Bark: A case study on brand identity and product expansion strategy

Luna Guo
Mar 13
9 min read

A brand's DNA is its identity. It's the blueprint for how the products born out of it will look, and the reason for why those products are uniquely appealing. Often easier said than done, staying true to this foundational identity while expanding and evolving can be a challenging task. Bark, the company behind the beloved BarkBox, presents a compelling case study in navigating these waters.

If you've ever had a slight inkling of interest in dogs, chances are you've heard of Bark. A brand that's aligned themselves almost synonymously with their furry customers, their fun-loving approach hasn't gone unrecognized. Yet after their flagship product became a success, they've struggled to find their footing expanding across a variety of other offerings. Despite re-branding to encompass ventures beyond the original BarkBox, their DTC subscription box service is still the overwhelming figurehead for the brand, and they've yet to find the angle into new spaces.

This case study explores the brand behind the service, and the successes and challenges of aligning product innovation with a brand renowned for its playfulness. This analysis aims to uncover insights for any consumer brand seeking to find their unique take amidst growth and diversification.

How did Bark approach product expansions

A History of BarkBox

The year is 2012. Carly Strife, Matt Meeker, and Henrik Werdelin have just launched a new type of subscription service designed to bring convenience and joy to dog owners who love to spoil their pets with top-quality products. BarkBox emerged as a way to deliver curated boxes filled with toys, treats, and surprises directly to dog loving households across the country. It wasn't long before this service captured the hearts of dog enthusiasts nationwide, and gaining widespread adoption as the brand gained more recognition.

Growth driven by a strong social media presence

A key driver of BarkBox's rapid growth was its early adoption and embracement of social media platforms. At a time when brands were barely just beginning to recognize the power and reach of social media, BarkBox leveraged these tools with remarkable success. The company's playful and engaging content resonated with dog-lovers everywhere and by interacting directly with their audience through witty, relatable posts and campaigns, Bark fostered a powerful community.

When we think about brands that have unlocked the growth through social media, BarkBox is at the top of the list. With close to 2 million followers on Instagram today, the brand has cultivated a massive following that eagerly anticipates their entertaining content, exciting updates, and new product releases.

Success forged by novelty and partnerships

Another part of BarkBox's success is rooted in their ability to forge strong partnerships. This ranges from utilizing user-generated content (UGC) and influencers to strategic brand collaborations. By tapping into the creativity and reach of these partnerships, BarkBox consistently offered its subscribers unique and exclusive products that couldn't be found elsewhere. These exclusive designs and novel product offerings kept the experience fresh and exciting for customers, reinforcing the brand’s image as a leader in innovation and fun.

Through this blend of strong social media engagement and strategic partnerships, BarkBox solidified its position not just as a subscription box service, but as a beloved brand that reflects the joy of dogs.

Expansion

In the mid-2010s, Bark starts to look at expanding beyond their well-known success story that is BarkBox. With brand loyalists standing behind them, the company wanted to explore new avenues that could add to the experience of dog ownership and cater to an even broader audience.

Products, past and present

I have to admit, I haven't seen a company before with this level of diversity in their explorations of categories. Each new category expansion requires a good amount of investment to lay the groundwork for carving out a new space. Here's the extensive list of what I was able to find, listed by category:

Subscription Box

BarkBox
- Super Chewer
BarkBright

e-Commerce / Marketplace

BarkShop (no longer exists)

"Dating" App (to match people with adoptable dogs)

BarkBuddy (no longer exists)

Consumer Products

BarkHome / BarkEssentials
Bark branded kibble
Bark branded treats (no longer exists separate from BarkBox)
Bark branded toys

Food Delivery

BarkEats (no longer exists)

Video/Photo Editing

BarkCam (no longer exists)

Brick-and-Mortar / Recreational

BarkPark (no longer exists)

Vet Care

BarkCare (no longer exists)

Airline

BarkAir

Unfortunately, many of these initiatives have either ceased operation or are in the process of winding down. Amidst all these pursuits, BarkBox still remains their steadfast achievement and what is most commonly associated with the brand. Even though Bark became public in 2021 and rebranded the company to encompass a larger product offering vision, their brand still touts the BarkBox product front and center to this day.

Today, Bark's main innovation focus seems to have shifted towards its newest venture, BarkAir. It remains to be seen where this will lead them next.

Before analyzing what it takes for product innovation to stick, let's take a step back.

Why expansion?

Why do companies expand, ever? For many reasons, but it's often primarily driven by the desire to increase market share, diversify revenue streams, and tap into new customer segments. Expansion allows businesses to leverage their existing brand strengths and infrastructure to capture emerging opportunities. Ultimately, successful expansion can lead to enhanced brand recognition, and long-term growth.

In Bark's case, they wanted to evade market saturation, look to stay relevant with dog owners everywhere, and compete in new and growing categories.

When it comes to dogs, the size of the pie has continued to grow. According to AVMA, dog ownership in the US has risen 20% more since 2016 (Source). That's a lot more dogs with loving owners who will want to dote on them! Undoubtedly, this is a key driver for Bark.

Yet, spending on dogs as a whole has declined in the last year. On top of that, BarkBox has been decreasing in interest (Source: Google Trends). The peak was in Dec 2020 (the large influx of pandemic pets need Christmas gifts!), but then has been on a slow overall decline since--down 45% to be exact..

Bark's total orders has been in decline vs last year, with profit coming from higher margins. Their direct-to-consumer (DTC) revenue, which includes the flagship BarkBox, was down 7.5% vs last year. Bark has self-reported the declines as being driven by fewer total orders in their subscription boxes. And the vast majority of their revenue--84%--still comes from DTC products.

In light of these challenges, Bark's pursuit of expansion seems not only strategic but necessary. Bark aimed to diversify its offerings and remain at the forefront of the ever-evolving dog care industry by exploring new avenues beyond their subscription box model, driven by a desire to stay relevant and a desire to grow beyond a saturated category.

Why do some expansions fail to catch on?

Not all brand innovations can meet the expectations set by their ambitious goals. Several factors can contribute to why some innovations fail to gain traction. Often, these endeavors may stutter because of a misalignment between the new offerings and the core brand identity. Additionally, inadequate market research and understanding of consumer needs can result in products or services that do not meet expectations or solve the actual problems of the consumers they aim to serve. Furthermore, insufficient differentiation from competitors and lack of establishment in the new space can hinder the success of new initiatives as well.

Bark's unique issues

In the case of Bark, several factors contributed to the limited success of some of its expansion efforts.

Despite their strong foundation and loyal customer base, some innovations struggled to resonate because they didn't quite align with Bark’s playful brand identity. For example, their VetCare service--BarkCare--ventured into a more serious space, potentially making it challenging for consumers to associate the product with the same lighthearted brand they were typically used to.

Additionally, as Bark ventured into diverse categories, they faced more competition and needed to carve out their own space and differentiation to stand out. BarkBox had done a great job at creating and dominating a category in dog subscription boxes, attracting competitors like PupBox and Goody Box, and to the point of even saturating the space. However, many of the new categories they were looking to play in already had some dominant players on the field--players like Chewy in eCommerce, large and well established companies like Mars and Purina in dog food and treats, and all major airlines when it comes to flying dogs. In the realm of dog food, for example, Bark faced difficulties establishing a distinctive identity. Initially offering breed-specific, then custom diet options, they later shifted to more generic flavors. This evolution highlights their struggle to differentiate in crowded categories.

The complexities of scaling operations for these new product lines also posed challenges, making it harder for some innovations to achieve success. Managing logistics, new relationships, and supply chains while maintaining high-quality and ensuring a seamless customer experience required a different set of experiences with each category. This meant not only adapting their operations but also expanding their expertise in ways that weren't necessarily synergistic to their current areas of expertise to effectively compete against established industry leaders.

As a result of these challenges, it was hard for some of these innovations to take root.

The key to successful brand expansions and innovations

Successful brand expansions need to rely on their base of a strong brand identity. Bark's journey shows the importance of staying true to brand identity while navigating expansion strategy. In looking at the history of the brand, I analyzed how they've positioned themselves through the years and here are three key aspects of their brand identity I think we could all confidently align on:

Key aspects of Bark's brand identity

Surprise and delight
Fun, playful, and entertaining
All about dogs!

Having your brand identity as the guiding force in a product expansion strategy is powerful because it ensures consistency and authenticity in the ways a consumer would interact with you. Not only is it less work to explain to consumers what you do, but you'll be laying tiles on top of a foundation where they know who you are. This also helps guide new products in their differentiation in new categories. By using brand identity as a compass, companies can navigate new territories with the confidence that their innovations can resonate with existing customers while attracting new ones with similar values in uncharted categories.

An example of a Bark expansion that worked well in their favor by playing to their brand's strengths is Bark branded dog toys. They used their subscription boxes to introduce customers to their unique and fun toy designs. These toys embodied the same kind of joy that the brand does, while leveraging currently existing operations. The toys became a natural extension of the BarkBox brand, driving demand to audiences who were looking for ad-hoc purchases instead of subscriptions.

For continued success in new ventures, Bark should focus on areas that reinforce their core identity. By doing so, they can ensure a cohesive brand experience that resonates with consumers, capitalizing on what makes Bark truly special.

Product expansion recommendations

To maximize their potential, Bark should channel their efforts into areas that highlight their brand strengths rather than scattering resources chasing after various ventures. While Bark is all about the dogs, their true focus is on delighting dog owners (let's face it: dogs don't know the difference when their toys are punny or not). Bark has excelled in bringing joy and laughter to dog owners, and they should lean into this aspect even further!

Double down on the core category: subscription boxes

Subscriptions boxes are Bark's bread and butter and what they are known for, so let's take this further! Develop multiple lines underneath the BarkBox brand tailored to different needs that require subscriptions (PupBox did a good job of this): Developmental stages, training stages, etc. Offering flexible subscription options, like the ability to skip months without commitment, and incorporating social initiatives like donating to shelters with each purchase, can further enhance loyalty and expand their reach.

Exploring other pets would also drive efficient growth. Bark is already known for their dominance in subscription boxes and has operations already set up there, why not expand to other animals? Think of house of brands style: Bark might be all about dogs, but that doesn't mean the parent company they nurture can't be about animals, with each brand below filled with [insert pet here] obsessed people.

Explore adjacent categories with synergies

An example of this would be creating interactive toys that engage both dogs and their owners, reinforcing the playful bond through games and puzzles. Bark already has deep expertise in dog toy design and development, so let's leverage that.

Creating a type of adventure kit would also be playing in a similar category to where they already are, but focusing on a different occasion for dog owners. The kit might include items for the beach, park, or hiking--toys, snacks, and gear designed for playful exploration. Kits will continue to surprise and delight consumers with their contents while exploring new occasions with dog owners and their dogs.

Bring Bark's unique playful identity to new categories

Something I'd love to see Bark amplify is their playfulness more as they expand. For instance, they could tap into vacation and trips by creating curated dog lover adventures. Think events, outings, and even vacations planned with your dog. Organized events and carefully planned itineraries would allow Bark to connect with their audience in a fun, dog-centric way and reinforce their identity as a brand that celebrates the joy of dogs.

Even when it comes to consumer products, Bark can differentiate from standard offerings by adding an element of surprise and fun. Instead of producing typical dog food or treats, they could stand out in alignment with their brand identity by including surprise toys in their bags. This not only reinforces their playfulness as a brand but also adds an unexpected delight for both dogs and their owners, making each purchase an exciting experience.

Bark can maintain a strong connection with their audience while exploring new avenues for growth by innovating in ways in which they stay true to their brand identity. Although they have at times struggled to identify their competitive edge in various categories, one thing's for sure: their love for dogs has been a huge factor in their success. By focusing on what sets them apart and embracing their playful, dog-centric identity, Bark can position themselves to build on their strengths and continue to captivate dog people everywhere as they expand into new territories.