Focusing on natural ingredients

Snacks for small animals are in the ascendancy. Versele Laga points out that 70 per cent of pet parents buy snacks for their animals. The potential offered by this segment is shown by another item of market data presented by Versele Laga, which indicates that owners of small mammals buy an average of five snacks per month.Using the slogan "It's time for a snack", the Belgian company is urging pet product retailers to give this lucrative segment a suitably high priority in their merchandise range. In Bologna, Versele Laga exhibited a host of new products.New "Nature Snacks"The company has expanded its existing line of "Nature Snacks" considerably. It now comprises five products instead of two: "Veggies", "Fruities", "Berries", "Nutties" and "Proteins". A common feature of all of these is the high content of natural raw ingredients. For example, "Veggies" contains 5 per cent vegetables (including beetroot, carrots and parsnips), "Nutties" consists of 40 per cent nuts (including peanuts, hazelnuts and almonds). The "Proteins" variety contains animal protein including eggs, prawns and mealworms, and like "Nutties" is purely for omnivorous rodents. "Veggies", "Berries" and "Fruities", on the other hand, have been developed for rabbits and all rodents. The packaging of the product line is also new: resealable freshpack stand-up pouches keep the mixture fresh and the chunks retain their flavour, according to Versele Laga. The new line was brought onto the market during June.New look for "Crispy"The "Crispy" brand, a product in the medium price segment, has also been given a new look. At the end of last year, Versele Laga combined its existing brands "Crispy", "Pro" and a whole host of snacks in one new "Crispy" range. This now comprises around 65 references. "Crispy" is now categorised into "Crispy Muesli" (complete food, varied mixture), "Crispy Snack" (complementary food, varied mixture), "Crispy Pellets" (complete food, all-in-one pellets), "Crispy Sticks" (complementary food, oven-baked treat sticks), "Crispy Biscuits" (complementary food, oven-baked cakes) and "Crispy Toasties" (complementary food, oven-baked biscuits). To coincide with the presentation of the product relaunch, Versele Laga unveiled a new promotion alongside sample shelves and other presentation ideas. A card game with the "Crispy" products has been developed for this.The company plans to introduce further new products in the autumn, including six new products in the premium "Nature Sticks…