A pet’s well-being starts with pet parents’ knowledge of good nutrition – Musti supports pet parents in increasing their knowledge
At Musti, pet’s welfare is paramount to us. Good nutrition plays an important role in pets’ welfare. Our mission is to help pet parents to take care of all their pet’s needs and well-being. Sales personnel’s expertise in good nutrition is crucial when pet parents make decisions about pet food shopping at our stores. Musti invests in training and educating its employees about nutrition.
Musti arranges training for its sales personnel so that they can share their knowledge about good nutrition with pet parents and enhance pets’ welfare. Musti offers its sales personnel various opportunities to learn more about nutrition, and Musti’s culture encourages employees to share information with our customers to help them make informed decisions on pet food products.
“There is a broad spectrum of educational opportunities, from the onboarding of new employees and mandatory self-study courses on the e-learning platform to coffee break conversations. We have also noticed that it has become a habit to discuss pet nutrition and food with co-workers to learn from each other. Sharing the learnings with our customers is important for the sales personnel,” says Lovisa Kallerhult, Service Administrator and Educator at Arken Zoo.
Among customers, the awareness of good pet nutrition has increased. “Customers are interested in food ingredients and best practices, especially among canine parents, but we have also observed a growing interest among feline parents,” Lovisa continues.
Nutrition Deep Dive program
Musti has responded to sales personnel and customers’ need for information about the effects of pet nutrition on pet well-being by launching an educational program called Nutrition Deep Dive (“Foderprat”) for store personnel in Sweden and Norway. The program is split between theory and practice.
The theory part of the program focuses on cat and dog anatomy and their ability to process certain nutrients, the structure of nutrients and how they affect an animal’s body. For example, during the lifetime of a cat or dog, the need for different types of food varies due to changes in the pet’s energy consumption. The composition of the food also matters; the effects of dry and wet food are different. The practical part of the program focuses on tips for customer situations; for example, how to assist customers in difficult situations with healthy pets like a fussy eater or an upset stomach.
“The well-being of pets is our core value. In the practical part of the program, we talk a lot about preventative health care via nutrition and the importance of fulfilling the species natural eating behavior for optimal health, both mentally and physically,” says Lovisa.
The program has received great feedback from Arken Zoo’s store personnel in Sweden, who have requested even more follow-ups and spotlights on certain topics.
“We feel that this has brought on a change in the general attitude towards discussing pet food and nutrition both within the company and with our customers. That makes us all happy, because sharing information increases the awareness of how healthy eating benefits pets’ well-being,” states Lovisa.
