Coming clean

Clean label is more than just a buzzword. What are the trends and opportunities in the US pet food market?

Why mass premiumisation?

For the first time in years, general mass-market stores such as Walmart appear poised to surpass pet specialty stores in pet food sales growth in the US market. It is not just a coincidence that this switch coincides with the mass premiumisation of pet food products, that is, the emphasis on more natural-positioned pet food brands and formulations in mass-market channels. Factoring in to this trend are the cross-overs of pet specialty brands into mass channels, and conversely the entrance of new superpremium-type brands such as Mars’ CRAVE designed specifically for mass retailers joining established superpremium-type mass-market brands.

It is also not just a coincidence that General Mills, Mars, and others are names primarily associated with the human food market: mass premiumisation in the pet food market is inextricably linked to the natural product trends reshaping the packaged food industry in general. That is why clean label has become an increasingly important concept for pet food product innovation and sales growth goals.

Clean labelling: more than a buzzword

No strict definition of ‘clean label’ exists, but the guiding principle is that processed foods should be free of any ingredients that consumers consider undesirable. Free of artificial ingredients is the basic criterion, but that is just entry-level clean label. For example, fully half (50%) of dog and cat owners believe that natural/organic brand pet products are often better than standard national brand products, according to Packaged Facts’ Q1 2018 National Pet Owner Survey. And that perception is at least partly safety-driven.

Many of the largest pet food and treat recalls have involved imported ingredients, so it makes sense that ‘Made in the US’ ties directly into natural and clean label. In Packaged Facts’ Q3 2017 National Pet Owner Survey, ‘Made in the US’ was the top product positioning draw among dog and cat owners, at 32% and 31%, respectively, followed by natural/clean label claims such as grain-free, 100% natural, limited ingredient, and organic.