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https://scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3012622/dogs-over-children-how-millennials-are-feeding-us225 News & Trends
Dogs over children: how millennials are feeding the US$225 billion pet care industry
- People in North America spent US$225 billion last year looking after their animals, with brands keen to cater to growing demand for healthier, gourmet pet foods
People are spending more of their money on pets, such as quality food and treats, including a range of The Pioneer Woman-branded Purina pet treats inspired by the food cooked by Ree Drummond (above) in her American reality television show, The Pioneer Woman. Photo: Purina
The pet care industry is booming as people around the world – especially millennials – blur the line between children and animals.
In North America last year, looking after animals proved to be a US$225 billion business, according to data from market research company, Edge by Ascential.
By 2023, the research company expects that figure to rise to US$281 billion.
Big brands are increasingly eager to cash in on the humanisation of pets.
Petco, the US-based company that sells animals and pet products and services, is opening kitchens in its stores, where people can buy meals prepared by chefs for their pets.
Walmart, the hypermarket and discount department store chain, is adding vet clinics to 100 of its stores and Nestlé Purina PetCare, another US-based business that makes and markets pet food, treats and other products, is getting into the lifestyle brand space with a new line of The Pioneer Woman-branded pet treats.
“Millennials are bringing pets into their household earlier than the previous generation ... they kind of delay marriage, but those pets fill that void in their life,” Ryan Gass, Purina Treats' senior brand manager, said.
Ree Drummond, who cooks food for her family on the American reality television programme, The Pioneer Woman, has helped to inspire a range of quality pet treats. Photo: The Pioneer Woman/Facebook
Ree Drummond, who is known in the US as a blogger and the television host of The Pioneer Woman, can relate to the sentiment.
“From a practical standpoint, I cannot have Louis Vuitton dog carriers, because it would make absolutely no sense,” Drummond, who lives on a ranch in Oklahoma, said.
“But I'd be in trouble if I lived in the city, because the lines would become even more blurred between human child and canine child.
“I think the common thread is how dogs make us feel and pets make us feel
“I think we live in a more stressful world than ever. So, we do rely on that comfort and reassurance.”
Reports suggest that sales of traditional pet foods, including Mars’ Pedigree, Purina, and Smucker’s Gravy Train and Kibbles ’n Bits, have fallen as pet owners pick more gourmet options for their pets.
More than 4,500 new pet food products, most of them premium options, were introduced in 2017 – a 45 per cent increase from the year before
The industry is churning out trendier and better-quality products.
Data analytics firm GfK said that more than 4,500 new pet food products, most of them premium options, were introduced in 2017 – a 45 per cent increase from the year before.
“We are seeing the pet humanisation trend proliferate [and it is] being increasingly influenced by human trends, such as ethical spending,” Ioli Macridi, an analyst at Edge by Ascential, said.
“[It} means there is a bigger focus on health, wellness, sustainability and transparency.”
The Pioneer Woman-branded Purina treats fit the bill, with recipes inspired by the meals that Drummond cooks for her family and friends.
“I’ve been at Purina 11 years,” Gass said.
“You would see trends in our diets, and it would take a few years before it would manifest itself in the category. But ... that timeline has really shrunk.”
This article originally appeared on Business Insider.