Pet foods follow human trends

Conflicting influences

New products in food industry are influenced by consumer needs/wishes and government regulations. The two are often in conflict and present businesseswith challenges. A good example is probiotics.

Between 2002 and 2003 probiotics market value grew 18%. In 2010 The European Food Standards Agency (EFSA) expressed doubts on the scientific efficacy of probiotics. This resulted in an 8% reduction in sales between 2012 and 2013, when all health claims in Europe for probiotics were banned. However, some probiotics received approval for gut health claims. It is unlikely that much stronger claims regarding the immune system will be allowed.

In a recent article for PETS International I wrote about work on understanding ‘the microbiome’. Whilst the decline of the value of probiotic products maybe somewhat reversed, expect more activity in developing products containing active bacteria, especially where strong health claims can be made.

Eating insects

Approximately 150 new business start-ups are involved in creating a whole new food sector, based on development of insect products. Around 25% of the world’s population is familiar with eating insects, very few of them live in North America and Europe.

A surprising fact to many in the western world may be that, of all forms of animal protein, insects are the easiest to farm: especially crickets. Cricket production is well developed in Thailand, where the population consumes 7,500 tonnes of crickets produced on 20,000 farms, usually eaten as a spicy fried snack. Product developers have begun to process insects into foods such as cookies, chips, energy bars and cricket flour. Cricket flour is the most common staple in the new edible insect market.

In October 2015, the European Parliament introduced a fast track for the approval of novel foods from January 2018. This should reduce the time for approval of insect products for human consumption. The US FDA and Canadian authorities already accept edible insects, if they are raised for human consumption.

Some pet foods already are formulated with insect products. Many more will become available as the production of insects increases. Consumers will become more aware of insect products as media interest increases. This in turn should increase consumption, which means increased production with expected economies of scale to reduce finished product prices.

Allergy free

The free from and/or allergy free foods market is growing. The UK allergy free market is expected to increase by 13% this year. These products are no longer the domain of specialized outlets but regularly found in supermarkets. The number of UK supermarket SKU’s for free from products has risen by 400% over the last five years and the number of new food products with a free from gluten label has doubled.

This market is based upon actual and perceived health benefits and will drive the focus on good balanced product nutrition. However, if there is any question regarding the efficacy of expected health gains, a decrease in product sales is to be expected. Pets have allergenic responses to certain ingredients (gluten, chicken) and it may be expected that there be a move from grain free products to free from or allergy free.

Organic foods

The organic food market is still increasing and this is expected to continue. In the US the organic market will probably be disrupted, as Aldi is expanding its selection of fresh and organic produce and meat, including its ‘Never Any!’ brand of meats that contains no added antibiotics, hormones, animal by-products or other additives. The chain is also expanding its SimplyNature line – free from 125 artificial ingredients and its gluten-free liveGfree brand.

At a London conference, Thor Jørgensen, CEO of Danish supermarket chain Netto, claimed that the retailer’s role in building the organic market was pivotal. Jørgensen claimed that Netto, Denmark’s leading organic retailer, was able to make a difference “by offering choice rather than missioning the consumer”. By providing a compelling organic range, including a strong own label offer as well as top brands, Netto showed that a discounter can “lift the overall share of organic”. Jørgensen was clear about the importance of affordable pricing. Netto promotes its organic range using the strapline ‘Everybody should be able to afford organic’. “Our experience is that we sell more organic when the price differential is quite small.”

More and cheaper organic products for human consumers results in more available organic ingredients for the pet food market, making organic pet food more affordable.

Sports nutrition for pets?

The global sports nutrition market is expected to reach nearly $40 billion (€35.6 billion) by 2019. The market is driven by increased health awareness resulting in a shift from traditional consumers (body builders and athletes) to include recreational and lifestyle users. This trend also altered distribution channels, away from the gymnasium and health stores, into supermarket outlets.

The traditional growth area, North America and Europe, is now superseded by growth in Asia Pacific. Organizing high-profile sports events in these countries is expected to further escalate the demandfor sports nutritional products in these markets.

The sports nutrition market is split into sports food, sports drinks and sports supplements, the largest segment being sports drinks, approximately worth $15 billion (€13.5 billion).

As this sector grows it should be expected that consumers will involve their pets in their activities. If pet owners take some form of sports nutrition, then so will their pets.