Pet food sustainability: Consumers want proof of claims
April 1, 2022 – Debbie Phillips-Donaldson
Much of sustainability’s evolution from buzzword to ongoing trend and business necessity has been driven by consumer demand. Purchasers of all types of products, including pet food, seek to lower their environmental footprint and buy in a way they think will mitigate the growing threats from climate change.
Clashing trends create pet food sustainability dichotomies
April 21, 2022 – Tim Wall
Sustainability has become both a buzzword and a necessity, both green-washed jargon and inevitable societal change. For the pet food industry, competing trends create contradictions that challenge the development of sustainable business models from ingredient sourcing and manufacturing to marketing, packaging and distribution.
He/she/it: How pronouns grant personhood to pets, wildlife
April 22, 2022 – Tim Wall
Dogs, cats and other pets are rarely referred to as “its” within the pet food industry. Pets take on pronouns worthy of personhood like he or she. This sets our industry apart from conventional mindsets and even the English language, while echoing other languages and cultures. Pet food professionals could apply this ethic to the development of their company’s sustainability initiatives.
The riddle of pet population in wake of the pandemic
April 1, 2022 – David Sprinkle
The dust continues to settle on the question of pet population in the wake of COVID-19. Many manufacturing and retail-based sources take for granted that a pet population increase occurred, and understandably so given the spike in pet care spending (including for durables generally associated with pet adoption), while veterinary sector sources have been skeptical (based partly on distribution of veterinary supplies associated with annual pet checkups).
How long can the pet food, pet care market’s bull run last?
April 28, 2022 – Debbie Phillips-Donaldson
Soaring inflation. Supply chain disruptions. Labor shortages and upheavals. A pandemic that just won’t end, now becoming endemic. A major war in Europe for the first time in 80 years. The world is dealing with a lot right now, and no person, region or industry—including pet food—can fully escape all the problems.
