Pet owners’ awareness of nutrition, quality and safety may have led to the largest change in the pet food market over the past 10 years.
Pet owners’ growing awareness of nutrition, quality and safety led to the largest change in the pet food market over the past 10 years, according to James Restivo, director of client development at market research group Nielsen, in a video from Petfood Forum 2018.
“It's that discernment and education factor that's really made the difference and pet parents seem to be willing to pay for that difference,” he said. “Spend is up about 35 percent since 2006 on pet food, which is a interesting statistic when you think that inflation has grown by just about zero in that time.”
In the wake of the 2007 pet food recalls, pet owners increasingly demanded quality, with the need for USA-made and USA-sourced ingredients, Restivo said.
“That led to natural and grain-free,” he said.
Top factors consumers consider when buying pet food
Nielsen research led Restivo to conclude that the number one thing that pet owners consider when buying pet food is the underlying health and wellness of the animal itself.
“So that means pet parents are becoming more and more aware of what they're giving their pet and more discerning in terms of what they're choosing,” he said.
Beyond marketing claims about products, consumers make decisions based on ingredient statements on pet food labels. As a result, one of the themes driving the pet food market is clean label.
"As manufacturers are starting to take ingredients out of the products, we're seeing some growth in those products,” he said. “We're seeing things like natural, and we're seeing a rise in things that are artificial ingredient free.”
As for emerging trends, Restivo suggested that superfoods show promise.
“Think cranberries if you have a cat that has urinary tract challenges,” he said. “Manufacturers are putting cranberries in their just like on the human side. Even things like blueberries, kale and quinoa as plant-based diets start to enter the market place.”
About Petfood Forum events
To learn more about high-meat pet food and other trends attend Petfood Forum 2019. Petfood Forum is the not-to-be-missed trade show event 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 2019 will take place at the Kansas City Convention Center in Kansas City, Missouri, USA on April 29 – May 1, 2019. Registration is now open for Petfood Forum 2019.
Tim Wall covers the dog, cat and other pet food industries as a senior reporter for WATT Global Media. His work has appeared inScientific American, Live Science, Discovery News, Honduras Weekly, Global Journalist and other outlets. He holds an M.A. in journalism and an M.S. in natural resources, both
from the University of Missouri - Columbia, along with a bachelor's degree in biology.
Wall served in the Peace Corps in Honduras from 2005 to 2007, where he coordinated with the town government of Moroceli to organize a municipal trash collection system, taught environmental science, translated for medical brigades and facilitated sustainable agriculture, along with other projects.
Many hours, efforts, dollars and brainpower go into pet food companies’ and regulatory bodies’ efforts to ensure that products on the market are safe and healthy for pets.
