Freshpet Strategy Argument
The Status Quo
In 2011, the U.S. pet food aisle looked almost exactly as it had for decades. Shelves were lined with bags of dry kibble and rows of canned food. For pets, this meant diets built on fillers and processing, not on freshness or nutrition. For pet parents, it meant limited choices — even as their own eating habits were shifting toward healthier, fresher food. They were buying organic produce, cooking with whole ingredients, and scanning labels for transparency. Yet, when they turned to the pet aisle, what they found didn’t match the care they gave their own families.
Retailers, too, were caught in the status quo. Their aisles were efficient, profitable, and predictable, but uninspired. They had little reason to change what worked. Refrigeration in the pet aisle was nearly unheard of, and the idea of installing and maintaining fridges felt risky.
Freshpet had made a start: $25 million in sales and placement in 7,000 stores. The brand had proven it could sell, and the fridge itself — a bold physical asset — showed promise as a distinctive presence in-store. But relative to a $22 billion industry, Freshpet was still a curiosity, not a contender..
Why This Sucks
This mismatch mattered. Pets were stuck eating food that no longer aligned with how their families thought about health. Pet parents felt guilty — they knew their animals deserved better, but the market wasn’t giving them an easy, trustworthy option. Retailers were missing an opportunity to energize their category and attract shoppers who were increasingly choosing fresher, higher-quality options everywhere else in the store.
And for Freshpet, the risk was existential. The brand had proven it could disrupt, but disruption alone wasn’t enough. If it remained a niche novelty, it would never reach scale. Competitors with deeper pockets and more shelf space could easily outspend them, burying “fresh” before it ever had a chance to become mainstream. The early wins could be wasted.
The category was waiting for change — but unless Freshpet seized the moment, someone else would..
Our Belief
Fresh food isn’t a niche. It’s the future of how we feed our pets. We believed that if pet parents could see and feel the difference — shinier coats, better health, longer lives — fresh food would become an emotional choice, not just a functional one. And if retailers could see that the fridge didn’t just house product, but drove traffic, trial, and margins, they would view it as an asset, not a liability.
Our conviction was simple: Freshpet could transform pet food by making fresh feel essential, not optional..
Our Solution
To make this belief real, we built on our unique strengths:
The Freshpet Fridge. More than logistics, it became a billboard in the aisle. A tangible, glowing promise of something new, healthy, and worth paying attention to.
Mainstream retail focus. We didn’t stop at specialty stores; we went where the masses shopped: Walmart, Kroger, Petco, Target, Whole Foods. If fresh was going to be the future, it had to be accessible everywhere.
Understanding the consumer. We moved beyond functional claims like “better ingredients” and leaned into the emotional truth: pet parents want to feel they are giving their animals the same love and care they give their families. Stories, testimonials, and visible health benefits became the proof points.
The strategy wove through every part of the business. Brand, marketing, sales, innovation — all aligned around one mission: prove fresh belongs in the mainstream.
The Results
The strategy worked — factually and emotionally.
Revenue: $25M in 2011 → $156M in 2017 — more than 6x growth.
Distribution: 7,000 fridges → 18,000+ fridges across all major channels.
Margins: Improved by 600 basis points from 2011 to 2014.
Category Creation: Freshpet established “fresh refrigerated” as a permanent segment. The aisle itself changed. Competitors rushed in, but Freshpet had already claimed leadership.
The Transformation
Freshpet didn’t just grow. It redefined what pet food could be.
For pets, it meant millions now eat food that looks, smells, and nourishes like real food.
For pet parents, it meant relief and pride — finally feeding their animals with the same care they gave the rest of the family.
For retailers, it meant a revitalized aisle, higher traffic, and a profitable new growth driver.
And for Freshpet, it was proof that its belief was right: fresh wasn’t a niche. Fresh was the future.
This is how Freshpet evolved from a disruptive outsider to the architect of a new mainstream category — by building on its unique strengths, deeply understanding its consumer, and making one simple idea undeniable: fresh belongs.
