by Sarah Schmidt
March 4, 2015
According to data presented by David Sprinkle, research director for Packaged Facts, during his U.S. Pet Market Trends and Outlook seminar at the Global Pet Expo in Orlando, Florida on March 4, retail channel sales of pet food and pet supplies approached $44 billion in 2014, up 2% over 2013. The pet market’s longer-term growth and prospects have continued to attract new players, expanding the range of marketers and retailers vying for a slice of the pie.
The market for the dog and cat food market nonetheless remains top-heavy, with the top three companies accounting for over two-thirds of U.S. retail sales in mass and pet specialty channels. On a tier of its own is Nestlé Purina, with a 35% share in 2014. Mars added to its heft with its acquisition of P&G’s pet brands in 2014, thereby cornering a 21% share. In a transformational move for the company, Smucker is grabbing a 13% share of dog and cat food sales with its acquisition of Big Heart Pet Brands, the former Del Monte pet food business.
Premium pet foods accounted for 42% of pet food sales in 2014, reflecting the ongoing “pets as part of the family” trend. Treats have also grown their share of the overall pet products market, tying in to the robust interest in functional treats as a way to ameliorate pet health conditions and promote overall wellness.
In recent years, three trends have served as the major forces impacting the situation at pet retail: the expansion of the two big-box pet specialty chains, PetSmart and Petco; the growth of mass merchandisers and supercenters, especially Walmart supercenters; and the rise of the Internet. The pet specialty chains lead in the retail arena with a 24% market share, with mass merchandisers as the nearest competitors.
For more pet market insights from Packaged Facts, please visit: Pet Products & Services.
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