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# Community of Trust — Fred & Felia with Beate Rank

Jean-Marc Noël: Tell us, how did you come up with the idea for Fred & Felia?

Beate Rank: I got a dog, and she became ill very quickly while she was still a puppy because I hadn't really looked into nutrition.

So I started cooking for her myself because I wanted her to get as healthy as possible.

Then you start looking into dog food and you see what's going on in that market and why so many dogs and cats are ill.

We looked at the American market and the German market and saw that there were still gaps in Germany.

And then that entrepreneurial instinct comes through — something you can't really suppress.

So we said: right, let's do this properly.

Jean-Marc Noël: Community of Trust, the podcast. Today with Beate Rank, CEO of Fred & Felia.

Today I'm speaking with Beate Rank, co-founder and CEO of Fred & Felia.

Fred & Felia makes dog and cat food — almost like home-cooked food — and, as I've heard, you already have more than 90,000 happy and healthy four-legged customers and more than 15,000 customer reviews.

Beate, we've known each other for a few days now, haven't we?

Beate Rank: Don't mention the number of years.

Jean-Marc Noël: First of all, welcome.

Beate Rank: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

Jean-Marc Noël: In this episode, we'll talk about a lot of things, but there's one subject you're particularly good at.

For me, you're a marketing genius.

You've built a number of successful companies, not only Fred & Felia.

And recently I saw a fantastic LinkedIn post where you celebrated reaching 15,000 customer reviews.

I'd really like to talk about that in this episode and go through it step by step with you.

What challenges did you have? How did you overcome them? And perhaps other people can learn something from it too.

Beate, it's great to have you here.

When was the last time we actually saw each other?

Beate Rank: I'm not completely sure. Probably around 2021, around the exit, or shortly before.

We used to come here once a year with Tradoria to discuss our cooperation and what we were doing.

Jean-Marc Noël: That's right.

Before Fred & Felia, you founded Tradoria in around 2007.

What exactly was Tradoria again?

Beate Rank: An e‑commerce platform — something like a mixture of Amazon, eBay and Shopify.

All our merchants received a kind of all-inclusive package.

That also included the Trusted Shops Trustmark for their shop automatically.

So we had a very close cooperation back then, and we came here often to exchange ideas.

And afterwards we usually went to the Italian restaurant.

Jean-Marc Noël: We went there so often that we hardly had to order anymore.

They knew what we wanted.

Beate Rank: Exactly.

That really was a long time ago.

We sold the company in 2021, then I did something completely different for a while, and eventually I came back into the e‑commerce world.

Jean-Marc Noël: Wonderful.

So what makes Fred & Felia special?

What really distinguishes the shop?

Beate Rank: I think we try to be as transparent as possible.

We don't only talk about the product.

We also show what customers actually think about the product.

That's probably the most important thing.

There are a lot of dogs and cats in Germany — around ten million dogs and 15 million cats — and there are many providers of dog and cat food.

There are also a number of providers offering food in human-food quality now.

But there isn't another one in Tetra Pak, so that already gives us one point of differentiation.

But if you look at the marketing and advertising landscape, everyone basically says the same thing.

Whatever I say, a week later a competitor can say exactly the same thing.

Customer feedback is therefore probably the most honest and most important part of the whole game.

Jean-Marc Noël: Absolutely.

You have more than 15,000 customer reviews.

Yesterday I used our AI tool that summarises reviews.

I wanted to read you the summary because it's genuinely remarkable.

The Fred & Felia pet-food reviews are very positive.

Most customers praise the high quality and good taste of the food.

Beate Rank: You could eat it yourself.

Jean-Marc Noël: Maybe some people do. Who knows?

The reviews say that pets accept it enthusiastically.

The appetising appearance and pleasant smell are mentioned particularly often.

Many people also value the environmentally friendly Tetra Pak packaging and the fast delivery.

There are a few suggestions for improvement as well.

Beate Rank: Do you really have to read those out now?

Jean-Marc Noël: I'll mention them too, because overall they're very positive.

People would like larger pack sizes, which is actually a good sign.

They'd also like more varieties.

And, of course, some people would like lower prices — but who doesn't?

Some customers would also like special dietary options.

Overall, the summary shows very high satisfaction with the product and service.

So tell us: how did the idea for Fred & Felia come about?

Beate Rank: Very briefly: I was in the US.

I'd tried to work part-time instead of full-time, which was actually quite a challenge for me.

Then I thought: now I have time for a dog.

So I got a dog and trained her a lot because it was very important to me that I could take her everywhere.

But she became ill very quickly while she was still a puppy because I hadn't really looked into nutrition.

I then had to return to Germany briefly, and I started cooking for her myself because I wanted her to get as healthy as possible.

Once you start looking into dog food, you see what's happening in that market and why so many dogs and cats become ill.

We looked at the US market and the German market and saw that there were still gaps in Germany.

Then the entrepreneurial instinct came through again.

You can't really suppress that.

So I said: okay, let's do it properly.

Then I came back here and built the company.

Jean-Marc Noël: You'd already been a successful entrepreneur and then you started another company.

For everyone listening, what were the biggest challenges?

And looking back, are there things you would do differently?

Beate Rank: Looking back, you'd probably always do everything differently.

But I don't really think like that.

Things such as building the shop were relatively straightforward for me.

We integrated Trusted Shops right from the start.

There was no question about it.

Why should I spend my time dealing with terms and conditions and all that kind of thing myself?

That was clear.

Then I had to build a production operation.

That wasn't really my background.

I'd worked in production and logistics environments before, including in management positions, but building a production operation myself was new.

And doing that during COVID was a huge challenge.

You learn a lot.

If you understand project management and calculation, you can manage it reasonably well.

Then the product was there.

And once the product exists, you have to do the marketing.

How do you do that?

What do you have to optimise to get better?

From the very beginning, customer reviews were one of the most important things for us.

And they still are.

I still regularly work in customer support myself.

I'm regularly in the ticket system and regularly looking through the Trusted Shops reviews, simply to see what is happening out there.

We started with three varieties.

We thought: okay, that's enough for dogs. Chicken and beef, things like that — we'll cover everything.

It took less than four weeks before we knew immediately: no, that won't be enough.

Then customer enquiries start coming in.

"This contains grain."

"My dog can't tolerate pasta."

"My dog can't tolerate this."

"My dog can't tolerate that."

So we effectively built our product portfolio based on all the customer feedback we received.

That was the most important learning.

You can't start with everything at the same time.

But the feedback helped us choose the right additional varieties.

We knew that many dogs had sensitive stomachs, so we needed something for sensitive dogs.

Then we received many requests for particular types of meat or poultry.

That's how the range developed.

Jean-Marc Noël: So customer feedback, product development and product reviews play an enormous role for you.

How do you use all of that?

One part is improving the product and developing the range.

But the other thing you're very good at is using customer feedback to attract new customers.

With Community of Trust, trust is obviously one of our core topics.

And especially if I have a dog or cat and I'm buying food, I need to trust that what I'm getting is good and appropriate.

How did you build that?

How do you use reviews in your marketing today?

Beate Rank: First, on trust itself: dogs and cats are family members.

In the past, they may have been more like animals that simply lived alongside people.

Today they're family members.

And dog and cat owners can be extremely picky.

Anyone who really cares about it wants to know exactly what's going on.

That's why it is so important to show that there are customers who trust the product.

We have reviews integrated throughout the shop.

For every product, we also show the comments and our responses to them.

That was a very important part of the shop from the beginning.

At first, you don't have many reviews.

Now we have a lot.

But you still want to be honest.

So we always show the latest ones.

We don't sort the uncomfortable ones out.

We show the full range of reviews we receive.

Reviews are everywhere in our marketing.

They're in our email communication.

We also use them on our social-media channels.

Jean-Marc Noël: What does that look like in concrete terms?

Beate Rank: For example, we'll pick out a particular review.

Because we know which customer wrote it, sometimes we'll contact them and ask whether we can also publish a statement from them.

That's fantastic.

We're also starting to invite customers who've been with us for a long time and comment actively to take part in video sessions with us.

We might try a new recipe together.

Our community always tests new recipes.

They receive free packages containing a new variety.

They can register for those tests.

It's basically a flash release.

We say: tomorrow at 9 a.m., you can register to test the new variety.

Two minutes later, all the places are gone.

And we're not talking about sending out 20 packages.

We send several hundred.

Then people give us their feedback.

You can really see how the community works.

We send a survey, and almost everyone who receives a package takes the time to complete it.

That shows you how strong the desire is to contribute.

You can see the same thing in the number of reviews we have.

People want to tell you what they think.

You don't have to force them.

They want to participate.

Jean-Marc Noël: Absolutely.

You have a strong product, you believe in it, and you create the opportunity for customers to participate.

And you listen.

How do you use that in your marketing activities?

I assume you also run Google Ads and similar campaigns.

How important is it to integrate the reviews there too?

Beate Rank: They appear everywhere.

They're very important.

And I also use the feedback personally when I'm in front of the camera.

Jean-Marc Noël: Which you do very well.

Beate Rank: Opinions differ on that.

But I use customer feedback and tell stories such as: this customer had this problem, and this is how we solved it.

We work with feedback everywhere.

The product is good — actually, it's very good.

But you still make mistakes.

If a customer has a problem, notices that something went wrong and contacts us — or we see a Trusted Shops review that isn't positive — we pick up the phone.

We call and say: sorry, something went wrong.

It's a production process.

People work there.

Something can always happen.

And then we're very accommodating.

Jean-Marc Noël: That matches our experience completely.

Everyone makes mistakes.

What's important is how transparently you deal with them.

Interestingly, when you handle the problem transparently and solve it, you can actually create more trust.

The person thinks: wow, Beate looked after me. She solved the problem.

Have you been able to measure whether campaigns using reviews perform better?

Do you see higher conversion rates, click-through rates or similar effects?

Beate Rank: Not directly.

But I think Fred & Felia stands for transparency and honesty.

We don't want to be some fake brand.

We work very, very little with influencers now — almost not at all when it comes to people who simply create content for us.

Because then it's content creation for the sake of content creation.

Someone says something because we need content, but they may not really care about the brand.

We have no interest in that.

I think the combination is important.

People need to believe that we're telling them the truth and that they can trust us.

And then they can also read the reviews.

That whole interaction matters.

Jean-Marc Noël: That's interesting, especially what you say about influencers.

Influencers are a major channel in many communities today.

How do you approach that?

How do you select people?

Is there a tip you can give everyone listening?

Beate Rank: Most of it we now do ourselves or with existing customers.

That's where we're heading.

We can see that our customers want to be involved.

Of course, not everyone is born for the camera.

I'm not either.

Jean-Marc Noël: You do very well.

Beate Rank: Let's not fish for compliments.

But we do it with humour.

These customers are enthusiastic about Fred & Felia.

And what people love — something you shouldn't underestimate — is having a real person they can reach.

They see me on Instagram or Facebook.

Then a review comes in.

Sometimes it's great.

Sometimes it isn't.

It gets forwarded to me.

I reply.

And if something really needs attention, I sometimes call.

People are always completely surprised.

"You are calling me?"

And I say: yes, I'm calling you.

They're delighted.

And then something develops.

Even if they can't afford to buy everything for their dog or cat from us, maybe they buy part of their food from us.

There is a sense of connection.

And that connection is reflected in comments under Facebook and Instagram posts.

If someone posts something unpleasant, sometimes a loyal customer will jump in and say: "That's nonsense."

Jean-Marc Noël: They defend you.

Beate Rank: Exactly.

That's the best thing that can happen.

Your community speaks for you, and you don't have to do everything yourself.

Jean-Marc Noël: There is a lot people can learn from that.

You've seen an enormous amount of e‑commerce over the years.

By the way, I also once had a small online shop on Tradoria.

Beate Rank: Really? I didn't know that.

Jean-Marc Noël: Yes, my wife and I had a small side activity.

So you've really seen a lot.

When you look at other online shops today, what do you see where you think: that's going wrong?

Or, conversely, what do you see that works particularly well?

Beate Rank: I think the direction is towards becoming less static.

That's also where we're going now.

We're going to use many more explanatory videos.

That's the next thing I'm doing.

I'll stand there, explain each variety, and then we'll integrate those videos.

Jean-Marc Noël: Do you record those directly on your iPhone, or how do you do it?

Beate Rank: For the website, I let someone film me.

We're setting up a small studio.

Not as fancy as this one, but it still needs to look high quality.

For social media, I shoot a lot handheld.

Very simple, very quick.

But the website needs something more polished.

And I think most brands are missing a face.

We've had this in mind for a long time.

I simply refused to get in front of the camera.

I thought: there are other people who can do that.

Then we had the idea of hiring a brand ambassador.

And I said: no, that doesn't work at all.

We're not going to pay someone to tell everyone how great Fred & Felia is.

Nobody will believe that.

Well, maybe people will believe it, but it can never be as authentic.

Then I finally said: I'll try it myself.

And it immediately had a positive effect on everything.

We acquired customers more cheaply.

We collected more reviews.

You could immediately see the impact across all channels.

So that's something I would recommend to everyone.

Reveal as much of yourself as possible, even when it isn't always beautiful.

In this age of fakes, where so much is bullshit marketing, I think authenticity can be a real lever.

The more authentic, the better.

Authentic doesn't mean small.

It doesn't mean serving a niche.

Dog and cat food is not a niche market.

It means projecting credibility.

I think that's what it ultimately comes down to.

Jean-Marc Noël: That's an excellent point.

We've really entered an era of fakes.

Fake shops, fake reviews, fake news, fake bags — everything imaginable.

And as you say, people long for authenticity and something real.

We've seen today how you work with genuine customer reviews and how much of yourself you put into the brand.

I think that's absolutely one of your success factors.

Beate Rank: Far too many businesses simply let reviews come in.

They're happy about every review they receive, but they don't do anything with them.

And doing something with them doesn't only mean making them visible externally.

It also means using them internally for product development and customer communication.

I think that's the key.

Otherwise, stars alone don't mean very much.

Anyone can put stars somewhere.

Jean-Marc Noël: Exactly.

Where do the stars come from?

Whether they're green or yellow is almost secondary.

The important thing is that they're genuine and that you use them.

Beate Rank: That's one of the advantages with Trusted Shops.

People know they're real.

If somebody simply puts three stars on their own website, I have no idea whether they made them up.

Trusted Shops also has a certain level of awareness.

Customers see Trusted Shops, and they have Buyer Protection as well.

Even if they don't know us as a brand yet, that gives them another layer of reassurance.

I don't have 80% brand awareness yet — but we'll get there.

Jean-Marc Noël: Do you have any resources, books or anything else you'd recommend to our audience?

Any secret tips for existing or aspiring online retailers?

Beate Rank: I probably shouldn't say this too loudly: I like shopping online.

That's my tip.

Of course I read a lot, listen to a lot and listen to many podcasts.

There are lots of entrepreneurs I find interesting.

But I take most of my lessons from my own experiences as a customer.

If I want to buy a bag and I end up on a suspicious site, I ask myself: is this fake or genuine?

The offer looks too good to be true.

Or if I have a bad support experience and think: that took far too long, that was awful — then I immediately ask myself whether we're still doing it properly.

Whenever I have a bad experience somewhere else, I question our own work and try to improve it.

Every customer complaint is a textbook for getting better.

Jean-Marc Noël: That's a fantastic tip.

Don't be afraid of negative reviews.

Use them.

Beate Rank: Exactly.

Jean-Marc Noël: You say that very naturally, but we work with many online retailers and it isn't always natural.

A bad review can feel very personal.

People sometimes struggle with it.

Your advice is to look at it objectively.

Of course, there can be unfair reviews or reviews containing factual errors, and those are different.

But if it's someone's genuine opinion, your recommendation is to use it to improve.

I think that's exactly right.

How can people learn more about you?

Apart from Fred & Felia, is there somewhere they can find out more about your work and your journey?

Beate Rank: I'm active on LinkedIn.

I'm always happy to exchange ideas.

And just as I take time every week for customer reviews, I also take time every week to speak with other entrepreneurs.

I'm happy to invite people into our production.

For LinkedIn contacts, I genuinely try to answer as much as I can and exchange ideas.

That's where you learn the most yourself as a person and as an entrepreneur.

Jean-Marc Noël: I can only recommend that too.

Your recent LinkedIn post about customer reviews really impressed me.

You made it very clear that your customers are at the centre of your thinking, and you showed that with a level of passion that genuinely inspired me.

By the end, I was thinking: maybe I need to buy a dog.

Beate Rank: Good idea. Preferably one over 30 kilos.

Jean-Marc Noël: Then I get a small discount and can basically finance my own food as well.

Beate, thank you.

I can't tell you how pleased I am that we had the opportunity to see each other again.

It has been wonderful to hear your tips and get this insight into what you're doing now.

I wish you all the very best.

And hopefully we won't wait quite so long before seeing each other again.

Beate Rank: Now that the connection is back, we won't.

Jean-Marc Noël: Exactly.

That's it for this episode of Community of Trust.

I hope you've received valuable and practical tips that you can apply directly to your own online shop.

If you enjoyed the episode, subscribe to the podcast and, of course, leave a review.

That helps us reach more online retailers.

You'll find more insights and valuable resources at TrustedShops.com.

And, of course, become part of our community.

Thank you for listening.

See you in the next episode, and good luck with your online business.

Beate, thank you so much for being here.

Beate Rank: Thank you for the invitation. It was fun, and I'm looking forward to our next conversations.

Jean-Marc Noël: See you soon.

Beate Rank: See you soon. Bye.

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