A category still with plenty of potential

25 per cent of all European households own a cat. In America and many Asian countries, too, felines are an established member of the household. Although globally more cats are probably kept as pets than dogs, the focus within the pet supplies sector has tended to be on canines in the past. Mega-trends such as grain-free nutrition, raw food diets and insects as a protein source first emerged in the development of dog food and were only adapted to cats later.
There are many reasons for this. Pet product retailers and many of their suppliers still have difficulties with cat food and its marketing. The cat food market is defined primarily by moist food products. This is a domain of the supermarket trade, which is consequently the foremost distribution channel in nearly all countries. Efforts by the speciality trade to convince cat owners that premium food is healthier for their pets have not met with anything like the success that has been achieved with dog food. Compared with dog owners, cat owners spend far less on their pets. This is due to the fact that the human-canine bond is much closer and more emotional than that between people and cats. Felines are individualists and many spend the majority of their day outdoors. Dogs, on the other hand, consider man to be their social partner and usually develop a close relationship. This also explains why, in the lucrative and growing treat segment, far greater sales have been generated with dog treats than with products of this type for cats.

Despite all this, the feline category is an important growth segment, as demonstrated especially clearly by the last few months. In many countries, the number of cats kept as pets has grown sharply during the coronavirus pandemic. Since many people now take health and nutrition increasingly seriously, they attach greater value to feeding their cat well. Pet supplies retailers benefit from this if they are able to offer their customers an interesting product assortment that stands out from the supermarket ranges in terms of quality. Finding the right mix isn't always easy, because cats are extremely self-willed when it comes to their food choices. It is thus all the more important for speciality retailers to maintain close contact with their…