For those with a pet related website in any sub-niche of the pet market, you definitely want to be participating in pet food affiliate programs. It’s the one constant every pet parent needs to buy.
Some will pick up their pet food at the grocery store but a number are opting to buy from various brands that aren’t stocked on the shelves of Walmart but rather at specialty pet food suppliers.
Do you know how many households across America have pets? 67%. That’s 85 million families. And some of those have more than one pet. The projected market value for the pet food industry is set to reach $30 billion in annual sales by 2022.
Dogs and cats account for the majority of family pets. But, companion animals can include horses too.
The ASPCA cite the following animals as being suitable for companion pets…
- Dogs
- Cats
- Birds
- Rabbits
- Ferrets
- Guinea Pigs
- Small Mammals
- Small Reptiles
- Horses
- Fish
… And, provided an animal is legally allowed to be kept and looked after responsibly, domestic-bred farm animals can be a pet too. Wild animals shouldn’t be kept domestically.
In that respect, the pet market also includes livestock too, provided they are domestically-raised. Pet pigs is one of the narrower niches in the pet industry. Keeping goats as pets is another. The majority of livestock are kept outdoors and feast on organic products, often self-grown.
Indoor pets though, they don’t have the luxury of being surrounded by edible goodies so that’s where people are spending on pet food.
How much?
The average spend per pet is $300 per year. Remember, some pet parents have more than one pet. Those with 3 dogs, could be spending in excess of $60 every month on dog food. If they need a specialty diet, such as keto, or wild meat only, that’s even pricier.
Pet Food Affiliate Website Ideas
- Build an authority review site for pet foods listing category reviews for cat food, dog food, and pet diets including dog keto food suppliers
- Niche in on one particular pet, such as Parakeets
- Those in the mental health space could include a section on fishkeeping, as that’s a proven method of improving mental health. Focus on cold-water fish or tropical fish, including which ones can go together, the types that will fight, and the care and feeding guides for each type of fish.
- Rank the best subscription services for pet food
- For those with a keto or paleo blog, there are pet food suppliers catering to the same human-grade foods for specialty diets, catering to dogs and cats!
12 Pet Food Affiliate Programs
- Chewy
- Paws & Claws
- Thrive Market
- Only Natural Pet
- Pet Plate
- Tractor Supply
- Great Companions
- Pet Care RX
- Volhard Dog Nutrition
- Raw Wild
- KetoNatural Pet Food
- Wysong.net
1. Chewy
The Chewy pet store has been around since 2011 and it’s grown massively in the years since. As an e-commerce pet business, they’re one of the few brands to master social media to connect with customers, engage, and provide a high level of customer service and support.
Today, Chewy has 15 locations across the US, stock over 2,000 brands and they’ve invested millions of square footage of warehouse space to make sure order fulfillment is speedy! The last thing pet owners need is to be waiting for weeks for their pet food to arrive!
The Chewy.com affiliate program is managed by Partnerize.com, but no details are provided about how much they pay, or give you cookie-tracking info, but the FAQ does state they pay monthly either direct to your bank or by mailing a check out.
Register your interest at Partnerize.com to become a Chewy affiliate or for more information, email: Affiliates[at]chewy.com
2. Paws & Claws
Paws & Claws is a specialty pet supply company with stores across Canada providing pet various branded pet supplies and dog grooming services. The online store though, that’s where you can earn commissions on a number of pet supplies including pet food.
One of the advantages of being a PNCStores.com affiliate promoting pet food is that that company has an in-house consulting veterinarian to keep them ahead of the pet nutrition trends and every staff member is put through company training specifically focused on the nutritional needs of pets.
The store stocks most of the leading brand names of pet foods and some specialty pet food manufacturers with categories for dog food, cat food, and fish food and health categories where you’ll find supplements and canine toothpaste as well as a number of some difficult to find pet supplies.
The affiliate program is privately run and pays a 10% commission. No information is provided on cookie-tracking
Apply to the Paws & Claws affiliate program at Pncstores.com
3. Thrive Market
Thrive Market is an online membership portal where customers pay an annual fee for membership and then use the marketplace to buy all or most of the branded Non-GMO foods and organic food brands at 25% to 50% off retail prices.
For families that spend a lot on organic food including pet food in their weekly shop, the service could save them money.
In addition to the organic food product range, there are also organic cleaning products for the home, beauty products, and baby products. Additionally, people can shop by diet including gluten-free, Whole30, and Paleo.
By combining specialty diet food, and all the organic products into the one order, there are savings to be had on shopping and delivery rates, and it’s likely to be a lot more convenient too.
The affiliate program is managed by Commission Junction and pays a $40 commission on annual membership purchases, and a $5 commission for a 1-month membership and cookies are set to 30-days.
Apply to Join the Thrive Market affiliate program at Commission Junction.
4. Only Natural Pet
The Only Natural Pet store was founded in 2004, providing nutritionally balanced meals for dogs and cats, all rich in protein with a guarantee to contain a minimum of 33% crude protein.
Similar to some raw meat pet food suppliers, the diets are similar but this one is closer to a Paleo-style diet for pets, rather than completely ketogenic.
Customers can choose from freeze-dried pet food, air-dried or canned pet food and there is an autoship feature making repeat ordering easier.
The Only Natural Pet store uses Commission Junction to manage the affiliate tracking and payments, with affiliate support provided by Gen3Marketing.com. Commissions start at 6% and cookie-tracking is set to 45-days.
To apply to the Only Natural Pet affiliate program, sign up at CJ.com.
5. Pet Plate
Pet Plate is a subscription pet food program for cooked food made from real ingredients including chunky meat and vegetables with plenty of vitamins and minerals to keep pets healthy.
The meals are formulated by Dr. Renee Streeter, a certified Veterinary Nutritionist. At the point of registering, there are questions to complete, which are then used to know what pet food package is best suited to the dogs breed, age, health and size.
Customers benefit from knowing the food they’re feeding their dog is packaged by a Veterinary Nutritionist and all they have to do is choose the flavor profile they’re dog loves best. Lamb, chicken, turkey, or beef.
The affiliate program is managed by ShareaSale.com, pays $25 per sale and uses a 30-day cookie.
Join the PetPlate.com affiliate program on Shareasale.com
6. Tractor Supply
The Tractor Supply Co started out as a very niche supplier to ranchers across the US. Today, they operate over 1,800 Tractor Supply stores in 49 states and in March 2020, acquired PetSense, LLC, adding a further 180 PetSense stores across 26 states to its portfolio.
The affiliate program for Tractor Supply is suited to a wide range of pet supplies, including pet for dogs, cats, reptiles, and bird food and supplies.
In addition, for those in the narrower niche of any domestically-bred farm animal being raised as a companion pet, such as pigs or goats, you’ll be able to promote the yard materials needed to build pens, enclosures and supplies for companion livestock too.
The Tractor Supply Co. Affiliate program is managed by Pepperjam, pays a 5% commission on all product categories, and uses a 14-day cookie.
Apply to the Tractor Supply Co. Affiliate program at PepperJam.com
7. Great Companions
For those in the bird niche, Great Companions is the store to be promoting. It’s specifically focused on birds as companion pets and that helps the store convert at four times the industry average.
In addition to the Great Companions store for those in the bird niche, they also operate RevivalAnimalHealth.com catering to the wider pet food and supplies market.
As an affiliate, you can earn commissions by promoting either store.
The affiliate program is managed by Commission Junction, pays a 10% commission and uses a 45-day cookie.
To apply to the Great Companions affiliate program, sign up or log in to your CJ.com account and search for “Revival Animal Health.”
8. Pet Care RX
Pet Care RX is an online pet pharmacy that was founded with the sole intention of making pharmaceuticals more affordable for pet owners who need medications for their pets but likely to struggle to pay the prices vets are asking for.
The company was founded in 1998 and since then, they have grown to provide a range of pet wellness and nutritional products.
The affiliate program is only applicable for non-prescription sales and that’s because legislation doesn’t allow you to promote prescription meds. All other pet food, nutritional products and non-prescription sales pay a 6% commission.
They sell both wet and dry food, as well as specialty diets, some that do require prescriptions such as the Hill’s prescription Diet and Science Diet®. They will be cheaper for customers to buy here instead of from their vet but you won’t earn commissions on those, but you will on other products customers may choose to buy with the savings they make.
The affiliate program is managed by Linkshare, pays 6% commission on eligble products and uses a 35-day cookie.
Apply to become an affiliate of Pet Care RX.
9. Volhard Dog Nutrition
Volhard Dog Nutrition has been manufacturing 100% natural dog food for over 30-years. All the products from here are clinically-tested before leaving the facility to ensure they’re free from fungi, mold, or E.Coli.
Similar to other premium brands of organic based kibble and canine treats, they don’t use any chemical preservatives, GMOs, or synthetic vitamins. The foods are sourced locally and manufactured in the USA.
By focusing on whole foods of human-grade, the brands Natural Diet Foundation 2 (NDF) exceeds the nutritional levels set by the AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) ensuring optimal nutriton for dogs at every stage of life, from pup to their senior years.
The affiliate program for VolhardDogNutrition.com is managed by Refersion, uses a 60-day cookie and pays a base commission of 10%. Higher volume sales may be able to negotiate a higher commission. Affiliates also qualify for a 20% discount on some of their products. For your account to remain active, you need to make at least one qualifying affiliate sale every six months, or your affiliate account will be closed.
Register to become an affiliate of the Volhard Dog Nutrition store at Refersion.com.
10. Raw Wild
Raw Wild is the premium pet food store for dog and cat owners. All their food is made of natural ingredients and contain 99.4% organic Elk and Venison with 0.6% minerals and vitamins for optimized pet nutrition.
Natural diets are popular with dog and cat owners who understand that good nutrition, just like their own, is needed for the body and its organs to function properly. As with any full meat diet with premium meat, this is an expensive line.
Prices per order don’t drop below $100 and the commissions paid to affiliates is 8% so you’ll earn a minimum $8 per sale promoting Raw Wild. The cookies are set to 120-days and there’s a datafeed provided too.
Sign up for the Raw Wild affiliate program on Shareasale.com
11. KetoNatural Pet Food
If you’re familiar with Dave Asprey’s blog over at Bullet Proof coffee, Keto Natural pet foods take a very similar approach, just not as heavy on the content marketing.
The “science” section on the Ketonaturalpetfoods.com website is full of science content relating to pet nutrition. Obviously, it’s all going to back up the brands ketogenic based dog food as that’s what they sell. But, it’s a great resource that should help convert people to their brand of canine keto kibbles.
The dry dog food has 75% fewer carbs, is a premium grade canine diet and it’s high in and protein rich.
The ideal audience for this brand are those who want all-natural products with the fewest carbs and those untrusting of huge brands that are more likely to add artificial flavorings and other ingredients that dilute the nutritional value their pets get from their diet.
The Keto Natural pet food affiliate program is managed by Shareasale.com, pays $20 per sale and uses a 90-day cookie.
Join the Ketonatural Pet Foods affiliate program on Shareasale.com.
12. Wysong.net
The Wysong brand is among the longest independent pet food manufacturers in the US. Founded in 1979 by Dr. Randy Wysong, who still leads the company along with a team of qualified animal professionals, they develop their own line of pet foods for cats, dogs, ferrets and other small pets.
The site makes it easy to order and they have an informational section devoted to teaching pet parents the importance of pet nutrition. This is content developed by pet health experts, with direct input into the ingredients used in their pet foods.
All the foods are optimized to be rich in plant ingredients and dairy products to provide the right nutrition pets need.
The affiliate program is managed on the Shareasale.com network, uses a 60-day cookie and pays 16% commission on sales.
Apply to the Wysong.net pet food affiliate program on Shareasale.com
