Euromonitor International's latest research,
published in June 2010, expects the global petfood industry to see steady
retail value growth in 2010 despite continued global economic uncertainty.
Major markets maintained more than respectable retail
value gains as petfood reinforced itself as an essential item for consumers,
according to research from Packaged Facts in their report U.S. Pet Food Market Perspective and Prospects,
2010-2011 (Figure 1).
An
area of increasing focus for manufacturers is keeping their
fingers on the pulse of developments in emerging markets. Brazil is by
far the largest emerging market for petfood, with retail spending virtually unaffected
by the global recession. The dog and cat population surpassed 50 million
animals in Brazil
during 2009.
While Brazil
is the largest dog and cat food market behind the US,
India and Russia are the
fastest growing, according to Euromonitor data (Figure 2). The greatest
opportunities for market growth are in Latin America and Eastern
Europe. Russia
remains the primary engine of growth in Eastern Europe
with continued focus from manufacturing giants like Nestlé Purina. Prepared dog
and cat food is on the rise in Russia, with the majority of consumers feeding
table scraps in 1998 to a significant shift to packaged petfoods by 2009.
Although Brazil is the most dynamic
market in Latin America, Mexico
was strongly affected by the economic downturn and is now a relatively stagnant
area for market share growth.
Some of the fastest growing segments globally in the
petfood market include cat treats and mixers, premium dog and cat food and
dietary and health supplements. According to Packaged Facts, the US market for
natural petfood has more than doubled since 2005, and was worth US$1.5 billion
in 2009, and expected to reach US$2.6 billion in 2014. These past and expected
sales despite the recession have natural products manufacturers looking to
launch or expand their pet product lines.
“Pet owners are looking for natural ingredients to ensure their
pets stay healthy,” said Jim Mann, Kemin Nutrisurance product manager, in a
recent article for Natural Products
Insider. “Pet owners want to see ingredients they recognize on their petfood
label and that look like what they themselves are eating.” He added, “Although
the term ‘humanization’ may be overused in some contexts, it is very
appropriate where consumer preference for natural pet health and nutritional
ingredients are concerned.”
“Just look at what is happening for the human market today, and
that is the petfood of tomorrow,” said Bill Hogan, business development manager
of Novus Pet Nutrition. Other petfood ingredient trends include an emphasis on digestive
health, geriatric health, weight management and natural nutrition. Pet owners
are looking for more soft claims, such as “supports a healthy immune system,” “softer
coat, and healthier skin” or “supports healthy gut function.”
Ongoing global economic uncertainty is having a
significant impact on not only what
pet owners purchase but also where
they shop. While pet specialist retailers—especially pet superstores—continue
to help drive pet humanization, grocery retailers are now receiving a boost as
consumers become more price conscious, says Euromonitor. “Shopping
smarter” is the name of the game as pet owners strive to maintain
pre-downturn product quality standards, particularly in premium petfood. Euromonitor
predicts that global pet shops
and superstore outlets will grow 13% from 2009-2014.
Non-grocery channels saw their first share loss in nearly a decade
in 2009, while grocery retailers held steady at 53.2% of the global retail
value. Internet retailing also had a significant impact on the non-store
channel as a rapid growing segment because of its convenience, accessibility
and reasonable consumer pricing. As we increasingly rely on social networking,
online shopping will become a major source of social interaction as well, and
important in all marketing channels.
The global petfood market has been riding a strong wave of growth, in both developed and
developing markets, which should sustain it through uncertain economic times,
predict both Euromonitor and Packaged Facts. Economy petfood consumers of today
will still be the premium petfood consumers of tomorrow as long as
manufacturers provide consumer education on the benefits of product offerings
and make them widely available in order to grow sales. A strong investment in
health and wellness petfood is still needed, particularly in markets where
there is strong consumer awareness of health and wellness food and beverages
for humans. Leverage strong word-of-mouth recommendations through specialist
channels, particularly for premium and health and wellness offerings, which have
seen the most growth in global markets.
The global petfood market has been riding a strong wave of growth, in both developed and developing markets, which should sustain it through uncertain economic times, predict both Euromonitor and Packaged Facts.