3 Pet Brands Leading the Pack in Influencer Marketing
The pet industry is projected to reach a staggering $93.1 billion in 2025. From premium pet food to grooming services, the competition is fierce — but a few standout brands are winning hearts (and market share) with smart influencer marketing strategies.
In this 3-part series, we’re diving into how pet brands are leveraging influencer content to rise above the noise. After uncovering top best practices in Part 1, Part 2 spotlights 3 leaders blazing the trail: PetSmart, BarkBox, and Stella & Chewy’s. Discover how these brands tap into the power of "pawsitive" partnerships to drive engagement and ROI.
PetSmart
PetSmart, a household name in the pet retail space since 1986, continues to evolve its marketing strategy to stay relevant and engaging for today’s pet owners. With a reported $2.5 billion in revenue during the second quarter and a loyalty program boasting 55 million members, the brand is proving it’s more than just a place to buy pet food.
What’s helping PetSmart maintain its spot as a leader in the pet industry? Influencer marketing.
PetSmart’s influencer strategy has shifted into high gear, particularly on TikTok and Instagram, where campaigns have driven double-digit engagement rates. The pet retailer now collaborates with a mix of social-media-famous pets and celebrities — partnerships that play a key role in PetSmart’s storytelling approach, helping showcase the breadth of its offerings and connect authentically with pet parents.
For its holiday campaign, PetSmart involved influencers early to ensure messaging resonated. The campaign featured organic content and paid ads highlighting influencer-approved holiday products. The hashtag #PetSmartMadeMeBuyIt tapped into TikTok’s viral culture, garnering billions of views.
To further strengthen engagement, PetSmart’s influencers created authentic, heartfelt stories about holiday products and services. @tikatheiggy’s TikTok post, for instance, spotlighted PetSmart’s PetsHotel boarding service, blending humor and practicality. This strategy strengthened brand connection, positioning PetSmart as a lifestyle brand for pet parents.
BarkBox
BarkBox is a monthly pet subscription box, which is filled with premium treats and toys for dogs of all kinds. Boasting over 1.8 million active subscribers and a reported 95% customer retention rate, it’s clear that BarkBox is far from slowing down.
So, what’s the secret to their success? Dog-fluencers!
Today, the modern dog owner turns to platforms like Instagram to discover the best products for their canine companion, similar to how parents look for product recommendations for their kids. By working with dog influencers, BarkBox is able to provide the ultimate social proof to their target audience.
With the goal of turning organic influencer content into Meta Partnership Ads, BarkBox and its influencer partners created Reels on Instagram and Facebook, ensuring that the assets featured a person and told a compelling story around the product, blending in seamlessly with other “lo-fi” content on the platforms.
For instance, dog influencer @eriszoi posted a Reel showcasing Eris’ excitement when opening up the BarkBox monthly subscription.
But the collaboration didn’t stop there. To drive the bottom line, BarkBox took it one step further by turning their influencer content into Partnership Ads on Instagram and Facebook. As a result, BarkBox’s Partnership Ads achieved:
- 13% more subscriptions, compared to the brand’s usual ad campaign (without Partnership Ads)
- 13% lower cost per action,compared to the brand’s usual ad campaign (without Partnership Ads)
Stella & Chewy’s
Premium pet food brand Stella & Chewy’s is dedicated to providing top-tier nutrition for pets they consider family. The brand appeals to dedicated pet parents seeking natural, nutritious ingredients for their furry companions.
To engage this passionate audience, Stella & Chewy’s focuses on building partnerships with on-brand influencers who are genuinely excited to feed their pets Stella & Chewy’s products, fostering trust and credibility.
Using Aspire’s targeted search tools, Stella & Chewy’s discovered niche pet influencers who aligned with their mission and audience. This approach enabled them to build enduring relationships with creators, transforming them into ambassadors who consistently generate engaging content.
Influencer-generated content became central to Stella & Chewy’s marketing, repurposed across their digital channels to amplify brand presence. Aspire’s tools streamlined logistics, including product shipment and content management, allowing the team to focus on campaign growth.
One of the brand’s standout initiatives was a Small Business Week campaign, where influencers highlighted local stores stocking Stella & Chewy’s products. This effort drove over 1.8 million impressions and 181.7 thousand engagements, strengthening connections with retailers and customers alike.
By nurturing genuine influencer collaborations and leveraging scalable strategies, Stella & Chewy’s continues its mission to provide premium nutrition while fostering a community of devoted pet parents.
