Momentum launches #ShowUsYourEars summer dog treat campaign

Momentum Carnivore Nutrition has launched #ShowUsYourEars, a summer dog treat campaign built around user-generated social content and one of its most recognizable chew formats: pig ears. According to Pet Age, the campaign invites retailers, pet parents, and industry contacts to hold up a Momentum ear chew “like ears” and share the image online, giving the Wisconsin company a seasonal engagement push at a time when brands are competing hard for visibility in the treat aisle. The move fits Momentum’s recent emphasis on retailer-friendly merchandising and stronger brand storytelling. (petage.com)

The campaign lands as Momentum continues a multiyear evolution from a small family manufacturer into a more structured brand with broader channel ambitions. In 2022, the company formalized Momentum Carnivore Nutrition LLC as an independent entity tied to both the Maretti family and sales partners from Packer Mellem Sales, a step the company said would strengthen distribution and nationwide availability. That same year, Momentum also rolled out a rebrand focused on packaging, positioning, and a clearer nutrition message for pet parents. (petage.com)

More recently, Momentum has leaned into product formats that work well in independent retail, especially single-ingredient chews and treats with simple sourcing stories. In March 2026, Pet Age reported the company expanded its air-dried Icelandic fish chew line in retail-ready peggable bags and explicitly framed independent pet retailers as central to its strategy. On its own site, Momentum is currently promoting freeze-dried pig ear chews as a featured summer item, including a June buy-two-get-one offer, suggesting the #ShowUsYourEars campaign is likely designed to support both seasonal merchandising and social discovery around that product family. (petage.com)

Momentum’s product messaging helps explain why pig ears are a natural focal point for the campaign. The company describes its clean pig ear chews as single-ingredient, high-protein products made from Wisconsin pork, and says they provide naturally occurring glucosamine, chondroitin, and collagen-related compounds. In a recent company blog post, Momentum called hairy pig ears its best-selling chew “by... a lot,” and noted that pig ears are not recommended for dogs with pancreatitis or dogs on a veterinary low-fat diet. That kind of direct-to-consumer education, paired with a social hashtag campaign, can quickly shape how pet parents think about chews before they ever ask a veterinary team about them. (momentumcn.com)

Public expert commentary on the campaign itself appears limited so far, and no separate press release or regulatory filing surfaced in available searches. Still, the broader industry pattern is familiar: treat makers are increasingly pairing functional or limited-ingredient claims with community-style campaigns that encourage photo sharing, retailer participation, and shelf-level buzz. Pet Age has covered similar digital campaigns this year, including Rare Breed’s shelter-focused treat giveaway and Beggin’s sports-themed summer activation, underscoring how crowded and promotion-driven the dog treat category has become. (petage.com)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, this is less about the hashtag and more about the client messaging wrapped around it. Single-ingredient chews often resonate with pet parents looking for “clean label” options, but those products still raise practical questions about caloric load, fat content, digestibility, choking risk, dental fracture risk, and fit with therapeutic diets. When a campaign makes a chew more visible and more shareable, clinics may see more questions from clients who assume “natural” automatically means appropriate for every dog. This is especially relevant for patients with pancreatitis history, chronic enteropathy, obesity, food sensitivity workups, or dental disease. (momentumcn.com)

There’s also a retail-channel angle. Momentum has been vocal about the role of independent pet retailers in educating pet parents, and campaigns like this strengthen that retailer-brand-consumer loop. For veterinary teams, that means nutrition and treat discussions are increasingly happening outside the clinic, often through store staff, packaging claims, and social content. Clear, nonjudgmental counseling about treat selection, portion control, and patient-specific contraindications will matter more as these campaigns gain traction. (petage.com)

What to watch: The next signal will be whether Momentum extends #ShowUsYourEars beyond awareness into promotions, retailer contests, charitable tie-ins, or additional chew launches later in summer 2026, and whether the campaign drives wider placement in the independent pet specialty market. (petage.com)