Other Pet Food in Portugal

PROSPECTS

Other pet population under threat as consumers favour cats and dogs

Interest in other pets is falling in Portugal as they are seen as lacking the same emotional and companionship benefits as cats and dogs, while some also require more equipment and maintenance, such as cleaning cages and tanks. Furthermore, the increasing focus on animal wellbeing and environmental questions has also seen a negative light turned on owning some of these kinds of pets, with the idea of keeping animals confined in small tanks or cages seen as bad for their wellbeing.

Animal welfare concerns offer potential for the development of added-value products

Increasing concern for pet welfare may help counterbalance the pet population decline to an extent. A growing focus on health and nutrition in pet care in general, in addition to recommendations from vets, may raise interest in species-specific and even premium products.

Can the internet help preserve sales of fish food?

With public interest in having aquariums and keeping pet fish waning, fish food continued to decline in current value and retail volume terms in 2020, with this set to continue over the forecast period. Fish food has always been a fairly difficult pet food category to navigate, certainly more so than cat food or dog food, and this is because feeding fish is much more of a precise science that involves more than merely presenting the fish with a generic food and waiting for them to consume it.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Vitakraft maintains lead thanks to broad range of products

The general lack of dynamism in other pet food meant that there were no major changes seen in the competitive environment in 2019. Vitakraft remained the leading company as it continued to benefit from strong consumer awareness of its wide range of products in bird food and small mammal/reptile food.

Versele-Laga relaunches Nature range with new improved formulas

Ibanidis Lda remained Vitakraft’s nearest rival in 2019 with its Versele-Laga brand, which holds strong positions in bird food and small mammal/reptile food. Towards the end of the review period, Versele-Laga sought to revitalise flagging sales with the relaunch of its key Nature range, giving it new packaging and a fresh new look.

Pet City launches the “BunBag”

In 2020 Pet City launched the BunBag bi-monthly subscription service through its online store. The BunBag is designed for rabbits and hamsters and each bag contains a range of new products for owners and their pets to try, with savings of between 10% and 30% on each product.

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