The days of choosing between only two brands of dog food for your dog is long gone! At one time, Pedigree, Milkbone, and a few smaller competitor brands were the only choices to give man’s best friend. For feline enthusiasts, Fancy Feast is no longer the fanciest brand on the market! Yes, the pet industry in the United States has grown insurmountably, becoming one of the most successful markets in the world in the pet sector. (Kwok & Jourdan, 2015). According to American Pet Products Association’s annual report in 2014, Americans spent $58 billion dollars on their furry friends (Pawsible Marketing, 2015). In last 15 years it seems that both the dog and cat food aisle is not only filled with more options, but it’s also filled with dozens of impulse buys that were previously reserved for humans. Do you remember ten years ago there being a dog-friendly ice cream or costumes for your cat to make her look like your favorite Disney Princess – the options these days seem to be endless .
Commercial Focus
The focus and marketing tactics for dog commercials from 20 years ago are almost the same as as the commercials you would see today – focusing primarily on teeth, the animal’s coat and overall happiness. Ask yourself, besides the quality of the commercials (and the clothes) would you be able to tell what product was over 30 years old, I am not so sure I could!
Alternatively, taking a look at numerous cat commercials, most do not focus on the feline’s coat or teeth, instead concentrate on making an emotional connection. While the two commercials below are from two different companies and decades, both are hoping to evoke some kind of emotion from the consumer, otherwise known as emotional marketing.
To Infinity and Beyond
But the United States is not alone, China for instance, once a country who saw their Communist leader Chairman Mao Zedong ban its own citizens from owning animals now reports the exact opposite (Kwok & Jourdan, 2015). Today, if you own a pet in China it symbolizes financial prosperity. By 2019 the country is expected to exceed the United States in the spending of their animals – an estimated $2.6 billion dollars (Kwok & Jourdan, 2015). “Dogs are by far the most popular pets and dog food sales alone are expected to almost treble to over $760 million by 2019, Euromonitor data shows, as higher disposable incomes make keeping a pet an affordable luxury for more Chinese, particularly in more developed cities” according to Kwok & Jordan (2015).
If analysts are right, the pet industry will continue to grow at about 4 percent every year in the United States (Brough, 2014) and likely won’t be affected if another financial meltdown. According to the American Pet Products Association (APPA), the animal industry remained almost untouched in the years 2008 – 2013, only increasing $12.33 billion in five years but holding steady despite the depression the country was facing. (Brough, 2014).
The Real Deal
So now that we know the pet industry is a cash cow, what companies are the top ranking pet companies? According to the website Pet Food Industry (2016), the top companies for pets are Mars Petcare Inc., bringing in an estimated $17,224,400,000 annually. Mars Petcare Inc., not ringing a bell? Don’t worry it didn’t for me either until I did a Google search and discovered that the Mars brand produces PEDIGREE®, IAMS®, WHISKAS®, BANFIELD®, CESAR®, and GREENIES® – to name a few (Mars Petcare Inc., 2016). Following Mars, Nestlé Purina PetCare and Big Heart Pet Brands individually brought in an annual $11,917,000,000 and $2,280,300,000, respectively.
ReferencesIn doing all this research on the pet care industry, it makes sense that the next million dollar idea would logically stem from a product targeted for pet-loving consumers. In saying that, who wants to be a millionaire with me and help create an awesome product that we can take to Shark Tank?
Brough, C. (2014). Pet businesses will prosper: Industry trends for 2014 and beyond. Multibriefs.
Retrieved from www.multibriefs.com/briefs/exclusive/pet_businesses_will_prosper.html#.WBpRoS0rKCh
Cat’s Pride (2016, March 14). Cat’s Pride® Fresh & Light Ultimate Care® :30 Commercial
“Best Litter” Starring Katherine Heigl. YouTube. Cat’s Pride. Retrieved from
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud53jv-B2nA
Greenies. (2013, July 13). Kids Never Get this Excited, Part 2: GREENIES® Commercial.
YouTube. Greenies. Retrieved fromwww.youtube.com/watch?v=maegMAnRxYY
International Mars. (2016). Mars Petcare. Mars Incorporated. Retrieved from
http://international.mars.com/global/brands/petcare.aspx
Kwok, D. & Jourdan, A. (2015, June 3). Top dog: China’s newfound passion for pets is big
business. Reuters. Retrieved from www.reuters.com/article/us-china-pets-idUSKBN0OJ2TT20150603
Panbiscuit. (2006, October 1). Milkbone dog biscuits. YouTube. Retrieved from www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXnzdKKAKw4
Pawsible Marketing. (2015). The Top Pet Industry Trends for 2015. Pawsible Marketing.
Retrieved from www.marketingmypetbusiness.com/2015/03/the-top-pet-industry-trends-for-2015.html
Noonan, K. (2014, August 19). 9 Lives. Morris. Cat Food commercial 1990. YouTube. Retreived www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpvUV_DqYnU
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