Technology is advancing rapidly in the food and pharmaceutical industries, and consumers are expecting pet care companies to deliver the same level of service to avoid pet product recalls. With an increase in raw and refrigerated pet food and a heightened sensitivity to ingredients, health conscious consumers are reading labels for ingredients and they are brand loyal and willing to pay a premium for quality products. Raw pet food sales are expected to continue to grow, with sales climbing from $117 MM to $393 MM from 2012 to 2016, according to Petfood Industry. With an increasing trend for people to treat their pets as a close member of the family, these dog owners want to ensure the food in Fido’s bowl is just as safe as the food on their table. The latest news of several large-scale pet food recalls are evidence of a gap in the prioritization of investments in rapid recall and quality management processes and technologies and pet product shopper’s expectations.

In today’s market, pet product recalls make big news and are very distracting to pet care companies. These organizations need to enable track and trace for their food products and proactively test the quality of all ingredients. By applying some of the quality standards from the food industry, the pet care companies can proactively manage the quality of their supply chain and products. With the increased availability and accessibility of information on quality, safety and price by the consumer it’s becoming exponentially important to be prepared for pet product recalls by implementing traceability capabilities.

How can companies balance the needs of modern consumers when facing a recall? Companies should be thinking through the next generation of recall technologies with notifications and the speed at which they can be delivered to consumers. If your goal is to achieve brand loyalty with a quality product there needs to be a plan for proactive and reactive measures. This means an investment in technology for quality, traceability, and knowledge sharing.

With the increase of artificial intelligence, savvy consumers anticipate the same level of personalization for their pets as they would themselves. Standardized pet product recall notifications which consumers and distributors can subscribe to can provide faster notifications to accelerate the recall process.

Pet care companies can use personalization data to their benefit to enable rapid pet food recalls by issuing personalized alerts based on customer data. For example, in the event of a pet product recall, your company is prepared with proactive notifications to consumers on the recall or issue. Personalized messages will help reduce confusion in a recall and increase the speed to which a product can be safely discarded, thus keeping Fido safe. Pet food manufacturers can leverage modified models from pharmaceutical companies on supply chain traceability and rapid recall to meet consumer expectations

Rapid recall systems provide clarity and early notification to consumers. Companies need to think differently about pet product recalls and take proactive measures to protect brand equity. Recent improvements in track and trace and response and recall technologies will increase the speed in which consumers can receive information and ultimately, protect their animals from potential harm. The goodwill associated with a proactive communication from a pet care company can go a long way in building brand loyalty instead of damaging brand value.