Pet Food Market Trends

Growth Drivers

• Growing demand for customized pet food - The popularity of customized pet food is growing in many developed regions. This is because, more owners are getting aware of the use of pet food according to the needs of the pets which includes factors such as age, sex, breed, health condition, weight, and more. This further reduces the prevalence of allergies and other risks to the health that may arise through unsuitable pet food.
  
  Additionally, technological development in extrusion technology is also set to have a huge impact on the growth in the production of customized food. With the integration of cloud and virtual reality, organizations could become more transparent to understand customers' preferences.
• Surge in production of organic pet food - Organic pet food composed of natural ingredients that do not consist of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, artificial coloring, antibiotics, and chemical by-products. These natural products offer several health benefits for pets, which include reduced risk of skin diseases & allergies, increased life expectancy, and others.
  
  Moreover, natural pet foods are easily digestible since it has high protein sources. Natural food allows pets to have predictable and proper bowel movements, as a result, the demand for organic pet food market revenue is estimated to rise.
• Positive response of COVID-19 on pet food - As of June 13, 2023, it was anticipated that there were over 767 million cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) across the globe. Moreover, the prevalence of COVID-19-like disease is expected to rise in the future. COVID-19 made people isolate themselves on account of strict rules and working from home became a new norm and it is slated to rise even further.
  
  Owing to this, the need for companions has grown and pets are considered to be the most preferred options. As a result, the demand for pet food market demand is poised to rise in the coming years.

Challenges

• High price of pet food - The ingredients required to make pet food which includes grains, meat, and vegetables, are of huge price. Moreover, various environmental factors, growing supply chain interruptions, and worldwide market dynamics are just a few instances that are set to boost the costs of pet food and impact the makers' profitability negatively. Hence, this has additionally increased the competition among key players.
• Growing sales of counterfeit products
• Growing stringent regulations - Pet food is one of the food categories that needs to be regulated specifically in Western countries. Pet foods need to be examined at every level, from the preparation of the food to marketing and sales. However, this examination could emerge as the greatest restraint.