High pet humanisation

Japan's population declined by 1 per cent to 127 mio between 2009 and 2014. However, it remains a highly affluent society: 44 per cent of households had an annual disposable income of at least $55 000 at purchasing power parity in 2014. Shrinking pet population Dog and cat ownership is also in decline. The proportion of households with a cat declined from 13 per cent to 10 per cent between 2009 and 2014, while the proportion with a dog fell from 21 per cent to 16 per cent. While the country's dog and cat population decreased from 22 mio to 20 mio over this period, pet care value sales proved to be fairly robust, declining by a mere 5 per cent to $5 bn. While a shrinking pet population has reduced volume demand for dog and cat food, the fact that Japanese women are having fewer children (just 1.5 children born per female in 2014) and having them later (average age of women at birth of first child stood at 30 years during the same year) means that pets are increasingly being indulged. In general, levels of pet humanisation in Japan appear to be almost as high as in the US. New products Evidence of this can be seen in the host of new products and services targeted at pets that have been launched in Japan over recent years. These range from dog "wine" and cakes that both dogs and their owners can enjoy to dog yoga, dog nursing homes and a plethora of electronic gadgets. An exhibition called "Architecture for Dogs" was even held at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, the capital city of Ishikawa Prefecture in central Japan, during late 2014. Japan is the second largest market in the world (after the US) for other pet products (such as clothing, toys and accessories), with value sales of $1.2 bn. in 2014. Moreover, real value sales in this category increased by 2 per cent between 2009 and 2014. "In Japan, owners consider pets to be family members. Some treat them as if they were their children," Koichi Makino, product sales department manager at Peppy, an online pet supplies retailer, told the Washington Post newspaper during late 2014.

Treats on the rise It is particularly striking that volume sales of dog and cat food in Japan declined at more than twice the rate of value sales (15 per cent versus 7 per cent) between 2009 and 2014. Some…