Convenience, sustainability and attractive design are features consumers want in the packaging for pet products, according to research from Packaged Facts. Their new report, “Pet Product Packaging Innovation,” is a resource for marketers seeking insights on what prompts shoppers to become buyers.

This new report in the collection of Packaged Facts’ pet studies covers the following issues and more:

• Premiumization of pet foods and the impact on packaging
• Size and growth of dry versus wet food packaging
• Growth opportunities for specific packaging materials
• Humanization of pets and its influence on product graphics

Pet product packaging innovation 

The market for pet product packaging continues to see mid-single digit growth, spurred by sales of pet products themselves and the growing premiumization of those same products. Convenience and sustainability feature prominently as trends in the packaging of pet products across all product categories, but are two factors difficult to reconcile within the same packaging. Consumers want more convenience features, as Packaged Facts Survey of Pet Owners clearly shows, but sustainability issues such as recyclability and packaging reduction are also top of mind. Packaging attractiveness is also extremely important to a small but crucial subset of pet owners, so design refreshes remain an important part of pet product lifecycles, particularly in hypercompetitive categories such as dog treats. Clean labeling trends picked up from human foods are also a key focus for graphics innovations on package.

“Pet Product Packaging Innovation” provides an in depth analysis of packaging materials and styles used for pet products across the US market, focusing on dog and cat food packaging as the largest influences on the market.

Report methodology

The information in Pet Product Packaging Innovation was obtained from primary research including national online consumer polls of U.S. pet owners conducted on an ongoing basis by Packaged Facts, interviews with pet market experts, on-site examination of retail and service provider venues, and Internet canvassing including websites and blogs. Secondary research includes consumer survey data compiled by Simmons Research LLC, information - and data-gathering from consumer business and trade publications, company profiles, and Packaged Facts’ own extensive pet market research database and report collection. Consumer findings are derived from Packaged Facts’ proprietary survey conducted in May 2018 expressly for this report, which provides current data on consumers’ purchasing habits, preferences, and perspectives.