Focus on Petcare: 12 October

By Daniel Selwood daniel.selwood@thegrocer.co.uk 

Publishing: 12 October 2024

Advertising deadline: 27 September 2024

Submissions deadline: 20 September 2024

Print, digital and sponsorship opportunities

If feeding Fido once meant opening a can of miscellaneous meat, today’s petcare products offer variety and benefits that just a decade ago may have seemed fantastical. From fresh, preservative-free petfood to plant-based and cultivated meats and gut health supplements for pets, brands are catering to pet parents with a broad range of dietary and health requirements. And increasingly, the emphasis is on pets’ wellness. How are brands satisfying consumer demand for healthy products for their four-footed companions? What innovations are companies unveiling?

Wellness: Why has wellness taken off in the pet sector? How much money are people willing to spend on their pets’ wellbeing? How is the emphasis re-shaping petfood? Which other products (supplements, grooming, etc) are benefiting? And which brands are leading the way?

Cultivated meat and meat alternatives: This spring, one brand making cultivated meat for petfood announced a breakthrough in creating a protein-free culture medium – bringing meat-free petfood one step closer to commercial viability. How close is it to hitting shelves? Are other brands developing similar products? From plant-based to insect-based, a number of petfood brands are eschewing meat entirely. Have such products made it from the premium end of the sector into the mainstream?

Green credentials: While swapping out farm-produced meat for other alternatives has clear environmental benefits, many brands are touting other moves they’re making to produce greener petfood. What are they doing?

Own label vs brands: How have own label sales performed relative to branded sales? And with dipping volumes in other parts of the sector, what are the bright spots for volume growth? Why are cat treats bucking the losses?