Freshpet entered the pet food market with a bold innovation: refrigerated, fresh pet food sold in grocery stores. Unlike traditional dry or canned options, this approach required consumers and retailers to rethink what pet nutrition could look like.
To support this category creation, Bender Group PR developed a strategic campaign focused on education, innovation, and authentic storytelling—positioning Freshpet as a leader in pet wellness rather than just another product in the market.
Watch the Campaign in Action
Client Overview
Freshpet is a pet food brand built around a simple but disruptive idea: pets deserve fresh, real food made with high-quality ingredients.
By introducing refrigerated pet food to grocery stores, Freshpet challenged long-standing industry norms. However, because this concept was entirely new, consumers needed to understand both the product and the broader benefits it represented.
Strategic Approach
Bender Group PR developed a campaign centered on innovation, category education, and authentic storytelling.
The strategy focused on:
- Positioning Freshpet as the creator of a new pet food category
- Highlighting the Freshpet refrigerator as a visible symbol of innovation
- Using real pet stories to humanize the brand and reinforce trust
- Leveraging earned media to validate the concept across national outlets
This approach reflects how a modern PR strategy is designed, where innovation, storytelling, and media credibility work together to establish a new category and shift consumer expectations.
Campaign Execution
To bring the strategy to life, Bender Group PR executed a coordinated campaign combining media education, product innovation, and national outreach.
Category Education Through Media
The campaign began by educating journalists about refrigerated pet food, emphasizing its health and wellness benefits.
By reframing pet food as fresh, real nutrition rather than shelf-stable convenience, the campaign introduced a new way for consumers to think about pet care.
Innovation-Led Brand Storytelling
The Freshpet refrigerator became a central visual and narrative element of the campaign, serving as a tangible representation of the brand’s innovation.
This helped media and consumers immediately understand:
- How the product differed from traditional pet food
- Why Refrigeration Mattered
- How Freshpet was redefining the category
Authentic “Real Pet” Narrative
To reinforce credibility and emotional connection, the campaign incorporated real pet stories that demonstrated the benefits of fresh nutrition.
This humanized the brand and made the concept more relatable to pet owners, strengthening engagement and trust.
National Media Strategy & Outreach
Bender Group PR executed a targeted media strategy designed to position Freshpet as both an innovator and a trusted brand.
The approach included:
- Securing high-authority placements in national publications through earned media outreach
- Expanding into broadcast media to reach broader audiences
- Reinforcing consistent messaging across all coverage
The campaign secured coverage in The Wall Street Journal, The TODAY Show, and The New York Times — establishing Freshpet as a category innovator and accelerating national awareness.
Campaign Highlights
- Creation of a new pet food category centered on fresh, refrigerated products
- Strategic focus on education and consumer awareness
- Use of the Freshpet refrigerator as a core storytelling device
- Integration of authentic “real pet” narratives
- National media coverage across top-tier outlets
Featured Media Coverage
The campaign generated widespread national coverage across print, digital, and broadcast media.
Notable placements included:
- The Wall Street Journal
- The TODAY Show
- The New York Times
- Additional top-tier national outlets
This visibility validated Freshpet’s innovation and helped introduce the concept of refrigerated pet food to a broad audience.
Results and Impact
The campaign successfully established Freshpet as a category leader while reshaping how consumers and retailers think about pet nutrition.
Key outcomes included:
- Extensive national media coverage across high-authority outlets
- Increased consumer awareness of fresh pet food as a viable alternative
- Strengthened retailer confidence in the new category
- Accelerated growth within the pet wellness segment
Beyond initial awareness, the campaign illustrates how PR impact is measured through category adoption and long-term behavior change—not just short-term visibility.
Remy Blaire from Modern Wall Street interviews Freshpet’s senior brand manager on ‘Bring Your Pet to Work’ day
Related Public Relations Services
This campaign combined category-creation strategy, media education, innovation-driven storytelling, and earned-media outreach to introduce a new concept to the market.
It demonstrates how a structured PR strategy can align product innovation, media validation, and consumer education to drive meaningful business growth.
Explore Additional Case Studies
Learn how organizations have leveraged public relations to build credibility, shift narratives, and deliver real results.
👉 Explore a product launch PR campaign (Eggo)
👉 See how brand repositioning can shift perception (Jarlsberg)
Take Control of Your Brand Narrative
Launching a new idea requires more than visibility—it requires helping people understand why it matters.
Bender Group PR helps brands develop strategic campaigns that combine storytelling, media placement, and education to shape perception and drive adoption.
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