Good prospects for further growth

The dog is regarded as man's best friend. In France, for example, 25 per cent of all households own at least one dog, and dogs are the most popular pet by far in some central and eastern European countries, such as the Czech Republic and Poland. However, the dog is moving further and further away from its traditional role as a working or guard animal and is becoming an established member of the family. This upgrading of dogs by people is also reflected in how dogs are fed. Instead of the leftovers from the table, as before, meat pies containing delicacies such as chicken and turkey heart or foods with vegetable tortellini and peas are now a firm feature of the canine lunch menu. Dog food isn't always oriented just to the needs of the pet, however, but often also to the preferences of its owner. Since half-consumed tins of dog food in the refrigerator pose a hygiene problem for many dog owners, single-serve products such as trays or pouches have gained increasing acceptance in the market. Apart from Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Belgium, where moist food continues to enjoy a very large share of the market, the pet food market in most European countries is dominated by comparatively cheap dry food. This trend may well become more pronounced in the next few years, especially as dry food products are becoming increasingly palatable. In the wake of increasing differentiation of the market, products oriented to the life cycle, breed, size and level of activity of the dog have also been offered by the speciality trade in recent years. Trends from the human lifestyle have been transferred at an ever faster rate to the pet world, with organic products, diet foods, functional foods etc. For as long as these products guarantee the pet supplies business a high profit margin and are accepted by customers, they'll find stores willing to put them on the shelves. But if the manufacturers should run out of ideas, and the added value of a new food is no longer easily recognisable for the customer, the sector will have a problem. The growth rates of recent years might then be a thing of the past. Highly developed pet food markets like Germany, France and the Netherlands are already showing initial signs of this even now. But while the market share of industrially produced food still lags behind leftovers in many European countries, the prospects for further growth in the pet food market remain good. Yours Ralf Majer-Abele