Abstract
The U.S. pet food market is experiencing healthy growth as marketers continue
to convert pet owners to better quality, higher priced, more upscale fare.
Premium pet foods cover all bases-natural/organic, fortified/functional,
weight control, lifestage, breed-/size-specific, gourmet, etc.-and are
increasingly being positioned not just as human style but as human grade. As a
result, much of the growth is occurring at the upper-income tier of the pet
owner spectrum, with U.S. households earning $70,000 or more now accounting
for an impressive 44% of the aggregate pet food expenditure-up from just 15%
in 1994.
Top marketers including Nestlé Purina, Mars, Iams, Hill's, Nutro, and
S&M NuTec clearly have their fingers on the emotional pulse of American pet
owners, as well as some very big advertising guns. During 2005, they spent
nearly $300 million on national advertising for pet food, virtually all of it
encouraging the deep attachment Americans feel for their pets, while also
launching the biggest surge of new products in the history of the market. The
high level of interest in all things pet has also spurred a number of
high-profile acquisitions, including Mars' recent purchase of S&M NuTec
(Greenies) and private-label producer Doane, Del Monte's purchase of Milk-Bone
and Meow Mix, Bain Capital's purchase of Nutro, and Central Garden & Pet's
purchase of Breeder's Choice.
Bringing to bear more than 20 years of experience in analyzing this market and
drawing on Packaged Facts' broad cross-category expertise, Pet Food in the
U.S. pinpoints strategic directions for current and prospective marketers,
with a particular focus on high-growth product segments such as functional
treats. Covering products for all type of companion animals, the report is
organized into four main chapters-Dog Food, Cat Food, and Other Pet Food
(birds, small animal, fish, and reptiles), plus an in-depth overview chapter
covering cross-market trends.
Pegging 2005 sales at $14.5 billion and projecting healthy growth through
2010, the report provides market size estimates for the overall retail
universe, while quantifying mass-market sales to the marketer/brand share
level using data from Information Resources, Inc. The report fully documents
marketing, new product, and retail trends, as well as trends in pet food
purchaser demographics, based on Simmons Market Research Bureau data as well
as data from the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association's 2005-2006
National Pet Owners Survey.
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