One in three American have a pet, and they have to be fed. The retail market for pet food in the US for the year 2018 shot up more than 4 percent to a whopping 91 billion US dollars for pet food alone.

If you thought, wow that was huge; then listen, the pet food industry is gearing for a huge market and sustainable evidence shows that the market for snacks and food for your canine friends will surpass a revenue of 75 billion USD by 2025, and their counterpart, the feline family a sum of 38 billion in that same year.

The American Pet Product Association registered that over the last 30 years and with almost 90 percent of American homes owning one or more pets, owners are looking for better options in their food and the industry is taking note. Furthermore, with a younger generation of pet owner belonging to the Generation Z and millennial population, pet food is taking a different route to please them.

Want to grow and scale your Pet Food Business ?? Then you need to apply right targeted strategies & an Automated System which can bring a lot of Pet owners as your customers!! Click here to know more!

So whether you own a dog, horse, cat, hamster, a snake, mouse, or monkey; the pet industry has been on exponential growth for the last decade. With over 90 million dogs in the US, the total pets are also increasing every day into their millions. Furthermore, more pet stores are springing up at every corner to meet the demands and expectations of pet owners request for best food choices for their beloved pets.

The Pet Food Industry and the Trends

The pet food industries as mentioned above generated a huge profit, and it is not slowing down. Although the major players are supposed to be celebrating the profits, and possible expansion, they are not due to the food trends that are dictating the pet food industry.

These trends are changing the market because pets are becoming members of the family, and pet owners are willing to go the extra miles to ensure that their food is as healthy as what they (human) want for themselves. 

This has triggered a shift towards organic, natural, free of artificial sweeteners, flavours, and fluffs by the pet food industry. This humanization of our pets has made us aware of what goes into their foods, and now we want more than what pet manufacturers were giving us previously.

Shifting Trends

Analyzing the pet food industry over the past two decades, one will notice that pet food has come a long way in the way it is been processed, packaged, and handled. Although it hasn’t changed much, it is a sector of the pet industry with the most improvement by popular demand.

Pet foods were ready to eat products that came dried, frozen, canned, or as a snack that contained enough nutrients required by the pet.  The changing trends of urbanization, premiumization, humanization, and personalization, transparency in food labels and contents, and increase in disposable incomes in the new e-commerce industry are just some trend that pet food industry has to watch out for. Although these trends are changing the pet food industry, they are also expensive to manage for the industry and the pet owners.

In the US, the humanization of pet and the attitude of what is good for me is good for my pet has seen pet parents concerned about providing the pet with the same or almost the same nutrition, taste and caloric contents as humans. This has resulted in a growth sale in the industry in all sectors.

The Growth in the Pet Food Industry

With the trends shift in pet food, the pet industry has seen a change in pet food production not only in the US but worldwide. In fact, another booming marketing putting a huge impact on the pet food industry comes from the Asia Pacific and even though the US pet market is unrivalled in the world, accounting for a 7 percent growth, the Asia Pacific market is a noticeable pet industry worth looking into.

An in-depth look into the Asia Pacific pet industry and pet care/product market show India leading the industry. With over 900 million dogs in India, especially in urban areas, there has been an increase in per capita income in pet adoption and care for the pet. The India Pet Food Market predicts revenue of 270 Million US dollars across all sectors of the pet industry by the end of the year.

Some Trends to watch out for in the Petfood Industry

Pet parents and pet business owners know that the only way to stay ahead of the crowd is to follow these trends or expand on the ones you are currently propagating. The pet food industry is a goldmine for those who know what to deliver to the target market the best on the market. Petprenuers have come up with nutritional and better food choices for pet parents across the country.

Below are five trends changing the pet food industry to keep you up to date.

The Personalized Pet Food Trend

As the craze for healthier food option for pets increases, pet parents are on the lookout for healthy food brands for their four-legged companions. This has made pet owner more conscious to seek out customized pet foods as requested by the pet owner or wanting to know more about what goes into their pet’s food. Although the choice of personalized pet food overlaps with the desire for cleaner, organic, natural ingredients as pet owners want their pets to enjoy just like them, the right way.

To further boost this trend, Petprenuers and pet store owners now have takeout and home delivery services that serve pet owners who desire a particular brand or make of pet food brought for their pets. Some popular pet food brand in this category is Petco and its in-store kitchen creating customized and personalized pet food called JustFoodForDogs that is available online or delivered to your home.

New and Safe Protein Source for Pet food

As a human source for leaner protein options, so also are pet parents looking for better protein options for their pets too. To further buttress this fact, pet foods are now known to contain food like honey, coconut and spices like turmeric or even vegan options as the case may be; the human protein trends are influencing the ingredients contained in pet foods.

Newer protein source means stepping away from red meat to seafood options like shellfish and flavors that dogs love and enjoy. One startup company that has found unrivaled success is Chippin; after introducing their winning product in 2018; the company now has over 20 physical retail outlets across the country with products like peanut butter, cricket and pumpkin, and flaxseed, cricket and apples have been winning flavors for dogs everywhere.

There is also the use of plant-based protein in pet food, but the cost of production and retailing might be too high to bear even though they are more sustainable than animal protein. Furthermore, some companies are looking forward to scientifically engineer pet foods, but we all have to wait to see how that flies among pet owners. 

E-Commerce and the Pet Food Industry

As our lives become busier by the day, our dependence on online stores is increasing by the day; pet brands and regular brick and mortar stores are now going online to make sales and deliver to clients far and wide. 

E-commerce is a trend that will not die out as long as the pet industry is concerned, because pet owners have more access to pet food and products for their pets. Online pet platforms like Lowes, Petco, and PetSmart are some box retailers delivering pet food to your doorstep through local shipping process to the consumer saving you the trip to the store.

Transparent and Detailed Label

Today consumer (pet owners) opinions play a very crucial role in the way pet food companies act regarding pet food. Pet parents are not only about buying food by what the company says it contains, but want to actually know the details and how it is proportioned in the food.

Brands that can deliver on the latest trends get the clients while others fall behind and find themselves in a position of using tougher marketing tactics to sell their products. Besides, healthy and holistic food choice with clean labels is the trends that pet parents are on the lookout for.

Pet parent are also looking to know the source of the ingredients or choosing ingredients that meet consumer’s needs and specifications.

Premiumized Cat Food

Dogs are the most common pets in most countries across the world; the US is not left out. 9 out of 10 homes have a dog, but cats are also beloved pets found everywhere too. As more people look to see their dogs get healthier through better food option, cats are not left out too. Pet food companies such as Friskies, Meow Mix, and Fancy Feast are all at the forefront of packaging healthier option for cats and their owners.

The need for better nutrition for cats comes as the obvious reasons that cats suffer a plethora of health issues than dogs hence the need for better quality products that will improve their health and wellness.

Why are these trends important?

As we build deeper connections and bonds with our pets, we search for better ways to improve their health, ways of living and overall wellbeing by focusing on foods that will help us do that for them. Pet companies are looking into broader nutritional sources and options for pets through research and technology. The needs for sustainability also mean cost-effective as out of the box sources are expensive and not available to all pet owners.

The United States holds a strong position in the pet food industry trends across the globe and with a compound annual growth rate of 3.4 percent expected between 2017 and 2022, it is no wonder why companies are working to create a name by creating trendy pet food.

Some major names in the pet food industry are

• The Blue Buffalo, the largest pet food producing manufacturers in the world creating pet food using the best quality and most natural ingredients with high nutritional value for dogs and cats. They don’t use artificial flavouring, sweeteners, and enhancers in their pet food.
• Colgate-Palmolive is the leading pet food manufacturing brand making premium quality cats and dogs food with strict nutritional composition for the health of your pets.
• Mars Petcare has been in the business of producing premium pet food for three-quarter of a century. Some of their products are Whiskas, Pedigree, and Canin. Their pet food covers all classes of the pet foods including horses, fish, birds, dogs, and cats.

It is clear that the trends of pet food are shifting towards a more human approach, many manufacturers question how far this trends will hold up and if there are better ad holistic approach to ensuring pets get the nutrients that will keep them healthier and active. With old companies and startup taking the reins to provide the pets with better options, the pet food industry is one that will continue to grow and will remain so to satisfy the demands of pet parents across the globe.

In conclusion, pet owners are looking for safer ingredients to support the overall health and wellbeing of your pets, especially to manage health conditions pets are dealing with or trying to avoid the ingestion of ingredients that will aggravate their health condition. Transparency and clean label, for example, are one trend that will continue to need improvement as pet parent seek to know more about what goes into the food of their pets. Companies that which to stay in the industry will not only have to change the products for the animal’s sake but must strive to satisfy the pet owners who are paying for the food.

If you are looking to get into the pet food industry, the above trends should direct you on how to begin and the considerations that must be adhered to succeed in this industry.

Want to grow and scale your Pet Food Business ?? Then you need to apply right targeted strategies & an Automated System which can bring a lot of Pet owners as your customers!! Click here to know more!