ABOUT

Powered by the philosophy of Feed Clean, Nutro was preparing to make the leap from specialty pet food to mass market. The question of brand awareness was top of mind: how could they boldly command attention in highly competitive shelf space? And how could they translate their philosophy to an audience who was skeptical about natural pet food?

We established an identity system that put their passion at the forefront: bountiful recipes and conscious ingredients. Working closely with both the Mars team and their partners, we manifested codes and cues across packaging and beyond, clearing a path for Nutro to become a category leader.

A pioneer in natural pet food, Nutro had established itself in the specialty category with its natural recipes and formulas, but they had yet to make a name for themselves in the mass market.

To grow would require educating consumers on who they were and what they stood for. Winning attention was the first step to becoming a category leader.

A fragmented look and feel across US and global product lines amplified challenges. Nutro was searching for a way to perform better at shelf and prove its premium price tag was worth the spend. Facing competition from legacy brands with natural product lines as well as similar specialty brands backed by bigger marketing budgets, Nutro needed to define its point of differentiation and present itself in a way that was simple and impactful.

Before making changes to Nutro’s identity, we needed to understand if there were any current brand equities. In our search, we discovered the Nutro letterforms were at the core of its DNA, so we knew we could lean into this asset. For the rest of the identity, we would look to the outside and assess cues in the human clean food world to see what could inspire our own.

A fresh identity system made the point of differentiation crystal clear: Nutro’s power was in its ingredients and purposeful pairings.We now had codes and cues that could translate across the brand ecosystem, giving Nutro tools to embody the Feed Clean philosophy beyond the bag or can. Nutro switched channels with clarity and purpose—not just as a specialty food, but as a pioneer in pet care and nutrition.

Nutro was recognized by the 2021 GDUSA Packaging Awards. The award recognizes and celebrates package design and the power of effective design to advance the brand promise and to forge an emotional link with the buyer at the moment of truth.