The growing emphasis on variety, treating and as in so many other sectors, convenience, has driven the dog and cat food market up to a value of £1.9bn, an increase of 3% over the previous year, according to Information Resources [52 w/e December 29 2002]. Sam McElligott, Masterfoods trade communications manager, says: "While pet ownership has remained consistent over the past few years, the increased market value is a result of new product development, consumers feeding a combination of both wet and dry products, and an increase in snacks and treats usage ­ particularly following recent innovations in the healthy treating and oral care segments." Safeway's petcare buyer Alan Dardis confirms that the treats market is continuing to grow and that premium treats with a high meat content are proving popular. He adds: "Staple treats such as dog chews continue to grow as owners work longer hours and treat their pets to compensate." The Co-operative Group's category marketing manager, Sarah Jane Williamson, says: "The total dog treat market has grown 13.5% year-on-year. Pedigree is the dominant brand followed by Winalot and Hartz treats. As complete dry dog food usage increases, customers are moving away from biscuit treats to purpose-made treats." The nation's six million or so dogs wolfed down £96m worth of treats last year [ACNielsen, 52 w/e March 22 2003], up 8.9% year-on-year. Whiskas is the leading brand in the cat treats sector with Felix at number two. Nestlé Purina launched a new range of Felix cat treats earlier this year, including Denta Paw, a product with "proven tartar control", Lickin's and Sticks. The launch coincided with an overhaul of the entire Felix portfolio aimed at creating a modern and striking image for the brand. As well as treats, lifestage feeding is another area growing in popularity. Dardis explains: "Lifestage is becoming increasingly popular in both own label and branded product ranges and will continue to grow as ranges increase and customer understanding of the benefits becomes clearer." Again Nestlé Purina was quick off the mark with the launch of its Felix Kitten and Senior pouch multipacks, which also cater for the demand for single-serve portions. The company says the lifestage cat food market is worth "a growing £20m, driven by single-serve products" [ACNielsen 52 w/e January 25 2003]. Most major dog food brands have a lifestage product for each step in a dog's development. The newest kid on the block is Butchers which this month launches a puppy food in a 300g can, the company's first lifestage product. Butchers head of marketing, Yetunde Ige, says the new development will give the brand the chance to "win young new recruits and gain additional shelf space". Masterfoods has taken the growing single-serve pouch market to its Pedigree dog food, confident it can repeat the success it claimed with Whiskas cat food pouches. McElligott says: "Pedigree pouches answer the consumer's need to give their dog taste and variety in their diet, but the production process also means that the food retains up to 50% more natural vitamins than our cans. This makes it a more attractive and healthy proposition for the dog and represents a major nutritional development in the wet dog food category." There has been further innovation with the introduction of premium dry products, including Pedigree Complete with Meaty Nuggets and Whiskas Dry with more Crunchy Nuggets. Masterfoods says they are aimed at ridding pet owners of the guilt that research shows they feel for feeding their pets only dry food, which they perceive as boring. Safeway's Dardis says: "The anticipated mass market move from canned to dry has not taken place as expected because of price and because some owners will not eliminate wet entirely from their pet's diet ­ they supplement it with dry." The desire for variety has also led to the introduction of more flavours across all the brands. Masterfoods' Cesar Cuisine for dogs and Sheba Creations for cats, for example, are inspired by "Mediterranean food trends" and include Italian-style beef. However, Procter & Gamble's Iams and Eukanuba brands are sticking with the idea that the nation's growing awareness of human health is having a knock-on effect for their pets. The message is that the brands are created by nutritional experts who believe dogs and cats should be "fed in the way they have evolved ­ eating animal proteins, not cereals or vegetable minerals". Iams was launched into the market three years ago and the company says the fact it is now widely available has meant "a huge increase in activity". Both P&G brands offer a range of lifestage options for both dogs and cats and Eukanuba was recently repackaged to highlight the Vital Body Health System. {{FOCUS ON }}