A newer raw dog food is getting notice in the superpremium Mexican pet food market.
As humanization and pet nutrition trends consolidate, the pet food market continues to provide ample room for innovation. This is the case for Bleiz, an emerging product that has been active in the market for a few years and is now getting noticed in the superpremium Mexican pet food market.
Bleiz is a grain-free dehydrated food for dogs with some advantages over traditional pet food in terms of convenience. First, as a dehydrated food, the product is well-suited for trips and on-the-go occasions. Another feature is consumers prepare only what they need, avoiding waste. Bleiz only requires some warm water to be added before consumption. The conversion rate is three-to-one, meaning that a 5-kilogram package can produce nearly 15 kilograms of rehydrated food.
Bleiz comes in appealing packaging that resembles the well-known “happy meal” for children. This type of packaging is unique in the local market. Lastly, the product’s ingredients are natural, as no artificial preservatives are added to the formulation.
How are grain-free pet foods performing in Mexico?
With the exit of Blue Buffalo from the Mexican market nearly one year ago, the grain-free pet food segment was left to a few brands, such as Instinct, Whole Hearted and Back 2 Nature. Overall, the current performance of the niche is sound, yet its size is negligible compared to more traditional product categories.
Future growth of grain-free pet foods likely depends on the development of the sales channel. As these products are currently available only at pet shops, growth prospects are limited to shelf space and the opening of new outlets. Veterinarians, for example, generally do not offer or recommend grain-free products.
Grain-free pet foods are also available on several websites in Mexico. However, there is little information and promotional activity to support them, making it more difficult for consumers to get familiarized with the current product array.
Attributes and convenience support innovations
Bleiz is a good bet for the local pet food market, given the requirements and preferences of local consumers in terms of convenience and quality. Its appealing packaging and overall concept may influence the industry to adopt different approaches for consumption occasions and storage.
Iván Franco is the founder of Triplethree International and has collaborated on hundreds of research projects for several consumer goods industries. He was granted the Global Consultant of the Year award by Euromonitor International and authored the book 17 Market Strategies for Growth (in Spanish).
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