Single-serve wet pet food containers may be a sales growth opportunity for both dog and cat food packaging. In a Packaged Facts survey conducted in the United States, 32 percent of dog and cat owners stated that they found single-serve packaging important for their pet’s wet diets.
Convenience may be a major driving force in the trend towards single-serve wet pet foods, according to Packaged Facts’ report “Pet Product Packaging Innovation.” At the same time Americans, especially on-the-go Millennials, are choosing smaller dogs. Those two trends dovetail to boost demand for single-serve wet pet food.
“While the convenience of single-serve packaging is slightly more important to cat owners than dog owners, single-serve packaging is important to enough consumers that the format is ripe for strong growth over the next few years,” wrote Packaged Facts analysts.
Small dogs: An urban trend gaining ground
There were several pet food formulas catering to small or toy breed dogs in the New Products Showcase at SuperZoo 2018, speaking to the growing trend of people in urban settings owning smaller pets that are more easily handled in compact spaces, wrote Lindsay Beaton, managing editor of Petfood Industry magazine.
Millennials, in particular, are driving this trend, living lifestyles that delay family life and the once-dreamed-of “white picket fence” and sticking to bustling cityscapes in apartments or condos. Said apartments or condos do not necessarily lend themselves to owning large dogs, but millennials want pets anyway — hence the rise in small dog ownership.
Rachael Ray’s Nutrish line, by Ainsworth Pet Nutrition, has debuted its superpremium food for small dogs called Little Bites. Solid Gold’s Mighty Mini line has been expanded, adding lamb formulas to its dry and wet food offerings for small dogs. WellPet now has a line of “petite entrees” specifically for small breed dogs, as well as three formulas in its CORE dry food offerings (including one for small breed weight control).