In a survey of 100 adult pet owners in the United States, the word “natural” on pet food labels most influenced people’s decision to purchase a particular pet food.
Custom label producer Luminer Converting Group conducted the survey online in December 2018. One hundred pet owners in the United States, male and female between 18 and 65 years old, participated.
Pet food labeling claims that most influence purchases
Responses to the question: Are you more inclined to purchase pet food with a label of “organic,” “natural,” “holistic” or “human grade”?
In the results of the survey, 45 percent of pet owners responded that they were more inclined to purchase pet food labeled as “natural”. That made natural the top ranked response. Organic came in second with twenty-three percent approximately 11 percent selected human-grade. The lowest percentage, three, chose holistic. However, 18 percent selected none of the above.
Overall, 82 percent of pet owners responded that the use of any of these four terms on pet food packaging influenced their decision to purchase that product.
Pet food label factors reducing sales
On the other hand, other pet food labeling factors reduced the likelihood that people would purchase a particular brand.
Responses to the question: What characteristics of a pet food product’s packaging make you less likely to buy it?
- 41%: Label does not provide enough information
- 25%: Text is too small to read
- 15%: Label does not specify age or breed
- 18%: Other
Pet food label types share more nutrition information
Certain types of labels offer more space for data and background information about the dog, cat and other pet foods contained within.
“Fold-out and peel-reseal labels tend to be the most popular since they’re the most cost effective compared to booklet labels,” Dan Goldstein, marketing and account manager for Luminer, told Petfood Industry. “This of course is dependent on how much information a client is looking to include on their product label. Booklet labels can accommodate upward of 60 pages of information.”
