From Petfood Industry:

In 2014, Petfood Industry predicted some of the human food trends for the pet food industry to watch that year.

Those trends included:

• Biologically appropriate food
• Waste not, want not
• Transparency
• Innovation
• Health
• Brands with a cause
• Digital interaction
• Retailers adding pet food products
• Packaging with lots of information

And, recently, Petfood Industry reported the top 10 food trends for 2016.
Those trends included:

• Organic or GMO free
• Free from
• Flexitarian
• Natural processing
• Addition of vegetables
• Link to a product’s ingredient origins
• Small companies with big ideas
• Focus on protein
• Permissible indulgences
• New experiences

So, in the past two years, some of these trends have hung on. Consumers still want transparency in labeling, innovation, and health benefits.

“Health is the halo over everything,” said Lu Ann Williams, director of innovation for Innova Market Insights, in a webinar presenting the top 10 food trends for 2016, eight of which have a connection to health.

Trends in pet food tend to follow those in human food, so it can pay off for the pet food industry to watch these trends in order to benefit from them.

2014 human food trends for petfood to watch

Is the next big thing in petfood based on a relatively old thing? In the December issue of Pet Product News International, David Lummis of Packaged Facts speculated that the next petfood trend could be 'biologically appropriate.'