A new era for human-grade pet foods

You and your pet, sharing food? Yep. And we’re not talking about table scraps. The Yaff Bar energy bar is specifically designed to be shared between pets and their humans, boasting such tempting ingredients as Blueberries, puffed rice and “a touch of carob.”

In the natural, organic and eco-friendly pet food market, the “humanization” of pet products has grown to epic proportions, with human-grade foods perhaps representing the peak, according to a recent Packaged Facts pet report. At the forefront of this trend is The Honest Kitchen, which in 2014 went through the lengthy process of renewing its FDA approval for the use of the “human-grade” claim on all of its pet food labels. The process required The Honest Kitchen to provide detailed documentation from each of its suppliers attesting to the human-edible status of each ingredient, and to verify that all of its products are manufactured in a human food facility.

As marketers more frequently turn to human-grade and human-inspired ingredients, they are also taking pets back to the wild, promoting the benefits of biologically appropriate diets that include the grain-free trend that is now firmly established. In the pet care space, marketers are increasingly inspired to use recycled and sustainable materials to respond to consumer demand for more environmentally friendly products. Across the board, consumers remain concerned about pet product safety, and ripples from the 2007 pet food recalls are apparent in the number of products now being promoted as “made in the U.S.A.” even as the debate on the safety of raw pet food wages on.

Although the skyrocketing growth of previous years may have leveled off a bit, the market for natural, organic and eco-friendly pet products is still drawing new participants at a brisk pace, and new product introductions continue to combine the most appealing trends in the pet market in ever-more-innovative ways.  Building on the previous four editions of this report, Packaged Facts’ Natural, Organic and Eco-Friendly Pet Products in the U.S., 5th Edition examines these trends and more, from broad, overall market analysis to scrutiny of the factors impacting the future of this market.

Add Natural, Organic and Eco-Friendly Pet Products in the U.S., 5th Edition to your intelligence library and receive a 5% discount during our promotional period effective through January 15, 2015. Use code PFECOPET2014.

-- By Shannon Landry Brown