- Contents
- *Scope and Themes
- What you need to know
- Definition
- Data sources
- Sales data
- Consumer survey data
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
What you need to know
Pet food sales remain essentially flat with slow projected growth for the future.despite the ongoing humanization of pet foods in terms of flavor, ingredients and added benefits. The bright spot is pet treats, showing growth especially in the natural retail channel. Pet ownership, normally driven by households with children, has stagnated as Millennials delay marriage and childbirth. Natural, minimally processed, and “ancestral” products drove sales in the wet dog and cat food segments, but were offset by declines in dry dog and cat food, due to rising consumer concerns about real ingredients and “fillers”.
Definition
This report builds on the analysis presented in Mintel’s Pet Food – US, March 2014, as well as the same title in 2013 and 2012, and Pet Food and Supplies – US, July 2009, as well as the August 2008, August 2007, and February 2006 reports of the same title. This report also builds on the analysis presented in America’s Pet Owners – US, September 2014, as well as the same title in March 2013, September 2011, and November 2009.
For the purposes of this report, Mintel has used the following definitions:
Mintel defines the pet food market as food and treats for household pets, including cats, dogs, small animals (eg hamsters, rabbits), fish, reptiles, and birds. Food for dogs and cats may be dry, wet/canned, semi-moist, or in the form of treats. The following segments will be included in this report:
-
Dry dog food
-
Wet dog food
-
Dry cat food
-
Wet cat food
-
Small animal food (eg hamsters, birds, guinea pigs, reptiles)
-
Pet treats
Excluded from this report are:
-
Horse food
-
Dog chews and rawhides
-
Pet vitamins and supplements
Value figures throughout this report are at retail selling prices (rsp) excluding sales tax unless otherwise stated.
Sales data
-
Market Size and Forecast: Total retail sales based on Information Resources, Inc. InfoScan Reviews; USDA Economic Research Service.
-
Segment Performance: Total retail sales based on Information Resources Inc., InfoScan Reviews; US Census Bureau, Economic Census.
-
Retail Channels: Based on Information Resources, Inc. InfoScan Reviews; USDA Economic Research Service; except supermarket and drugstore sales, which are based on Information Resources, Inc. InfoScan Reviews, SPINS.
-
Leading Companies and Brand Share: Based on MULO sales data from Information Resources, Inc. InfoScan Reviews. MULO is defined as Multi Outlet, representative of the following channels: total US Grocery, Mass, Total US Drug, Total Walmart, Dollar, Military, and Club. Note that the values shown in this section differ from the Market Size/Forecast and Segment Performance sections of this report. Companies and brands sales data encompasses only sales through MULO channels, while Market Size/Forecast and Segment Performance sales cover the entire retail market.
Consumer survey data
For the purposes of this report, Mintel commissioned exclusive consumer research through GMI to explore consumer consumption of attitudes and behaviors toward pet foods. Mintel was responsible for the survey design, data analysis, and reporting. Fieldwork was conducted in February 2015, among a sample of 2,000 adults aged 18+ with access to the internet.
Mintel selects survey respondents by gender, age, household income, and region so that they are proportionally representative of the US adult population using the internet. Mintel also slightly over-samples, relative to the population, respondents that are Hispanic or Black to ensure an adequate representation of these groups in our survey results and to allow for more precise parameter estimates from our reported findings.
Please note that Mintel surveys are conducted online and in English only. Hispanics who are not online and/or do not speak English are not included in the survey results.
Mintel also has analyzed data from Experian Marketing Services, using the Simmons NCS (National Consumer Study). The Experian Marketing Services/Simmons NCS/NHCS was carried out during November 2013-December 2014, and the results are based on the sample of 27,446 adults aged 18+, with results weighted to represent the US adult population.
While race and Hispanic origin are separate demographic characteristics, Mintel often compares them to each other. Please note that the responses for race (White, Black, Asian, Native American, or other race) will overlap those that also are Hispanic, because Hispanics can be of any race.
In addition to quantitative consumer research, Mintel also conducted an online discussion group among a demographically mixed group of adults aged 22+. This discussion group was asynchronous (ie not run in real time), functioning like a blog or bulletin board, with questions remaining posted for a predetermined period of time. This method allows participants to respond reflectively, at their leisure, or to log off to think about any issues raised, and return later to respond. Participants were recruited from GMI’s online consumer panel with responses collected in February 2015. All quotes are included verbatim, and as such, include typos and other grammatical errors as they originally appeared.
Abbreviations
The following is a list of abbreviations used in this report.
| CPI | Consumer Price Index |
| GNPD | Global New Products Database |
| MULO | Multi Outlet, representative of the following channels: total US Grocery, Mass, total US Drug, total Walmart, Dollar, Military, and Club |
| NHCS | National Consumer Study /National Hispanic Consumer Study (Experian Marketing Services) |
| USDA | United States Department of Agriculture |
| rsp | Retail selling price |
| QR | Quick response code |
Generations, if discussed within this report, are defined as:
| World War II/ Swing generations | Members of the WWII Generation were born in 1932 or before and are aged 83 or older in 2015. Members of the Swing Generation were born from 1933-1945 and are aged 70-82 in 2015. |
| Baby Boomers | The generation born between 1946 and 1964. In 2015, Baby Boomers are between the ages of 51 and 69. |
| Generation X | The generation born between 1965 and 1976. In 2015, Gen Xers are between the ages of 39 and 50. |
| Millennials* | Born between 1977 and 1994, Millennials are aged 21 to 38 in 2015. |
| iGeneration | Born between 1995 and 2007, members of iGen are aged 8 to 20 in 2015. |
| Emerging generation | The newest generation began in 2008 as the annual number of births declined sharply with the recession. In 2015 members of this as-yet unnamed generation are under age 8. |
* also known as Generation Y or Echo Boomers
In order to provide an inflation-adjusted price value for markets, Mintel uses the CPI to deflate current prices. The CPI is defined as follows:
| CPI | The Consumer Price Index is a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services.
The CPI and its components are typically used to adjust other economic series for price changes and to translate these series into inflation-free dollars. Examples of series adjusted by the CPI include retail sales, hourly and weekly earnings, and components of the national income and product accounts. In addition, and in Mintel reports, the CPI is used as a deflator of the value of the consumer’s dollar to find its purchasing power. The purchasing power of the consumer’s dollar measures the change in the value to the consumer of goods and services that a dollar will buy at different dates. The CPI is generally the best measure for adjusting payments to consumers when the intent is to allow consumers to purchase, at today’s prices, a market basket of goods and services equivalent to one that they could purchase in an earlier period. It is also the best measure to use to translate retail sales into real or inflation-free dollars. Based on Bureau of Labor Statistics definition. |
