"Cats are the secret power"

"In general the cat food segment is growing together with the overall market and at the same pace. Of course, the dry food segment is much bigger on volume and turnover. Here we have been selling for many years mainly to the middle class. The trend here in my opinion is very close to wet food. An important point in this regard is the purchasing power of the population in Bulgaria. As the incomes are relatively low compared to the average in the EU, people prefer to buy cheaper food.
In the last two or three years, grain-free foods have constituted a major new trend on the market. Cat owners understood the importance for their cat's health, so the demand for grain-free products increased rapidly. Now every pet shop in Sofia offers and focuses on grain-free food. Some 98 or 99 per cent of the shops sell from open bags, as it is cheaper for the end customers in comparison to small packages. Some of them mix different kinds of one brand in one package."Ivan Antonov Owner Miazoo Bulgaria

"Cats are becoming more and more popular in the Czech Republic, but the real leaders in the Czech pet supplies market are still dogs. The dog range accounts for 56 per cent of the entire turnover of Czech Super Zoo. For cats we speak about 14 per cent. As we follow customer trends and needs, the range for cats has grown in the last few months. Not only cat food, but also toys, supplements and accessories are occupying more space on the shelves. The ratio of dry to wet cat food is 57 per cent to 43 per cent.
From the turnover point of view, cat litter is number one in the cat range and we can't forget supplementary food, which makes up eight per cent of cat turnover overall. This shows that for cat owners, the health of their cats is important and they spend money not only on quality food, but also on vitamins and healthy treats."Dušan Plaček Owner and CEO Plaček Group Czech Republic 

"The cat market in Croatia in general is driven by the private label segment (supermarket chains) since they make biggest volumes. If we look back a few years, when private label was mentioned everybody immediately connected that to the economy level, but nowadays private label has developed further and beside the economy (entry) level, we now have standard/midrange and premium level. I suppose a change of awareness of what humans eat, together with the fact that pets are becoming family members (pet humanisation), also affects the…