Pet food
The owner buys, the pet decides.
Kibble and treats sell on other owners’ word: palatability, transition, digestion. With Trustt, a pet food brand recruits its own ambassadors, from the owner who tests and rates to the creator who films their pet, then shows their proof on product pages.
ambassadors recruited in 5 months by Kookapi, insect-protein kibble for dogs and cats, including 54 content creators.
Kookapi case study published in November 2021.
Updated October 7, 2026
Pet profile shown
Ambassador story, KookapiStory from the Kookapi case study. Review card: demo, no invented text.
What the industry faces
In pet food, the one who pays is not the one who eats.
A pet food brand has to convince an owner, for a pet that never reads reviews but does refuse its bowl.
The pet has the last word
Palatability, food transition, digestion: owners want to know how other pets reacted, not only what the bag promises.
Ingredients need explaining
Insect protein, grain-free, specific recipes: a new ingredient is adopted when owners who tried it explain it.
Every pet is different
Species, breed, age, activity level: a review only helps if readers recognize their own pet.
How Trustt helps
An ambassador program for owners and their pets.
The brand recruits its ambassadors, has them test its recipes and collects what they produce. The Trustt software runs shipments, reminders and collection.
- Step 1
Recruit ambassadors
A call for applications on the brand’s site, with the pet’s profile: species, breed, age, activity. The brand picks the households that fit each recipe.
DogsCatsAge and breed - Step 2
Get recipes tested
Owners who test describe adoption and palatability. Creators who post film the bowl and their pet’s daily life.
ReviewsPhotosStories - Step 3
Follow the transition
A usage test after a few weeks: how the transition went, what the pet prefers, what the owner remembers about ingredients.
Usage testSurveys - Step 4
Show the proof
With Trustt Reviews and Snackeet, reviews, pet photos and videos go back to product pages, into interactive stories and to Google Shopping.
Product pageStoriesGoogle
Selection stays with the brand. It approves every ambassador before shipping, moderates every review before publication and decides what goes public. The software takes the volume: shipping, reminders, collection.
Published proof
Kookapi: a young kibble brand built with its ambassadors.
The brand makes insect-protein recipes for dogs and cats. It opened its ambassador program before its products went on sale, to get recipes tested and explain this new ingredient.
103 ambassadors in 5 months, before and during launch
Reviews show the pet’s age, breed and activity. The usage test checked whether the switch to the kibble went well, and 3 quantitative surveys gathered 299 respondents.
5-month program, 3 product campaigns. Case study published November 18, 2021.
Read the case study →
Figures from the Kookapi case study published on trustt.io in November 2021, which says “influencers” where Trustt now says content creators. Reviews are posted by ambassadors who received the product. A case study describes what a program produced, not a promised result.
Where the purchase is decided
A review that introduces the pet, not just the owner.
On the product page, each review shows the pet’s species, breed, age and activity. Readers look first for a pet like their own.
- 1
The Trustt Reviews widget
Criterion-by-criterion reviews (palatability, adoption, ingredients), with photos and a disclosure of what the ambassador received.
- 2
Snackeet stories and carousels
Videos of ambassadors and their pets become interactive stories and shoppable carousels on the product page.
- 3
Google Shopping
Reviews flow to Google through Merchant Center, flagged as received in exchange for a free product.
Adult dog kibble
Reviews sent to Google Shopping through Merchant Center
FAQ
Pet food ambassador programs: brands’ questions
How does a brand get kibble reviews at launch?
By publishing a campaign on its own ambassador program: owners apply with their pet’s profile, receive the product and post a review after the test period. Kookapi recruited 103 ambassadors in 5 months around its launch (case study published in November 2021).
What does a pet food ambassador review contain?
A rating and criterion-by-criterion text (palatability, adoption, ingredients), with the pet’s profile: species, breed, age, activity. Photos can be added. The brand moderates every review before publication.
Can the food transition be tracked?
Yes, with a usage test sent a few weeks after delivery. Kookapi asked whether the switch to its kibble went well. Answers are reported by owners.
Are ambassadors paid?
They receive the product for their pet to test. This is disclosed next to every review, and creators flag the partnership in their posts.
Does Trustt work with pet food brands?
Trustt is the ambassador program software for beauty, nutrition and pharmacy brands. The same method applies to pet food: the Kookapi case study is the published example.
Get the recipes judged by the ones who really count.
In 30 minutes, the Trustt team shows what an ambassador program would produce on the brand’s products: owners’ reviews, pet photos and videos, usage tests.
