Are holistic pet foods redefining the superpremium segment?

The superpremium segment is generally reserved for the highest quality products, typically positioned on clear-cut ingredient or targeted health claims. ‘Natural’ and ‘holistic’ pet foods are increasingly taking over this space.

Holistic versus natural

In the US market, ‘holistic’ pet foods form an important though amorphous segment of ‘superpremium’. The term superpremium itself, like the divide between premium and superpremium, is amorphous, having no formal definition in the pet food industry.

‘Natural’ is the grand dame of superpremium product characteristics, along with the more recent grain-free. Unlike organic, ‘natural’ is itself a subjective and flexible term, though natural pet foods are expected to be formulated with less processing and minimal-to-no artificial ingredients.

In keeping with the loose framing for ‘superpremium’ and ‘natural’, there is no formal definition for ‘holistic’ pet food. At the most general level, holistic pet food refers to natural products designed to create a healthy internal environment in the pet that supports overall wellness and allows it to better cope with external stresses.

Shifting preferences

Raw/frozen pet foods and pet food mixes, often presented as natural diets or ancestral diets, are the core of the holistic pet food segment. Packaged Facts survey data show that 51% of US dog or cat owners like the idea of new types of pet food other than traditional dry/kibble or wet/canned, and more specifically, 34% like the idea of raw pet food, and 23% like the idea of frozen.

Receptiveness to selective alternative pet food types in the US market, 2020

(percentage of dog and cat owners)

	Strongly agree	Somewhat agree
I like the idea of new types of pet food other than traditional	18%	33%
I like the idea of raw pet foods	12%	22%
I like the idea of frozen pet foods	8%	15%

Additional Packaged Facts survey data show that 30% of those who have changed dog foods within the last 12 months characterise the dog foods they have switched to as either natural, ancestral/paleo, or holistic.

Some examples

Representative examples of marketing on holistic and natural qualities are many. Blue Buffalo, for example, balances nature and science: meat-first, with ‘wholesome whole grains, garden veggies and fruit’. Halo offers products made without rendered or meal chicken ingredients, sourced from natural and humane farms, using non-GMO fruit and vegetable ingredients.

The Honest Kitchen website provides information on the types of pet food that holistic veterinarians recommend, including for addressing pet cancer. Its grain-free products are listed as meeting some of these parameters. Another brand, Nom Nom, with formulas designed by a certified veterinary nutritionist, holds that ‘feeding our pets well is the best way to prevent chronic disease’. Nom Nom pet foods are internally made and packed, ‘gently cooked’, small-batch and use ‘restaurant quality’ ingredients from domestic growers.

WellPet combines holistic with kibble convenience, so pet owners can ‘add raw easily and safely to every meal, providing everything your dog needs to thrive from the core’. Among Wysong ‘natural and holistic’ pet foods, the ancestral diet Archetype freeze-dried raw is promoted as True Non-Thermal, reflecting an increased market interest in natural nutrition-preserving lower-heat processing.

These and similar holistic pet foods reflect a reconsideration, often backed by venture capital, of what top-of-the-line pet food should be. Ultimately at stake is the degree to which traditional pet food formats (especially kibble) and brands keep their place at the superpremium pet food table.

David Sprinkle