Trend towards added value

People have been keeping cats in their households as pets for around 9 500 years. A trend that began nearly 10 000 years ago has since developed into an unparalleled triumphal procession, with approximately 84.4 million cats in Europe alone, according to the European Pet Food Industry Association, Fediaf. The number of felines is on the rise in the rest of the world too. No wonder, then, that cat food acts as a global sales driver for the pet supplies industry. Food for cats accounts for half of the total sales of the pet sector in Europe. What has changed in this segment in the last few years? "Naturally, the cat food market has grown continuously in the last year also," Mars Petcare confirms. "The growth rates are now greatest, however, in areas where innovation drives the category, thus above all in the super-premium area and in care & treat production. Mars Petcare grew by 20 per cent here in the last year, for example." Marco Wilkens, sales manager at Lantmännen Bozita, also perceives the trend towards super-premium products and adds: "In my experience there is also an increase in both dry and wet food in this segment."Bigger sales increases than for dog foodCat food is emerging as the victor in another contest too. "Not only have we noticed an increase in sales of cat food in recent years, but we have established that the growth in this segment is greater than for dog food," explains Jan Vos, export manager at Bosch Tiernahrung. But what does the customer demand these days of a good cat food product? "Firstly, customers want a product that meets with good acceptance," says Vos. It is also important, however, to offer people different varieties that could fulfil a particular function in addition. "Many customers look specifically for products in the store with an added benefit such as hair & skin, indoor and outdoor or dental." This trend is also confirmed by Hans Persson, manager at Buccosanté, a manufacturer of dental hygiene products for pets: "Dental products for cats will increase and increase." It is very important for the products to contain natural ingredients and yield a visible result. Nicole Opitz of Wagg Foods also insists on the presence of natural ingredients in cat food, but says that the price of the product must be reasonable.Higher demands made on productsAs well as analysing the contents of the products, Mars Petcare has studied the people buying them more closely. "The brand shoppers of today have high expectations of the…