Table of Contents
Overview
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- What you need to know
- Definition
Executive Summary
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- The issues
- Solid sales growth as pet owners look to provide their pets with the best
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- Figure 1: Total US sales and fan chart forecast of pet food, at current prices, 2011-21
- Dog owners more likely owners to shop in pet specialty retailers
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- Figure 2: Retailer where pet food is purchased most often, by type of pet owned, June 2016
- Price, taste factor strongly into purchase decisions, especially for cats
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- Figure 3: Dog and cat food attribute importance, June 2016
- The opportunities
- Younger pet owners especially interested in natural and organic
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- Figure 4: Dog food attribute importance, by age, June 2016
- Younger pet owners less satisfied, potentially more open to new ideas
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- Figure 5: Pet food behaviors, by age, June 2016
- Opportunity to build sales of treats and toppers
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- Figure 6: Pet food behaviors, June 2016
- What it means
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Solid sales growth as pet owners look to provide their pets with the best
- Dog food accounts for nearly half of category sales
Market Size and Forecast
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- Solid sales growth as pet owners look to provide their pets with the best
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- Figure 7: Total US sales and fan chart forecast of pet food, at current prices, 2011-21
- Figure 8: Total US sales and forecast of pet food, at current prices, 2011-21
Market Breakdown
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- Dog food accounts for nearly half of category sales
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- Figure 9: Share of pet food, by segment, 2016
- Cat food and treats drive growth
- Sales slip for other pet food
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- Figure 10: Sales of pet food, by segment, 2011-16
Market Factors
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- Households and households with children
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- Figure 11: Percentage of households with children, 2003-13
- Pet ownership and homeownership
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- Figure 12: Homeownership rate, by age of householder, 2010-15
- Median household income creeps up
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- Figure 13: Median household income, in inflation-adjusted dollars, 2004-14
Key Players – What You Need to Know
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- Big food companies increasingly dominate mainstream pet food market
- Purina ONE leads premiumization in mass retail channels
- Little dogs getting bigger
- Treats, especially treats for cats, represent a growth opportunity
- A focus on recognizable ingredients, functional health benefits
Company Sales of Pet Food
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- Big food companies increasingly dominate mainstream pet food market
- Nestlé
- Mars Inc.
- J.M. Smucker Co.
- Company sales of pet food
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- Figure 14: MULO sales of pet food, by leading companies, rolling 52 weeks 2015 and 2016
What’s Working?
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- Purina ONE leads premiumization in mass retail channels
- Rachael Ray Nutrish gains momentum
- Cesar gets big on little dogs
- Treats, especially treats for cats, represent a growth opportunity
What’s Struggling?
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- Private label struggles to maintain share
- Brands associated with safety issues struggle to regain momentum
What’s Next?
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- A focus on recognizable ingredients, functional health benefits
- Ancestral diets
- Breed-specific
- Treats focus on ingredients and functional health
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Mass merchants and pet specialty stores most common channels
- Price, taste factor strongly into purchase decisions, especially for cats
- The veterinarian and product label most common sources of information
- Opportunity to build sales of treats and toppers
- For treats, opportunity to combine emotion with function
Where Pet Food is Purchased
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- Mass merchants and pet specialty stores most common channels
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- Figure 15: Retailer where pet food is purchased most often, June 2016
- Young adults more likely to shop at Walmart or online
- Supermarkets appeal most strongly to older shoppers
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- Figure 16: Retailer where pet food is purchased most often, by age, June 2016
- Dog owners more likely to shop in pet specialty retailers
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- Figure 17: Retailer where pet food is purchased most often, by type of pet owned, June 2016
- Retailer preference consistent across race/Hispanic origin
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- Figure 18: Retailer where pet food is purchased most often, by race/Hispanic origin, June 2016
- In their words
Pet Food Attribute Importance
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- Price, taste factor strongly into purchase decisions, especially for cats
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- Figure 19: Dog and cat food attribute importance, June 2016
- Younger pet owners especially interested in natural and organic
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- Figure 20: Dog food attribute importance, by age, June 2016
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- Figure 21: Cat food attribute importance, by age, June 2016
- Pet specialty shoppers more likely to look beyond price and taste
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- Figure 22: Dog food attribute importance, by retail channel shopped most often, June 2016
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- Figure 23: Cat food attribute importance, by retail channel shopped most often, June 2016
Pet Food Information Sources
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- The veterinarian and product label most common sources of information
- Young pet owners tend to be information seekers
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- Figure 24: Pet food information sources, by age, June 2016
Pet Food Behaviors
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- Opportunity to build sales of treats and toppers
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- Figure 25: Pet food behaviors, June 2016
- Younger pet owners less satisfied, potentially more open to new ideas
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- Figure 26: Pet food behaviors, by age, June 2016
- Dog owners more likely to treat daily
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- Figure 27: Pet food behaviors, by type of pet owned, June 2016
Attitudes toward Pet Food
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- For treats, opportunity to combine emotion with function
- Overcoming skepticism and ingredient concern
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- Figure 28: Attitudes toward pet food, June 2016
- Dog owners more likely to be interested in various specialized foods
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- Figure 29: Attitudes toward pet food – Any agree, by type of pet owned, June 2016
- In their words
Appendix – Data Sources and Abbreviations
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- Data sources
- Sales data
- Fan chart forecast
- Consumer survey data
- Consumer qualitative research
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
Appendix – Market
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- Figure 30: Total US sales and forecast of pet food, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2011-21
- Figure 31: Total US sales and forecast of cat food, at current prices, 2011-21
- Figure 32: Total US sales and forecast of dog food, at current prices, 2011-21
- Figure 33: Total US sales and forecast of other pet food, at current prices, 2011-21
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- Figure 34: Total US sales and forecast of pet treats, at current prices, 2011-21
- Figure 35: MULO sales of dog food, cat food, and pet treats, by subsegment, 2011-16
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Appendix – Key Players
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- Figure 36: MULO sales of dry cat food, by leading companies and brands, rolling 52 weeks 2015 and 2016
- Figure 37: MULO sales of wet cat food, by leading companies and brands, rolling 52 weeks 2015 and 2016
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- Figure 38: MULO sales of dry dog food, by leading companies and brands, rolling 52 weeks 2015 and 2016
- Figure 39: MULO sales of wet dog food, by leading companies and brands, rolling 52 weeks 2015 and 2016
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- Figure 40: MULO sales of other pet food, by leading companies and brands, rolling 52 weeks 2015 and 2016
- Figure 41: MULO sales of pet treats, by leading companies and brands, rolling 52 weeks 2015 and 2016
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