Between 2014 and 2017, self-reported pet ownership increased in Mexico by four percent such that now 82 percent of Mexicans own at least one pet, creating opportunities for the Mexican pet food industry, according to Arturo Valdez-Ambriz, consumer and retail director for GfK Mexico, a market research firm.
Mexican households include 1.7 pets on average now, with 17 percent owning both a cat and a dog, Valdez said during the opening presentation at Petfood Industry’s Tecnología de Alimentos para Mascotas (TAM): Innovación en Dietas Superpremium (Pet Food Technology: Innovation in Superpremium Diets) on December 5 in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico.
Both dog and cat ownership have shown statistically significant growth since 2014 in Mexico, he said. Of Mexican pet owners, 69 percent own dogs, up from 61 percent in 2014. Likewise, cat ownership grew from 23 percent of pet owners to 29 percent.
Valdez based his presentation on Gfk’s market research data. GfK surveyed 825 individuals from across Mexico to find pet ownership trends.
Reasons for dog and cat ownership trends in Mexico
Dog ownership in Mexico dipped from a high of 72 percent in 2016, while cat ownership has shown steady growth since 2014. Valdez believes that urbanization may partly explain this, since city dwellers often lack space and time to care for a dog, whereas cats can be kept in an apartment.
Rising incomes may be a factor boosting the ranks of Mexican pet owners. Unlike pet owners, for Mexican who own no pets one of their top five concerns reported to GfK is lacking enough money to live well and pay bills (40 percent). Pet owners seem more financially stable, by comparison.
Although they may have greater financial security than in the past, Mexican pet owners do fear for their personal security. Among pet owners, 56 percent reported crime and lawlessness as a primary concern in 2017, up from 42 percent in 2015. This fear may encourage people to get guard dogs.
Pet ownership demographics in Mexico
In Mexico, the largest group of dog owners was male (52 percent) between 15 and 29 years old (53 percent) and married (60 percent) with children (60 percent). Dog owners also tended to be more affluent than average, with only 31 percent earning less than US$10,000 per year.
Cat owners tended to have children (64 percent) and work full-time (46 percent). Fifty-two percent of cat owners were female and forty-three percent were 30 to 49 years old.
Mexican pet owners in general tended to work full time, own their own homes and earned US$10,000 to US$29,999 per year (40 percent) or more. Like US pet ownership trends, young adults (18 to 39 years old) have become the largest pet owning group accounting for 65 percent of total pet ownership in Mexico. Meanwhile, older adults (older than 40) made up 29 percent of the total.
Mexican superpremium pet food workshop
Petfood Industry’s workshop Tecnología de Alimentos para Mascotas (TAM): Innovación en Dietas Superpremium (Pet Food Technology: Innovation in Superpremium Diets) brought together leaders in Mexican pet food industry to learn about manufacturing pet food with high-meat, novel ingredient and other hallmarks of the superpremium dog and cat food trends.
To learn more about superpremium pet foods and international markets, attend Petfood Forum 2018. Petfood Forum provides an opportunity for pet food professionals from around the world to network, exchange ideas and do business with one another and with the industry's leading pet food manufacturers and suppliers. Petfood Forum 2018 will take place at the Kansas City Convention Center in Kansas City, Missouri, USA on April 23 -25, 2018.
