Discover the pulse of the global pet food market from Petfood Industry Editor-in-Chief Debbie Phillips-Donaldson’s column “Something to Chew On,” which features opinions, analysis and commentary you won’t find anywhere else. Topics include dog and cat food nutrition, packaging and marketing trends. Register for free to access premium content.
The year so far includes less typical pet food deals such as divestitures of brands and pet food divisions, plus a true merger between two similar companies.
Research has revealed fascinating facts about how the sense of taste and smell function in dogs and cats, with important clues for formulating pet food.
Pet owners develop an impression of the pet food industry based partially on perceptions of its safety, and companies and regulators both play a key role.
Though pet owners are famously devoted to their pets, some may be reaching their financial limits for buying pet food. Knowing how they value brands is key.
Cat ownership among younger generations and minorities has been steadily rising, while cat adoption rates have also increased since before the pandemic.
Pet food brands in categories like small mammals, birds or reptiles, or from smaller companies, can glean insights from research on consumer brand perception.
Following the human food trend, plant-based pet foods continue to grow in popularity and sales, boosted by supply chain issues with animal-based proteins.
Pet food inflation in the U.S. exceeded the Consumer Price Index for May 2022, spurred by rising pet food producer costs in ingredients and other areas.
While forecasts can have short shelf lives, being overtaken by unforeseen events, there’s no question that the U.S. economy and American houseeholds have been buffeted by COVID-19 shutdowns and illnesses, patches of job insecurity despite low unemployment rates and record price inflation only partially offset by wage increases.