Pet Food Trends: Clean Label, Grains, Health Benefits, and More
Human Trends
Humanization of the pet food market is a well-developed trend, mirroring innovation in the human food and drinks industry as a whole, with a strong focus on health. About 84% of global pet food launches used a health positioning of some kind in 2017, rising to nearly 89% in the U.S. The U.S. bias toward dogs is again in evidence, with 93% of dog food launches using health claims and a lower, but still very significant, 81% of cat food introductions doing likewise.
As in the food industry overall, clean labeling continues to be the leading area of interest in U.S. pet food, with over 60% of pet food launches using one or more of “natural,” “organic,” “no additives/preservatives,” and/or “GMO-free” claims.Human Trends“No additives/preservatives” claims were the most popular, accounting for nearly 46% of claims, ahead of “natural” with 35%. Interest in GMO-free products has risen and is now higher than that for organic products. Non-GMO claims were used for 7.5% of pet food launches compared with 4% for organic claims.
Premium for Pets
Humanization has also driven premiumization of the pet food market, with an increasing number of launches targeting the premium and super-premium markets, centered on a spirit of indulgence as well as a range of health positions. Over 16% of 2017 U.S. launches recorded by Innova Market Insights carried an indulgence/premium position, up from 13% in 2016. This rises to 18.5% in cat food, where there has been strong growth in super-premium, single-serve formulations and rising use of human food–style recipes, such as broths, stews, and casseroles. Broths have been increasingly seen in the cat food market, while dog food tends to focus more on heartier, meaty fare, such as Ainsworth Pet Nutrition’s Rachael Ray’s Nutrish Super Premium Hearty Beef Stew.
More recently, we have also seen added indulgence with so-called “toppers” of tasty, added ingredients. Take the Purina Muse cat foods range. Its Natural Tuna & Tilapia Recipe in Broth comes with a Baby Clam topper; its Natural Ocean Fish comes with an anchovy topper.
The use of more unusual meats is also a hallmark of the super-premium market, with brands such as Walk About launching canned dog and cat foods featuring more exotic meats such as goat, wild boar, and wild kangaroo.
