Course 2: Understanding Pet Food & Shopper Psychology

About Course

Building on Course 1, this course dives deeper into nutrition, food types, label reading, and customer psychology. It explores how people define value and what influences their decisions. Graduates will be able to explain products clearly and guide customers through complex, emotional choices with confidence.

How Long Will It Take?

This course is designed to be practical and digestible—whether you work through it in a weekend or spread it over a few weeks.

Reading only: ~5–6 hours
Reading + Quizzes: ~6–8 hours
Reading + Quizzes + Reflection: ~8–10 hours total, if you pause to compare products, analyze packaging, and think about how to apply these insights in your store

How the pet food industry is structured—and what sets premium, boutique, and mass-market brands apart
The fundamentals of pet industry marketing—and how they shape customer behavior and brand perception
How to read ingredient labels, nutritional panels, and marketing claims like a pro
How to navigate life-stage nutrition, grain-free vs. grain-friendly, food sensitivities, and limited-ingredient diets
The pros, cons, and best-use cases for raw, dehydrated, wet, prescription, and even homemade food
How to guide pet owners through emotional decisions and conflicting information
How value is perceived—and how to help people choose the best food for their situation

Course Content

Topic 1: Understanding the Pet Food Industry
Explore how the industry is structured—from global players to local brands. Learn how trends, regulations, sourcing practices, and profit models shape what ends up on store shelves.

Lesson 1: The Pet Food and Supply Landscape
Lesson 2: Trends in the Premium Segment of Pet Food and Supplies
Understanding the Pet Food Industry

Topic 2: Value, Perception & How Customers Think
Discover what makes someone feel confident in a food choice. Learn how price, packaging, ingredients, and storytelling impact the customer’s sense of value—and how to guide them thoughtfully.

Topic 3: Ingredients 101—Labels, Quality & Guaranteed Analysis
Learn how to decode ingredient labels. Understand the difference between marketing terms and actual quality. Gain insight into by-products, fillers, named meats, and sourcing claims.

Topic 4: Nutrition Deep Dive—Life Stages, Grains & Sensitivities
Go beyond basic food types and into the details of nutritional formulation. Learn how needs change over time, how to guide grain-free vs. grain-inclusive choices, and how to support customers dealing with allergies or sensitivities.

Topic 5: Food Types Explained—Formats, Functions & How to Guide Customers
Compare food formats clearly. Understand how they’re made, what they offer, and when each might be appropriate—based on customer preference, pet needs, or practical factors.

Lesson 1: Dry Food (Kibble)—Convenient, Common, But Worth a Closer Look
Lesson 2: Raw Food—Benefits, Cautions, Myths
Lesson 3: Raw Food—The Difference Between Frozen and Freeze-Dried
Lesson 4: Raw Food—Choosing What Works for Each Customer
Lesson 5: Dehydrated Food—A Niche but Nutrient-Rich Choice
Lesson 6: Wet Food—Benefits, Drawbacks, and Best Use Cases
Lesson 7: Prescription Recipes—A Vital Tool for Medical Conditions
Lesson 8: Homemade Diets—Considerations, Challenges & Safer Alternatives
Lesson 9: Hydration—So Basic, Yet So Important
Lesson 10: Cooked Food—Refrigerated and Frozen Options
Lesson 11: Choosing the Right Pet Food—Putting It All Together
Food Formats, Functions & How to Guide Customers
Bonus Lesson 12: Raw for Cats—What’s Holding People Back, and How to Help

Topic 6: Helping Customers Choose with Confidence
Pull everything together into powerful conversations. Learn to read between the lines, suggest with empathy, and guide people through confusion, doubt, or fear with professionalism and care.

Topic 7: Case Studies & Bonus Insights
A practical wrap-up featuring real-world examples to help you connect concepts like value and ingredient analysis to everyday customer conversations.

Topic 8: Helping Pets Live Longer, Happier Lives—The Bigger Picture
This final topic brings everything together—reminding us that behind every bag of food and every conversation is something much bigger: helping pets live longer, healthier, happier lives.

Add this certificate to your resume to demonstrate your skills and increase your chances of getting noticed.

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About Course

How Long Will It Take?

What Will You Learn?

Course Content

Topic 1: Understanding the Pet Food Industry Explore how the industry is structured—from global players to local brands. Learn how trends, regulations, sourcing practices, and profit models shape what ends up on store shelves.

Lesson 1: The Pet Food and Supply Landscape

Lesson 2: Trends in the Premium Segment of Pet Food and Supplies

Understanding the Pet Food Industry

Topic 2: Value, Perception & How Customers Think Discover what makes someone feel confident in a food choice. Learn how price, packaging, ingredients, and storytelling impact the customer’s sense of value—and how to guide them thoughtfully.

Lesson 1: Marketing Basics—What Sets Great Brands and Stores Apart

Lesson 2: What Customers Really Mean by “Value”

Lesson 3: Talking About Price–With Confidence and Clarity

Understanding Value, Price, and Customer Perception in Premium Retail

Topic 3: Ingredients 101—Labels, Quality & Guaranteed Analysis Learn how to decode ingredient labels. Understand the difference between marketing terms and actual quality. Gain insight into by-products, fillers, named meats, and sourcing claims.

Lesson 1: Reading Labels Like a Pro

Lesson 2: Ingredients to Avoid—And Why They’re Still Used

Lesson 3: What Makes a Food Truly Premium

Lesson 4: Guaranteed Analysis in Pet Food

Lesson 5: Ingredient Quality & Sourcing

Reading Labels & Understanding Ingredient Quality

Topic 4: Nutrition Deep Dive—Life Stages, Grains & Sensitivities Go beyond basic food types and into the details of nutritional formulation. Learn how needs change over time, how to guide grain-free vs. grain-inclusive choices, and how to support customers dealing with allergies or sensitivities.

Lesson 1: Life Stage Nutrition

Lesson 2: Grain-Free or Grain-Friendly?

Lesson 3: Rotational Feeding—Why, When, and How

Lesson 4: Allergies, Sensitivities & What They Mean

Life Stages, Grains & Sensitivities

Topic 5: Food Types Explained—Formats, Functions & How to Guide Customers Compare food formats clearly. Understand how they’re made, what they offer, and when each might be appropriate—based on customer preference, pet needs, or practical factors.

Lesson 1: Dry Food (Kibble)—Convenient, Common, But Worth a Closer Look

Lesson 2: Raw Food—Benefits, Cautions, Myths

Lesson 3: Raw Food—The Difference Between Frozen and Freeze-Dried

Lesson 4: Raw Food—Choosing What Works for Each Customer

Lesson 5: Dehydrated Food—A Niche but Nutrient-Rich Choice

Lesson 6: Wet Food—Benefits, Drawbacks, and Best Use Cases

Lesson 7: Prescription Recipes—A Vital Tool for Medical Conditions

Lesson 8: Homemade Diets—Considerations, Challenges & Safer Alternatives

Lesson 9: Hydration—So Basic, Yet So Important

Lesson 10: Cooked Food—Refrigerated and Frozen Options

Lesson 11: Choosing the Right Pet Food—Putting It All Together

Food Formats, Functions & How to Guide Customers

Bonus Lesson 12: Raw for Cats—What’s Holding People Back, and How to Help

Topic 6: Helping Customers Choose with Confidence Pull everything together into powerful conversations. Learn to read between the lines, suggest with empathy, and guide people through confusion, doubt, or fear with professionalism and care.

Lesson 1: Building a Recommendation Framework

Lesson 2: Turning Uncertainty Into Trust

Lesson 3: Helping is the Goal—Not Pushing

Lesson 4: Guiding Without Bias—Becoming a Trusted Source

Lesson 5: When Vets Talk Nutrition—What to Know & How to Respond

Helping Customers Choose with Confidence

Topic 7: Case Studies & Bonus Insights A practical wrap-up featuring real-world examples to help you connect concepts like value and ingredient analysis to everyday customer conversations.

Lesson 1: Defining Value—What Really Matters in a Product

Lesson 2: Label Showdown—Comparing Three Foods Side by Side

Lesson 3: How to Read a Pet Food Label Like a Pro

Case Studies & Bonus Insights

Topic 8: Helping Pets Live Longer, Happier Lives—The Bigger Picture This final topic brings everything together—reminding us that behind every bag of food and every conversation is something much bigger: helping pets live longer, healthier, happier lives.

Lesson 1: Wrapping Up—What We Do Matters

You’ve Completed Course 2!

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