Spark Emotions’ Post

😻🍭BONKERS Purrpops! Proving once again for Rhodes Pet Science why true, white space, category-shattering innovation is so important for driving growth of our business and driving growth for our retail partners. Our BONKERS Purrpops launched earlier this year and IMMEDIATELY went viral 😻🍭🚀 A meaty, chewy, crunchy, bitey cat-candy. 100% freeze-dried meat, served on stick. An innovation anchored in true Millennial and Gen Z pet-parent insight: they seek true connection with their pets. And BONKERS Purrpops help aid connected moments with their cat. The results are speaking! 🐾 Fastest growing treats brand in the UK and USA 🍭 BONKERS Purrpops have already become the #1 BONKERS format 💕 Shoppers for BONKERS Purrpops comes back 3X as often as typical cat treat shoppers 🔥 In many instances we are outselling forecasts by over 100% #ZURU #ZURUEdge

For a brief window in history, the “Cool Dog” was a cultural phenomenon in New England. Boston.com put together an comprehensive chronicle of the rise and fall of this unique brand after Ayo Ederberi brought it back into the spotlight this month and it went viral on TikTok. Nostalgia can be a powerful force. Objectively, the Cool Dog wasn’t particularly good in terms of ingredient quality, but it still strikes a nerve 20 years after its heyday. This makes for a fascinating CPG case study. • What made it so popular in the first place? • Did it really need to disappear so abruptly? • Was there a better way for them to scale without Nestle getting involved? • Would they have done better with a more stable, diversified base of retailers? • If someone could make it again, but actually make it GOOD, would it be a huge hit, or have consumers moved on from gimmicks like this? Pod Foods Nosh.com #cooldog #sethmeyers #nostalgia #innovation https://lnkd.in/eSdxRXjT

🐾Dogs Can’t Colour In… So What Else Can They Do in Restaurants?🐾 We’ve all seen it—humans lost in conversation, enjoying a meal, and then there’s the dog... staring into space, or worse, drooling over the food. 😅 Let’s face it: dogs can’t colour in! 🎨🐶 But what if they didn’t have to just sit there looking bored? 💡 Restaurant Owners – Here’s the kicker: keeping dogs entertained while their owners dine doesn’t just improve the experience; it boosts your bottom line! 🏆 Longer visits, more food and drink orders, and happier customers who rave about the dog-friendly vibe. Here’s what you can do: - Offer chew-friendly treats to keep those jaws busy - Provide interactive toys or puzzles to hold their attention - Introduce a dog menu—because why should humans have all the fun? 🚀 The Benefits: - Relaxed dogs = relaxed diners - Extended visits = more orders - Happy customers who come back with their furry friends again and again If you’re ready to take your restaurant to the next level and make it the go-to place for dog lovers, let’s chat! At Dewkes, we’ve got the perfect solutions to keep tails wagging and your profits growing. 🐕💼 Message us today and let’s make your venue pawsome! #DogFriendlyDining #HappyDogsHappyDiners #BoostRevenue #Dewkes #PetProducts #RestaurantSuccess #PawfectExperience

#FunFoodFactFriday On June 14, 1892, Nathan Handwerker was born. He was the founder of a small hot dog stand that became Nathan’s Famous. Handwerker immigrated to the United States from Poland with his family in 1912. One of his first jobs was slicing bread rolls for a restaurant in Coney Island.   The restaurant, Feltman’s, served hot dogs for 10 cents each. Legend has it that two of the singing waiters at Feltman’s, Eddie Cantor and Jimmy Durante, talked Handwerker into opening a competing hot dog stand at 5 cents a frank. In 1916, Handwerker started a small stand with $300 in savings. His wife, Ida, created the hot dog recipe using her grandmother’s secret spice recipe. People initially were skeptical of the cheaper hot dogs, but Handwerker had an idea to fix that. He invited workers from the nearby Coney Island Hospital to eat for free as long as they wore their hospital uniforms to do so. The ploy worked. People perceived the new food as “healthy” when they saw healthcare workers eating them, and the business took off. The original Nathan’s Famous still stands at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues in Coney Island and is open 365 days per year. The company now grosses over $100 million annually. Other Fun Facts: *** Handwerker termed his all-beef dogs “Kosher style” because they weren’t made from pork or other meats. However, the meat wasn’t technically rabbi-supervised Kosher. *** One of Nathan’s biggest promotions is their 4th of July hot dog eating contest, which began in 1972. It happens every year at the original Nathan’s Famous in Coney Island, and is even televised by ESPN. *** In 2017, Nathan’s Famous officially became the hot dog brand of Major League Baseball – the first time the MLB had named an official hot dog sponsor. #foodmanufacturing #cpgindustry #forhireresults #nowyouknow

Dirt Dog (adj, v, n): A true Deal Junkie. Won't stop until they have found the opportunity. Loves Beef Jerky. Enjoys long, long road trips. 3.5 months in to me introducing the world to the Dirt Dogs of Forza Commercial we have received our 1st ground lease from McDonald's. Yes, you read that correctly. We just received a DRAFT lease from McDonald's for a property that was sourced through the Dirt Dog social media program. The Dirt Dogs and I started telling the word we needed high quality drive thru sites. We did this through X & LI posts. March & Apr brough us several hundred sites. Most of them had more cows than people on the aerials from the flyers / packages. They were not that great. What was interesting though is we started getting the attention of various national retailers. Then we had the following groups reach out to us to meet at ICSC in May. Dutch Bros Coffee McDonald's Chipotle Mexican Grill Dave's Hot Chicken Burger King Oil Changers Heartland Dental Qdoba Restaurant Corporation 5 Guys Burgers & Fries The market is starved for new sites right now. I think this is prima fascia evidence of that. In anticipation of meeting with these retailers the Dirt Dogs and I again hit social media with posts on X & LI and told the world we were meeting with them. May / June brought us well over 500 sites. But this round it was much better. High quality sites. Excess property. On any given day we are researching 15-20 sites. It is a lot and it is very involved. The hardest thing is matching what is an available good property with which retailer it best suits the needs for. We have been asked many times if this program is working. TBH we still don't know. All we do know is that today we are u/c on a property to ground lease to McDonald's and we just received the DRAFT lease. LFG! Long the dirt dogs Dirt Dogs [at] Forza Commercial [dot] com Alex DeBry

What a #influencermarketing coup for Impossible Foods and a Streisand effect moment for Major League Eating. Not only does this deprive the contest of its biggest star, but it also automatically elevates plant-based hot dogs to the same grill level for the 4th of July. As an added bonus, we get the amazing headline below and the phrase "basic hot dog exclusivity provisions," which I hope to slip into a random conversation soon... #communications #publicrelations #socialmedia

As a dog owner and someone passionate about making spaces more dog-friendly, I’ve noticed that keeping dogs entertained while we dine is often overlooked. We all know dogs can’t colour in (as much as we’d love them to!), so why not offer them something they can enjoy? 🐾 At Dewkes, we’re excited to share ideas that make dining out a better experience for everyone—especially our four-legged friends. With just a few small additions, restaurants can boost customer satisfaction, lengthen visits, and see real revenue growth. Let’s start a conversation about how we can make dog-friendly dining even more pawsome! #DogLovers #Dewkes #RestaurantSuccess #DogFriendlyDining #PawsomeExperience

🗣️ If a shoe bag could talk, it would tell you to buy dog food, immediately 🐶 A ridiculous 20% of shoppers buying a shoe bag go buy dog food as the next product 🤔 Much like Google searches, product purchasing patterns tell small stories about the human condition and how we tend to think 🧠 🧐I’m thinking the thought process must be like this: / Need shoe bag for travel / Shoes are meant for walking / “ARGH, when did I last walk the dog?” / Frantically searches for leash / Staring at empty dog food bowl 👀   Picture the rest 🛒 Or maybe It is just that as many of us dog owners face every day, getting our beloved four legged friend to let go of our sneakers leads one thing to another. 🤣 I’m not saying bag businesses need to expand into dog food right away—but product intelligence data does present opportunities for expansion or add-on products to your ecommerce business that no one would’ve thought of, ever. Dennise Lopes Rasmus Leth Skjoldan Simon A. Casper Emil Sciuto Rouchmann Ecaterina Capatina Lukas Rogvall Brian Petersen Lea Silkensen Philip Andersen Robert Larsson Just add 🧠 Kasper Refskou Jensen Hello Retail #ecommerce #personalization #productintelligence

🌭ICYMI, BAMM’s latest RAW piece takes us to Coney Island’s annual hot dog eating contest. Learn the history behind Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs 100 year old eating competition, and how the brand sits in a specific Joy type- playfulness.  Thanks to Ethan Mazursky and Sophie Hatch 🙏 Read on: https://lnkd.in/ei5R2zKX ▶️For a direct link to our Joy Drop report, click here: https://lnkd.in/dZPBT4u #MRX #BrandStrategy #MarketResearch #Marketing #Joy

They say time heals all wounds. They're wrong. On November 8th, 2014, I snapped this photo of Lilo, the cutest puggle there ever was 🐶. It's been years since his passing, and the pain of missing him hasn't dulled. It's still too raw, making the thought of getting another dog feel impossible for my wife and me. That day in 2014 wasn't just about Lilo. It was a celebration of our win with Freshpet, a remarkable pet food brand we've had the honor of working with now for over a decade at Digital Surgeons . Lilo's love for Freshpet was unmatched – although he wouldn't say no to sneaking leftovers from the kitchen table too. This experience with Lilo and Freshpet taught me some invaluable lessons: -Amazing relationships and memories can be found in the most unexpected places. -The quality of what goes into your product is crucial. -The power of a brand lies in its authenticity and values and that means actions, not words. -I've even tried the dog food myself ( it’s not dog food, it's food food). This taught me how much the ingredients in your product matter, especially when doing this goes against conventional wisdom. (now it's the norm). Working with clients who embody the right values and ethics, like Freshpet, fuels our dedication at DS tenfold. It's not just about business; it's about partnerships that share and uphold similar values. For those lucky enough to still have a furry friend by your side, I highly recommend checking out Freshpet. And yes, the amazing team at DS is behind it. Losing Lilo taught me more than I could have imagined, and my time being his dad continues to influence how I think and show up in the world. Remember, the right relationships and the right products can make all the difference – in business and in life. #DigitalSurgeons #Freshpet #BrandValues #PetLove #BusinessEthics