Bark Out Loud by Vivaldis is a pet care brand. Earlier this year it unveiled its #ThriveSharedJourney campaign with actor Huma Qureshi. (Link – https://www.instagram.com/reel/DV8c40sDe3b/) The campaign introduced a powerful shift in perspective, positioning pet wellbeing not as a routine responsibility, but as a shared journey of growth between pets and their parents.
Medianews4u caught up with Devika Khanna, Business Head Bark Out Loud by Vivaldis on how storytelling and community-led narratives are shaping pet-care marketing in India.
Q. What was the whitespace in the pet care market that led to the launch of Bark Out Loud in 2020?
When Kunal Khanna founded Bark Out Loud in 2020, the observation was simple but striking: India’s pet parents were evolving rapidly, but the market hadn’t kept pace. Pet ownership was shifting from a casual lifestyle choice to a deeply emotional commitment; pets were becoming family. Yet the products available were either imported and inaccessible, or mass-market and uninspiring.
There was no premium, trusted, Indian brand that could be a true one-stop solution covering food, treats, skincare, and supplements with the rigour of vet and science validation and the warmth of a brand that genuinely cared. That gap is exactly what Bark Out Loud was built to fill. We wanted to be the brand that took pet wellness as seriously as pet parents do.
Q. What tactics were employed to create a differentiated approach for the brand given stiff competition in the category?
Differentiation for us was never just about the product; it was about the entire experience of the brand. First, we took a zero-compromise stance on formulation: no harmful synthetic chemicals, no additives, no preservatives, all-natural ingredients, validated by expert vets and scientists.
That’s a promise, not a marketing line. Second, we went direct-to-consumer online, which allowed us to build a real relationship with pet parents rather than just selling through a shelf. Third, we invested in the community. Pet parents are among the most passionate and vocal consumer groups in India; if you earn their trust, they become your most powerful advocates.
And fourth, we positioned ourselves as a wellness brand, not just a pet food brand. That “fun yet functional” approach where every product serves a real health purpose but doesn’t feel clinical is something we’ve been consistent about from the start.
Q. What is the important thing to keep in mind while building a premium, nutrition-first pet food brand in India?
Trust is everything. You are asking someone to make a decision about the health of a being they love unconditionally; that is not a transaction you can shortcut.
Every claim you make, every ingredient you source, every formulation you put out has to be backed by real science and real intent. Pet parents today are hyper-informed and deeply skeptical of brands that look good but don’t go deep.
So the most important thing is to never let marketing get ahead of the product. Build the product first, get it validated, stand behind it, and then tell that story honestly. The second thing is patience. Premium brand building in India is a long game; you’re not just selling a product, you’re shifting behaviour and building a new category of consciousness around pet nutrition. That takes time, consistency, and a genuine belief in what you’re doing.
Q. What growth has the company seen since? What is the long term vision?
Since 2020, we’ve grown into one of India’s leading premium pet care brands, expanding across food, treats, skincare, and supplements; building a truly comprehensive range that serves pets across life stages and needs. Being online-first has allowed us to scale efficiently while staying close to our community of pet parents.
The long-term vision is to be every pet parent’s most trusted partner; the brand they turn to first, for everything. We want Bark Out Loud to be synonymous with premium, science-backed pet wellness in India, the way certain brands have become synonymous with quality in the human health space. As pet humanisation continues to accelerate in India, we believe the opportunity is enormous, and we intend to grow with it and lead it.
Q. For 2026 which are the key growth markets being focussed on for growth? Is it mostly about cats and dogs?
Being a 100% online brand is a genuine advantage here; our growth isn’t gated by geography or distribution infrastructure. In 2026, we’re seeing strong momentum not just from the metros but from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, where a digitally savvy generation of pet parents is shopping online and actively seeking premium options.
That’s a market that’s largely underserved and we’re well-positioned to serve it. Dogs and cats remain the core, and the launch of Thrive with both dog food and cat food variants reflects that. But the Indian pet parent universe is expanding. We’re watching adjacent spaces closely, and product innovation will follow wherever we see genuine demand and a gap we can fill meaningfully.
Q. Is there a difference between how Gen Z and Gen Alpha view pet care compared with their parents?
Absolutely, and it’s one of the most fascinating shifts we’re observing. For older pet parents, pet care was often reactive; you visited the vet when something was wrong, you bought food that was convenient and affordable. Gen Z and Gen Alpha are fundamentally different.
They’ve grown up with access to information, they approach pet care proactively, and they hold brands to a much higher standard of transparency and ethics. They want to know what’s in the product, where it comes from, whether the brand actually stands for something. They also relate to their pets differently; pets are not just companions, they are emotional anchors, especially for a generation navigating a complex and stressful world.
That’s a deeply meaningful shift for a brand like ours, because the values we were built on transparency, quality, genuine care; are exactly what this generation demands.
Q. What was the insight behind #ThriveSharedJourney campaign that challenges a behavioural gap? What are the various legs of the campaign?
The insight was rooted in a behavioural contradiction we kept encountering. Pet parents are emotionally all-in; they love their pets deeply and talk about them as family.
But when it came to nutrition specifically, many were still making decisions based on habit, convenience, or price rather than conscious choice. There was a gap between the love they felt and the intentionality they brought to what went into their pet’s bowl every day.
#ThriveSharedJourney was designed to bridge that gap by reframing nutrition not as a chore or a category decision, but as an act of love and partnership. The positioning “You Thrive, They Thrive” says it directly: your pet’s wellbeing and yours are intertwined. The campaign has multiple legs: the hero film featuring Huma Qureshi, which anchors the emotional narrative; an influencer collaboration layer where pet parents and creators share their own shared journey stories; and community contests that invite our audience to participate and contribute their own versions of the Thrive story. It’s a campaign that invites, not just broadcasts.
Q. What does Huma Qureshi bring to the table?
Huma brings something no amount of production budget can manufacture; authenticity. She is a real pet parent, and her pet has genuinely been with her through the highs and the harder chapters of her journey. When she speaks about that bond, it resonates because it’s true. But beyond the personal story, Huma also embodies the kind of modern, conscious woman who makes deliberate choices about her career, her health, her life.
That intentionality is very aligned with the Bark Out Loud ethos. She also brings incredible reach and a fan base that trusts her, which matters enormously when you’re trying to shift behaviour around something as personal as what you feed your pet. She doesn’t just endorse Thrive, she lives the shared journey that the campaign is built around.
Q. What is the media mix between traditional and digital mediums?
We are a 100% digital brand in our media approach, and that’s a deliberate choice, not a constraint. Our pet parents live online; they discover products through social media, research through communities, and purchase through e-commerce. So every rupee of our media investment goes into digital: social platforms, influencer collaborations, content marketing, targeted performance campaigns, and community building.
This gives us the ability to be precise, to measure in real time, to optimise, and to have genuine two-way conversations with our audience. It also means we can be present in the moments that matter, whether that’s a first-time pet parent searching for puppy nutrition advice at midnight or a seasoned cat parent looking for a food upgrade. Digital lets us show up for all of them.
Q. How do you balance brand building and performance marketing? Is AI making this task easier?
Brand building and performance marketing are two engines of the same vehicle, brand creates trust and emotional connection, making performance more efficient and lowering conversion costs. Campaigns like #ThriveSharedJourney strengthen this foundation and amplify downstream results.
AI has made balancing the two much easier by enabling faster execution, better targetting, and data-driven decisions. We believe the best approach is a blend of AI and human touch, AI brings speed and precision, while human judgment ensures authenticity.
This balance also allows us to think both short-term and long-term,driving immediate results while continuously investing in brand equity. By using AI to optimise performance in real time and human insight to guide brand direction, we ensure sustained growth rather than just short bursts of success.
Q. When it comes to marketing to India’s new-age pet parents what are the the challenges and gaps?
The biggest challenge is the sheer speed at which this consumer is evolving. India’s new-age pet parent is hyper-informed, deeply skeptical, and has very little patience for marketing that feels hollow. You have to be genuinely useful and genuinely honest all the time. The second challenge is cutting through the noise. It’s a crowded digital landscape and pet content is everywhere. Standing out requires consistency, creativity, and a clear point of view. The gap we’ve identified most acutely is the space between information and trust. There’s a lot of content out there about pet nutrition; some good, some misleading. Pet parents often don’t know who to believe.
A brand that can become a credible, science-backed, emotionally resonant voice in that space has an enormous opportunity. That’s the gap we’re working hardest to fill.
Q. Does content-led marketing in the pet care category still work and if so why?
Not only does it work in the pet care category, it may be the most powerful marketing tool there is. Here’s why: pet parents are among the most emotionally engaged consumers in any category. They seek out content about their pets compulsively; tips, stories, health advice, product reviews, community conversations. They don’t just tolerate good content; they actively look for it.
A brand that shows up in those moments with something genuinely useful or genuinely moving earns a level of trust that a banner ad simply cannot. The #ThriveSharedJourney campaign is a testament to this. It’s not selling a product; it’s telling a story that pet parents see themselves in. That kind of content creates belonging, and belonging is what turns customers into community. In a category as personal as pet care, community is the most durable competitive advantage you can build.
Q. How are storytelling and community-led narratives shaping modern pet care conversations?
Pet care conversations today are being shaped almost entirely from the bottom up by pet parents sharing their real experiences, their struggles, their wins, their grief. The most powerful stories in this category don’t come from brand campaigns; they come from someone posting about how their senior dog’s mobility improved, or a first-time cat parent navigating anxiety about getting the nutrition right.
Brands that understand this don’t try to dominate the conversation, they create the conditions for it. At Bark Out Loud, we try to be a platform for these stories as much as a brand with our own story. When pet parents feel seen and heard by a brand, they don’t just buy from you, they advocate for you. Community-led narratives are not a marketing tactic; they are the most honest reflection of what a brand actually means to people.
Q. How is Bark Out Loud leveraging AI across various functions from product innovation to marketing?
AI is deeply embedded in how we operate at Bark Out Loud. In marketing, it powers content creation, creative testing, audience segmentation, and performance optimisation, while also helping us manage and refine advertising dashboards more efficiently enabling smarter, real-time decisions.
It also strengthens customer insights by helping us understand recurring concerns and evolving needs within our pet parent community, so we can respond more effectively.
Our philosophy is simple: the best results come from combining AI with human intent. AI makes us faster, sharper, and more responsive, while our values, vision, and genuine care for pets and their parents remain deeply human.
