The U.S. pet food market has not just survived the spring 2007 recalls but proven its resiliency, with 2007 sales up over previous years and healthy growth continuing through 2008. Yet heightened safety concerns on the part of pet food makers and consumers continue to shape product development and marketing, as well as the choices of pet owners looking for the safest and healthiest products possible. At the top of the list are kibble, canned and raw/frozen foods made with ingredients that are natural, organic, grain-free/non-allergenic and pure, as well as made in the U.S.A., locally grown, “whole” (fruits, vegetables, grains, etc.) and human-grade. Foods making functional appeals also continue to proliferate, especially those targeting age- and weight-related conditions via the inclusion of novel ingredients like glucosamine, omega fatty acids, antioxidants and probiotics. In other words, premium pet foods remain the primary value growth driver in the U.S. market, with ever higher quality ingredients fueling the premium wave.

At the same time, one thing marketers and retailers at all levels of the market cannot afford given the faltering U.S. and global economies is complacency. More than ever before the ability to convert pet owners to higher priced products—or keep them buying them—will depend on marketers’ success in communicating product benefits and tapping into the ever-potent human/animal bond. Helping to make the case are new celebrity spokespersons like Cesar Millan with his new Dog Whisperer line, and Ellen DeGeneres with her co-ownership in Halo Purely for Pets, with other positive trends including rapid growth in the natural supermarket channel and an increasingly globalized market in which ingredients suppliers like Cargill are looking to stake a deeper claim in pet food (in Cargill’s case by specifically targeting the U.S. agricultural retail channel as well as global markets). At the same time, new products continue to flood the market, which saw more entries in 2008 than in any previous year.

Pegging 2008 U.S. sales at $17 billion and global sales at $49 billion—and projecting steady growth through 2013—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., and also providing market size and marketer share figures for the natural supermarket channel. The report thoroughly documents competitive, new product and retail trends, as well as trends in pet food purchaser demographics and lifestyle pursuits (media and marketing psychographics, Internet usage, “green” involvement, etc.), based on data from Simmons Market Research Bureau, BIGresearch, the American Pet Products Association and other sources.

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 forward-looking focus on high-growth product segments and market-driving trends. The report provides a comprehensive Market Overview covering cross-market trends. New features of our 2009 edition include focus sections on:

• The global pet food market (sales overall and by world region, marketer shares, new product trends, U.S. export trends, and more);
• Recall-related product safety initiatives;
• Cross-channel private-label activity and prospects;
• Levels of in-store merchandising and price promotions;
• Pet food purchasers as coupon users.

Also included are dozens of images of pet products and consumer and trade ads.

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