on-one ethnographies with quantitative data to map the cat-to-cat-parent relationship, defined a cat treat strategy and brand architecture, and developed new product and service concepts against the seven highest-priority innovation platforms. The work produced Wild Catch, which beat the database average on top-box purchase intent, and Milo's Kitchen, the company's first new brand in 100 years, which delivered $100 million in 18 months and was the number 7 new product launch of 2012.
Del Monte Pet Foods, now Big Heart Pet Brands, was the second-largest pet food company in the US but was struggling to expand in cat treats, a fast-growing category it had invented. Its cat treat brands were declining and held 16% market share against competitors at 52% and 32%, and a conservative, dog-minded company culture gave cat treats little support.
Vivaldi took an outside-in approach, combining one-on-one ethnographies with quantitative data to build a holistic view of the cat-to-cat-parent relationship and the pain points of cat owners. That research defined innovation platforms, a cat treat strategy and brand architecture, and new product and service concepts developed against the seven highest-priority platforms.
The work produced Wild Catch, a new product concept that outperformed Del Monte's own benchmarks and the database average for top-box purchase intent among cat owners, plus further new products and a new brand. Milo's Kitchen, launched in 2011 as the first new brand in the company's 100-year history, delivered $100 million in 18 months, was the number 7 new product launched in 2012 and won a Nielsen Breakthrough Innovation award.
| Kunde | Del Monte Pet Foods (now Big Heart Pet Brands), then part of Del Monte Foods Inc. |
|---|---|
| Industrie | CPG, pet food and treats |
| Region | Vereinigte Staaten |
| Ausgangspunkt | 16% cat treat share versus competitors at 52% and 32%; declining cat treat brands; little internal support for the category |
| Vivaldi Geltungsbereich | Outside-in consumer research (ethnographies plus quantitative data), innovation platforms, cat treat strategy, brand architecture, concept development, growth roadmap (growth strategy and innovation) |
| Innovation platforms | 7 highest-priority platforms, built around cat-owner pain points |
| Ergebnis | Wild Catch concept above database average on top-box purchase intent; Milo’s Kitchen launched 2011: $100 million in 18 months, number 7 new product of 2012, Nielsen Breakthrough Innovation winner |
Del Monte Pet Foods was the second-largest pet food company in the United States and had identified cat treats as a relatively immature, fast-growing area within pet snacks that it wanted to lead from the ground floor. It had invented the category. Yet its cat treat brands were declining, holding 16% market share while two competitors held 52% and 32%, and the business was underdeveloped compared with Del Monte’s performance elsewhere in pet.
Part of the problem was internal. The company culture was conservative and more dog-minded, so cat treats had little backing to fuel growth. Del Monte brought in Vivaldi to realize the brand’s potential in the category it had created.
Vivaldi started with Del Monte’s consumers rather than its product list. One-on-one ethnographies with pet owners, combined with quantitative data, produced a richer view of the cat-to-cat-parent relationship and the pain points cat owners lived with. Those pain points became innovation platforms that guided ideation and the growth roadmap.
From there Vivaldi defined a cat treat strategy and brand architecture for the company and developed new product and service concepts against the seven highest-priority platforms, each with a clear consumer need behind it. The same demand-led method is described in The Demand-Led Playbook.
Del Monte is one of the 15 innovation strategy examples Vivaldi has published with their outcomes.
Del Monte Pet Foods engaged Vivaldi to grow its 16% share of the cat treats category it had invented, against competitors at 52% and 32%. Vivaldi’s outside-in research mapped cat-owner pain points into seven innovation platforms and a growth roadmap with a new cat treat strategy and brand architecture. The program produced the Wild Catch concept and Milo’s Kitchen, the company’s first new brand in 100 years, which delivered $100 million in 18 months, ranked as the number 7 new product of 2012 and won a Nielsen Breakthrough Innovation award.
Del Monte Pet Foods, now Big Heart Pet Brands, was the pet food business of Del Monte Foods Inc., one of the largest producers, distributors and marketers of branded food for the US market. At the time of this engagement it was the second-largest pet food company in the United States.
A cat treat strategy, brand architecture and growth roadmap built on seven innovation platforms, which produced the Wild Catch concept and the Milo’s Kitchen brand. Milo’s Kitchen, the company’s first new brand in 100 years, delivered $100 million in 18 months, was the number 7 new product launch of 2012 and won a Nielsen Breakthrough Innovation award.
Starting from the consumer’s life rather than the company’s product list. For Del Monte, Vivaldi combined one-on-one ethnographies with quantitative data to understand the cat-to-cat-parent relationship and the pain points of cat owners, then turned those pain points into innovation platforms that guided concept development.
They were the highest-priority consumer pain points surfaced by the research, ranked for their potential in the cat treats category. Vivaldi developed new product and service concepts against each of the seven, so every concept had an identified consumer need behind it rather than a line-extension logic.
That a category leader can lose a category it invented when the internal culture does not back it, and that consumer research can rebuild the case for investment. Del Monte went from 16% share and little internal support to a $100 million new brand in 18 months by letting cat-owner needs, not existing products, define the roadmap.