Going upmarket: Premiumisation driving UK pet care industry
Author: Lee Linthicum
Date published: 6 Sep 2007
Total retail value sales for pet food and pet care products in the UK approached £2.6 billion in 2006 per Euromonitor International's latest research. This represents growth of more than 5% from the previous year. Moreover, value sales growth is expected to accelerate to approach 6% during 2007, as driving market trends continue to hold sway.
Pet population grows slowly but expenditure per pet on the rise
The total UK pet population grew only 1.7% in 2006 to approach 48.6 million animals. The dog and cat population fared slightly better, increasing 2.3% from 2005 to surpass 16.3 million animals according to Euromonitor International's latest findings. Despite this slow population increase, UK consumer expenditure on pet food and pet care products per animal increased at a more robust 5.1% in 2006 to £49.
As in other developed markets throughout Western Europe, as well as the US and Japan, this increased expenditure is directly related to the ongoing trend of pet humanization, with pets being viewed more and more as family members.
Pet humanisation supports more sophisticated products
With pet anthropomorphism gathering pace in the UK, manufacturers are increasingly able to persuade pet owners to trade up to the super-premium and premium products that have driven value sales growth in recent years. Consumers are driving this demand as they are increasingly aware of their pet's nutritional requirements.
In the UK, value sales for premium dog and cat food grew 9.2% during 2006 to £655 million. This growth has been driven by a raft of new health focused multi-functional foods aimed at weight management and improving pets' paws, claws, eyes, coats, skin, teeth, digestive health, and brain power. Key terms appearing on packaging have included omega 3 & 6, macro-nutrient profile, wheat and gluten free, and hypoallergenic.
2006 also saw significant innovation for pet life-stage and life-style products. Greater UK consumer interest for such products proved especially beneficial to Masterfoods' Whiskas cat food brand, which increased its share of total premium dog and cat food nearly 2 percentage points to claim 19.4% of value sales according to Euromonitor International research.
More emphasis is also being placed on human grade products, such as the 2006 UK release of Nestlé's Winalot British Favourites in varieties including Beef Stew and Lamb Hot Pot. Likewise, hyper-premium products such as Nestlé's Gourmet Solitaire cat food and the new range of dog desserts from Town & Country Petfoods, which contain real fruit and retails at more than £6 per kilo, are becoming more common.