dog and owner

Source: Unsplash

Focus On: Petcare by Rob Brown

Publishing: 26 September 

Advertising deadline: 14 September

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Submissions deadline: 7 September

The story

Petfood is getting distinctly futuristic. Interest is growing fast in insect protein as a healthy and sustainable ingredient. And recent innovations have included catfood that reduces humans’ allergies and dog chews made from yak milk. How important are such cutting-edge products in adding value to the petcare category? And how soon before they go mainstream?

Key themes

Insects: Are they the future of petfood? Startups specialising in insect-based petfood are attracting attention from investors and retailers. Who are the brands working with creepy crawlies, and what’s their appeal? What sort of products do they make? Why? How likely are they to go mainstream? And could they scale up easily?

Innovation: What pioneering petcare products are already on shelves – and what’s yet to come? Who are the most visionary suppliers? How futuristic is the category likely to get? Is this the right time for brands to be focusing on clever-clever lines, or should they be sticking to traditional products? Which retailers are offering the most forward-looking brands?

Lockdown: How did petcare perform during lockdown, when animal adoptions reportedly increased and dog-walking was an opportunity to get out of the house? What difficulties did suppliers and retailers encounter? And what opportunities arose? How is the landscape changing for manufacturers and retailers as the country returns to a semblance of normality?

Sustainability: From food standards commitments to environmentally friendly packaging – who’s making the greenest moves in service of the planet’s future? How significant are they?

DTC: How well did it perform during the pandemic? How much bigger can it get? Who are the leaders and the challengers? How much of a threat do they posed to high street stores?

Kantar: Using Kantar commentary, we explain the reasons behind the rise and fall of the relevant sectors.

Nielsen: Using Nielsen commentary, we explain the reasons behind the rise and fall of the leading brands.

Shopper Intelligence: How do people shop the petcare aisle?

Innovations: We identify four new products that have ideally not appeared in The Grocer before including launch date and RSP, and a picture of each.

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