Adventures in Pet Food: Page 47

Debbie Phillips-Donaldson

Pet Food Market

Petfood companies need to define sustainability for their markets

In yet another trends list for the year (and yes, I’m guilty of issuing one of those lists, too), Leslie May, founder of Pawsible Marketing, identifies one of the top trends for the pet industry as “quality, healthy, made in the US, green, eco-friendly.” Whew! That one trend covers a lot of ground. But I agree with May that the general concept that pet owners increasingly are seeking pet products, including petfood, that they believe are healthier for their pets and the planet.

Pet Food Market

Petfood volume flat in 2013, new feed survey shows

The volume of petfood produced globally in 2013 grew less than 1% over 2012, from 20.5 million tons to 20.7 million, according to the just released 2014 Alltech Global Feed Survey. That's slightly less than the 1% growth reported for production of feed for all species, from 954 million tons in 2012 to 963 million in 2013. Petfood makes up only about 2% of that global total.

Pet Food Market

First petfood M&A deal of 2014 portends more to come

The petfood and pet care industries have been a hotbed of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity for several years now; in fact, even during the recession, that activity picked up, unlike in most other industries. Thus, last week's announcement that Nestlé Purina PetCare had acquired Zuke's Performance Pet Nutrition, a maker of natural, functional treats, came as no real surprise to anyone in or watching our industry.

Pet Food Market

Petfood quality, pet health top purchasing drivers, mirroring human food trends

A new survey of dog owners by a UK-based pet supplies website shows the quality of petfood outweighs costs for many pet parents, echoing ongoing premiumization in the US petfood market and mirroring purchasing drivers for human food. Conducted online by GJW Titmuss from October to December 2013 and responded to by 675 dog owners, the survey showed 61% of the owners consider quality the most important factor when choosing a dog food, versus only 9% choosing cost.

Pet Food Market

Media perpetuating petfood safety myths, misconceptions

Another day/month/year, another media report on petfood safety with misleading, out-of-context or downright inaccurate information. Since the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released the proposed preventive control rule for animal feed (including petfood) in late October as part of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), it's been big news throughout mainstream media. Unfortunately, it's difficult to see how some of the news being disseminated is at all helpful to pet owners, let alone the petfood industry.

Pet Food Market

Looking into the 2014 petfood crystal ball

I don't really have a crystal ball (and I probably wouldn't trust it if I had one). Nor can I claim to predict, with full confidence, what will happen in the global petfood industry next year. But I can make a fairly informed speculation about the issues and events that may affect petfood in 2014. In no particular order of conviction or chronology:

Pet Food Market

Petfood industry can help shape FSMA preventive control rule

While the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) overall and, specifically, its recently proposed preventive control rule for animal feed represent a paradigm shift in how petfood will be regulated, the petfood industry has a rare -- if rushed -- opportunity to have a say in how the final rule will read. Yes, believe it or not, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wants your input.

Pet Food Market

How global business leaders view sustainability, including consumer influence

"You can't compartmentalize sustainability anymore everything is interrelated." So said Richard Edelman, CEO of his namesake public relations firm, as part of the "UN Global Compact Accenture CEO Study on Sustainability 2013," conducted by the United Nations and Accenture (a

Pet Food Market

2014 human food trends that could affect petfood

At last week's Food Ingredients Europe in Frankfurt, Germany, an annual show described by organizer's as the "global meeting place for all stakeholders in the food ingredients industry," Innova Market Insights introduced its top 10 food and beverage trends for 2014. While not all apply to petfood (and only five of the 10 included descriptions), some might be worth considering for petfood manufacturers and marketers.

Pet Food Market

Snapshot of petfood ingredient market shows ongoing growth

A report on the global animal feed ingredients market released last week offers a few tidbits of data and information regarding petfood ingredients, with the highlight that the overall market as well as the segment that includes companion animal food are both growing strongly. That growth is projected to continue at a compound annual rate of 5% to 7.5% through 2019.

Pet Food Market

Study: How petfood purchasing decisions are influenced by packaging, retail channel

A study of US pet owners on how and where they shop for petfood offers some interesting insights for professionals in charge of petfood marketing and packaging design, perhaps even for large companies that have the resources to conduct their own consumer research.

Pet Food Market

Petfood not a factor after all in latest non-GMO legislative failure

A ballot initiative to require many foods and beverages that contain genetically modified ingredients sold in the state of Washington to carry labels failed to pass during November 5 elections, with 55% of voters opposed to the measure. Though earlier news reports claimed petfood was being used as an example by both supporters and opponents of the initiative, petfood-related debates seemed to fade down the stretch, replaced by arguments over cost, health benefits and labeling of human foods. And unlike with a similar proposed law in California last year that was also defeated, petfood industry organizations appeared not to engage in the Washington battle with either words or money.

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