Snacking, Functional Foods, Sustainability, Convenience—All Moving to the Pet Food Aisle

If you want to understand what pet food trends will be coming over the next few years, it makes sense to look to the trends happening now in human foods.

At the Petfood Forum, keynoter Daniel Levine, director of the Avant-Guide Institute, pointed to trends in human food as leading indicators for pet food.
At the Petfood Forum, keynoter Daniel Levine, director of the Avant-Guide Institute, pointed to trends in human food as leading indicators for pet food.
Aaron Hand

Are you barking up the right tree? If you want to know what might be coming down the pike in pet food, take a look at what the trends are now in people food, notes Daniel Levine, director of the Avant-Guide Institute and this morning’s keynote speaker at the Petfood Forum in Kansas City.

Besides that No. 1, overarching trend, Levine detailed five other key trends that will likely be shaped in much the same way as we bring to our pets the same features that we seek for ourselves: functionality, transparency, humanification, convenience, and technology.

Some key trends Levine points to within people food that are likely to migrate to our pets are individually packaged snacks and hydration. “We’re seeing more and more that humans are blurring the lines between meals and eating smaller foods during the day,” he says. “If there’s an analog in the pet food industry, we can imagine that snacking is a growing part of the pet food industry also.”


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If there’s something that trends do, it’s grow, Levine adds. So it’s easy to see that snacking for pets will grow over the next few years, along with human snacking. It’s also easy to see that the trend toward single-serve packaging will likely move into the pet aisle as well.  

Pointing to a growing trend for humans to go after more personalized hydration choices, Levine expects people to make the same kinds of choices for their pets. Waters with special properties—high-alkaline waters, for example, to help with bones and digestion—could be making their way to pets. It’s part of a growing propensity toward functional foods and beverages.

The pet food market for functional foods and beverages looks to be moving in sync with the human market. “Sometimes when we see products, we’re not sure if they’re for humans or for pets,” Levine says, pointing to a picture of Digest Gold Fiber+ Cookies from Enzymedica (honestly, I’m still confused, since these appear to be for human consumption). But then he also referenced a growth in CBD products for pets, to help with calming or joint health.

Trends toward functional treats for pets include CBD products for their calming effects.Trends toward functional treats for pets include CBD products for their calming effects.bSerene

“As with everything else in these trends, it’s getting more and more intense. We’re seeing more products that do more for you and are being marketed in that way,” Levine says. “It’s incredible how quick this market is moving. The idea of functionality is also about longevity. And I would say one of the biggest trends that we will be seeing in the next year or two for people has to do with the idea of Blue Zones.”

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