3 countries where natural pet food matters most to buyers

Survey participants were asked if they agreed with the statement “I consider natural products as better.”

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(bigMilante | BigStock.com)
(bigMilante | BigStock.com)

Natural pet food may be a global trend, but not every nation’s pet owners puts the same importance on natural dog and cat food, according to Ben Cottenie, animal nutrition sales manager for pet food ingredient supplier Beneo. At Foro Mascotas 2018, Cottenie presented results of Beneo’s research on pet owner demands along with survey data from Euromonitor International.

Countries where natural pet food matters most

Euromonitor survey participants were asked if they agreed with the statement “I consider natural products as better.” Three countries stood out as having pet owners that agreed or strongly agreed at higher rates than other nations, said Cottenie. Mexico and Russia had the highest total percentages with 92 percent of respondents in both nations either agreeing or strongly agreeing with the statement. Brazil had the third highest percentage with 83 percent.

  1. Brazil – 36% strongly agree; 47% agree; 83% total
  2. Mexico – 53% strongly agree; 39% agree; 92% total
  3. Russia – 57% strongly agree; 35% agree; 92% total

Countries where natural pet food matters least

There was also a tie between the two nations that reported the lowest agreement rates. Pet owners in the United Kingdom and the United States, the planet’s largest pet food market, both reported 65 percent combined agreement or strong agreement. Spain was the third lowest with 68 percent.

  1. Spain – 31% strongly agree; 37% agree; 68% total
  2. US – 18% strongly agree; 42% agree; 65% total
  3. UK– 22% strongly agree; 43% agree; 65% total

Pet owner opinions about ingredients

Beneo also asked pet owners around the world about specific ingredients that the company offers. Pet owners in the United Kingdom and Spain were asked to what extent they agreed that certain pet food ingredients were natural.

Rice flour was considered the most natural with only seven percent of respondents stating that they disagreed that it was natural. Thirteen percent of respondents disagreed with considering rice starch as natural. Chicory root fibre and chicory fiber ranked slightly lower with 15 and 16 percent of respondents disagreeing with the statement that the ingredients were natural.

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