18 billion meals
That’s how many cans and pouches of cat and dog food are sold every year worldwide. And the number is growing. In the shops this corresponds to a staggering 30 billion Euro. And pet owners are willing to spend more and more on their animal friends.
Keeping pets has never been more popular with Europe’s 830 million citizens. On average, approximately one in eight people in Europe has either a dog or cat, which equates to a huge consumption of pet food. People treat their pets like one of the family, where only the best is good enough. This applies in particular to their choice of pet food, which they expect to be both healthy and nutritious. The same trend can be seen throughout the West, including the USA and Canada. The market is served by large international players such as Mars, Nestlé, Colgate and P&G as well as a number of small private labels and regional manufacturers. The secret for these producers is to stand out from all the endless rows of standardized cans and bags. The numerous possibilities offered by thermoformed plastic packaging in terms of shape and colour represent an obvious opportunity for product positioning, one which is proving popular with producers worldwide.
Product differentiation
Today, pet food is usually packaged in cans or bags in either wet or dry form. The various packs basically resemble each other, only distinguished by a label. At the same time, dog and/or cat owners have become more sophisticated. Portion servings are a clear favoured, and high quality is a matter of course. Moreover, the products must have a long shelf-life. This increases the demands on suppliers to differentiate their products via shape, colour and content.
AMPET® and the environment
AMPET® has been specially developed for ambient products. Together with the many shape and colour options, it is an ideal material for the pet food segment. Furthermore, less and cheaper material is used, thereby reducing the environmental impact and providing direct saving.
The logistics costs will also decrease as less storage space is needed. AMPET® packaging takes up considerably less space in transit than jars and canned food.
For the right players it is a lucrative market with huge potential. The question is which producers will be the first to break free of the pack and differentiate themselves via shape and colour.