A category reinventing itself

"Although dog food remains the biggest segment in our stores, cat food is growing faster compared with dog food," says Dušan Plaček, CEO of eastern European pet store chain Plaček Pet Products. In the Czech Republic, the retailer's home market, sales of cat food increased by 30 per cent in the first eight months of the year as compared with the previous year. The increase in dog food sales, on the other hand, was a "mere" 18 per cent.
This is not an isolated observation. Jan Vos, export manager at Bosch Tiernahrung, has also found that, although the trend in the dog segment continues to be positive, the growth in cat food sales has surpassed it. While sales of dry food have tended to develop more slowly, the trend in moist food is particularly upbeat. The company expects this to continue and has also introduced a moist food under the Sanabelle brand in which the proportion of fresh meat has been increased. The company sees an encouraging trend with regard to cat treats, too.
Where is Bosch Tiernahrung growing fastest at present? "The greatest growth in cat food is happening in our home market of Germany, in Turkey, in eastern Europe and in Russia, says Vos.
Dr. Clauder Tiernahrung also saw cat food sales growth in the high double-digit range last year.  "The rise was based substantially on growth in the European market, but we also gained market share overseas," comments Malte Hübers, managing director of the pet food manufacturer. In the first half of 2021, sales of cat food by Dr. Clauder were up by over 50 per cent, which was not without consequences for the production facility. "We will adjust our production capacity in the short to medium term and schedule further expansion stages in other segments," adds Hübers. In the last few months, the company has added 70g cans of Dr. Clauder's Best Filet to its assortment. Four new varieties have also been added to its complete raw food menus for cats, and new products are expected to appear at the next Interzoo.
High growth at home and abroad has also been the experience of Mera Tiernahrung. In the 40 countries to which the company exports, sales have increased by 39 per cent in the first eight months of this year as compared with 2020, says managing director Felix Vos. "Our growth is primarily due to the launch of Mera Cats and is thus above market growth in the respective countries." He is particularly pleased that the company has been able to consolidate its market leadership in Egypt. "We are generally seeing…