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Spending time with your beloved pet has become an increasingly precious outlet for companionship and stress management. Nearly 23 million American households (one in five) have adopted a pet over the past two years. So it comes as no surprise that the pet food industry grew to an estimated $30 billion in 2020, with an expected compound annual growth rate of 5.2% forecast between 2021 and 2026.
For smaller or family-owned pet food manufacturers, the challenges of growing to meet this increased demand can be strenuous. Many brands start by baking or creating in their home kitchens and organically accumulating both two and four-legged fans. Handling pet food packaging is often done in small batches at this stage. But, when retailers come knocking, it can be a make-or-break for companies to go from startup to established.
To compete as a pet food brand, owners have to juggle lead times, shelf life, holding quantities, category resets, and life span for distribution and retail. It is normal for pet food retailers to only guarantee three months for new brands before delisting products that don’t sell quickly enough. It’s a very short time to make a sales splash, so having attractive pet food packaging is even more critical in helping influence consumers to try and buy your brand.
Below we explore some pet food industry trends — and learn how pet food packaging can help your brand better compete in the market.
Key Pet Food Industry Trends
Functional Pet Treats
Whether canine or feline, functional treats have increased in popularity thanks to better awareness around health and nutritional contents. Meat-based products (including the raw trend) are dominating retail purchases, anchoring the grain-free movement among pet owners. This is driven by some of the challenges of packaging cereals, grains, and seeds that can be prone to a high insect infestation rate, leading trusted manufacturers to package food and treats differently to minimize business risk.
Cutting Edge Pet Food
Much like the human health and wellness space has grown exponentially, so has the category for pet food and treats. Innovative pet food products, including hemp and CBD-based food, continue to grow in popularity among pet owners seeking alternatives that benefit their beloved furballs. Natural products, not just in food and treats but also in grooming and accessories, allow smaller manufacturers to carve out a competitive advantage compared to conventional, mass-market pet companies. Organic, home-baked treats aren’t just for farmer’s markets. Instead, you’ll find them on the shelves of national pet stores, big-box retailers, and pet influencers' social media feeds.
The Evolving Cat-egory of Feline Products
While dog ownership still outpaces cat ownership in the US, the category of feline products is an attractive and high-potential area for pet food manufacturers. This is because the feline food and treat market offers less competition and an opportunity for companies to gain higher net profits. Adapting existing products for this parallel market offers opportunity for pet food companies to expand quickly by leveraging existing packaging concepts or prototyping quick turn concepts.
How to Succeed with Pet Food Packaging
With some retailers offering very little shelf time, missing the window to get stocked could kill a business altogether. Working with a partner like Belmark removes the risk of supply chain issues in pet food packaging, allowing flexibility to pivot to meet retailer demands and grow your brand.
The Specs Matter—A Lot
Understanding the specs of how a product needs to be packaged to maximize freshness and quality is a way Belmark can help pet food clients navigate their packaging needs. For example, some product types may benefit more from being in pouches, with additional features such as an infinite edge and zipper closure. Belmark can help you navigate specs to enhance your product’s branding and quality.
Moving Quickly and with Quality
Belmark’s agile solutions can equip you with prototypes and help you handle small order quantities, making it easier to start up or scale a pet food and treat business. Having catchy, distinctive packaging can easily set apart your unique product with customers.
If you want to test drive a special recipe or offer a limited-edition package, the barriers to producing pet food packaging are significantly lowered with Belmark’s wide range of solutions. Our team of packaging experts can help your business navigate from start up all the way through scaling for full run orders.
Belmark’s digital printing solution, Web-to-Print® offers an unprecedented speed and quality that gets your products to market competitively. And with no minimum orders, Web-to-Print® can get you printed, converted, and shipped in three weeks or less.
Industry Experience
For smaller pet food companies, operating with speed and creative freedom can be an advantage compared to large conglomerates. However, meeting the tight timelines for planogram resets or responding to market trends to meet retailer expectations means having a pet food packaging and labeling solution that can keep up without compromising quality.
Belmark’s ability to offer smaller runs of labels, flexible packaging, and cartons makes it easier for pet food brands of all sizes to make their mark and stay current in the pet industry. Connect with a Belmark packaging expert today and take your next 3, 6, or 12-month pet food marketing plan to the next level with a tailored packaging and labeling solution.
