Five findings that gave the brand a distinctive health platform to own
A premium pet nutrition brand evaluating gut health as a brand platform
The client is a premium pet nutrition brand focused on helping modern pet parents make better nutritional choices for their dogs. As India's pet care market grows at 20% annually toward ₹20,000-21,000 crore by 2028-2032, the brand wanted to identify a health territory capable of delivering both consumer relevance and long-term differentiation.
The brand wanted to evaluate whether gut health represented a scalable brand platform, and whether a proposition such as “Immunity Powered by Gut Health” could resonate with Indian dog owners.
Four questions that defined the research
A quantitative study built to test whether one national positioning could resonate across segments
Flickly conducted a quantitative consumer study among urban dog owners across six major Indian metros, capturing meaning, indicators, purchase drivers, emotional outcomes, ingredient perceptions, and proposition credibility, then testing for differences across age, income, and geography.
Meaning and indicator mapping
Respondents evaluated the meaning of gut health and the indicators of good gut health they observe in their dogs day to day.
Purchase driver ranking
Gut health was ranked against immunity, coat health, energy, and digestion comfort to identify the strongest purchase driver in dog food selection.
Audience and reach
113 dog parents across Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai, and Hyderabad, belonging primarily to SEC A/B households matching the brand's premium target audience.
Proposition credibility testing
The study tested belief and resonance for the proposition “Immunity Powered by Gut Health” across age, income, and geography to assess scalability.
Gut health emerged as the strongest purchase driver in dog food
- Gut health significantly outperformed immunity, coat health, energy, and digestion comfort as the foundation benefit in consumers' minds.
- Dog parents define gut health through digestion, not science: healthy digestion, regular stools, and a comfortable stomach are the dominant associations.
- Owners rely on visible daily signals, appetite, stool quality, playfulness, and energy, rather than clinical indicators, to judge pet wellbeing.
- “Immunity Powered by Gut Health” achieved near-universal believability, consistent across age, income, and geography.
