• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Tree Top Home
  • Consumer Products
  • Foodservice
  • Ingredients
  • Contract Manufacturing
Tree Top Food Ingredients
Fruit Ingredients
  • About
  • Contact
  • Blogs
  • Fruit Products
      • Fruit Purées
        • Single Strength
          • Apple Blend Purée
          • Apricot Purée
          • Blackberry Purée
          • Blueberry Purée
          • Organic Apple Purée
          • Organic Peach Purée (Cling and Freestone)
          • Organic Pear Purée
          • Peach Purée (Cling and Freestone)
          • Pear Purée
          • Plum Purée
          • Raspberry Purée
          • Strawberry Purée
          • Apple Sauce
      • Fruit Purées
        • Concentrated
          • Apple Purée Concentrate
          • Apricot Purée Concentrate
          • Blackberry Purée Concentrate
          • Blueberry Purée Concentrate
          • Organic Apple Purée Concentrate
          • Organic Apricot Purée Concentrate
          • Peach Blend Purée Concentrate (Cling and Freestone)
          • Pear Purée Concentrate
          • Plum Purée Concentrate
          • Red Raspberry Purée Concentrate
          • Red Tart Cherry Purée Concentrate
          • Strawberry Purée Concentrate
      • Fruit Juice Concentrates
        • Apple Juice Concentrate
        • Blackberry Juice Concentrate
        • Blueberry Juice Concentrate
        • Pear Juice Concentrate
        • Raspberry Juice Concentrate
        • Strawberry Juice Concentrate
      • Dried Fruit
        • Dried Apples – Low Moisture
        • Dried Apples – Intermediate Moisture
        • Dried Apples – Regular Moisture
        • Dried Fruit Powders
        • Dried Pumpkin Flake Powder
      • Fruit Preparations
      • Pet Food Ingredients
      • Specialty Markets
        • Hard Ciders and Alcohol
        • Reduced Sugars
      • Northwest Naturals
  • Resources
      • Specification Sheets
        • Dried Fruit
        • Fruit Purees
        • Apple Sauce
        • Fruit Juice Concentrates
        • Frozen Fruit
        • Fruit Preparations
      • Regulatory Documents
        • Quality Compliance Summary
        • Kosher Certificates
        • Organic Certificates
        • Storage & Shelf Life
        • Other Documents
        • New Customer Packet
      • Product Brochures
        • About Tree Top/Overview
        • Fruit Ingredient Full Product Catalogs
        • Dried Fruit
        • Strawberry Products-Frozen
        • Dairy
        • Hard Ciders
        • Pet Food
        • Northwest Naturals
        • Contract Manufacturing
        • Fruit Serving Calculations
        • Fruit Acid Cards
        • Seasonal Fruit Harvest Chart
      • Videos
      • Webinars
      • White Papers
      • Calculators
      • Market Trends News
      • Contract Manufacturing
  • Applications
      • Biscuits – Scones
      • Breads
      • Cakes
      • Cookies
      • Drinks
      • Entrees
      • Frozen Novelties
      • Gluten Free
      • Low Sugar – No Sugar
      • Muffins
      • Other Desserts
      • Pet Food
      • Pies
      • Plant Based
      • Salads
      • Sauces
      • Sides
      • Smoothies
      • Snack Bars
      • Snacks
      • Soups
      • Vegetable
  • Crop Info
        • Crop Report Blog

        • General Crop Info

        • Meet our Growers & Field Reps

        • Crop Information
        • Apples
        • Blackberries
        • Cherries
        • Grapes
        • Peaches
        • Pears
        • Raspberries
        • Strawberries
  • Samples
  • Fruit Products
    • Fruit Purées
    • Fruit Juice Concentrates
    • Dried Fruit
    • Fruit Preparations
    • Pet Food Ingredients
    • Specialty Markets
      • Hard Ciders & Alcohol
      • Reduced Sugars
    • Northwest Naturals
  • Resources
    • Specification Sheets
    • Regulatory Documents
    • Product Brochures
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Calculators
    • Market Trends News
    • Contract Manufacturing
  • Crop Info
    • Crop Report Blog
    • General Crop Info
    • Meet Our Growers & Field Reps
  • Blogs
    • Crop Report Blog
    • R&D Blog
    • Market Insights Blog
    • Pet Scoop Blog
    • Quality Food & Safety Insights
  • Sample Request
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Applications
  • Tree Top Sites
    • Tree Top Home
    • Consumer Products
    • Foodservice
    • Ingredients
    • Contract Manufacturing

Tree Top Fruit Ingredients

More Fruit, More Forms

Hide Search

Family matters – How different demographic groups are influencing pet food sales

Jeannie Swedberg · Mar 23, 2020

Before I dive into how demographics are playing into pet food sales. Here’s a look at the overall pet care retail market. Packaged Facts estimates pet care retail sales will total $68.76 billion by 2024. And the company says to get there, retail sales, including pet food will increase at an estimated 4.7% combined annual growth rate.

Now onto what human dynamics are fueling pet food sales. It wasn’t always the case, but today our pets are considered part of the family. Last year a research study revealed that 95% of people consider (and treat) their pets as members of the family. That’s up from 88% in 2007. Our adoption of pets as family members is what has kept the pet food segment dynamic and growing over the past decade.

As valued family members, people want to give their pets the same high-quality foods they eat. And in some instances, people will spend more on their pet’s food than they do on their own. The same trends we see in human food are mirrored in the pet food space from clean label to nutritional customization. There’s also a focus on functional ingredients that provide health and wellness benefits to our animals. 

Demographics at play

According to Sundale Research, interest in premium pet foods and treats is robust due to a couple of demographic factors—aging Baby Boomers with empty nests and young Millennials without children. Both of these groups have disposable income that they’re willing to lavish on their pets. And as long as economic conditions remain favorable for these cohorts, the value-added, premium pet food and treat segments will continue to grow.

A quick look at Boomer demographics shows the number of 55- to 64-year-old Americans in 2018 equaled nearly 43 million. That number is projected to grow to 47.2 million by 2023, making it the second-fastest growing age group in the U.S. Outpacing this segment is the 65-plus population, which will grow from 52.3 million in 2018 to 60 million in 2023. Empty nesters are turning their focus and funds from parenting their children to parenting their beloved pets.   

Meanwhile Millennials—25- to 42-years-old and 70 million strong—many of whom are delaying parenthood, are outspending Boomers on pet care, including premium pet foods. They’re happy to spoil their pets and want the same type of foods for them as they buy for themselves. That includes selecting organic, natural, sustainable, clean label, small batch, and specialty foods and treats with recognizable ingredients. More social media active and less brand loyal than older generations, Millennials are willing to try new brands and share their favorites.

Just as health and wellness is a strong trend among people generally, it extends into the world of pet care. The same desire for hormone- and pesticide-free foods is carried into pet food choices. Organic foods, human quality foods and those without are byproducts added are considered more authentic and better quality. People are willing to pay more for these products to maintain the health and well-being of their four-footed family members.

Tree Top inspiration

Speaking of organic ingredients…Tree Top offers organic fruit purees, dried apples, various fruit powders and juice concentrates for pet food applications. Our organic fruits are made from fruit harvested from Tree Top farmers’ orchards in the Western U.S. Not only do our organic fruit ingredients add natural goodness to your applications, they look great on any label.

Get more info about Tree Top pet food ingredients.

Blog Categories

Sign Up For Our Latest News

Receive the latest news and research right in your inbox!

Blog Home

Categories

  • Apples
  • Apricots
  • Blackberries
  • Blueberries
  • Cherries
  • Concord Grapes
  • Crop Report Blog
  • Market Insights Blog
  • Nectarines
  • Peaches
  • Pears
  • Pet Scoop Blog
  • Plums
  • Quality Food and Safety Insights
  • Raspberries
  • Research and Development Blog
  • Strawberries
  • Uncategorized
  • Weather Conditions
  • Ingredients Products
  • Fruit Purées
  • Apple Sauce
  • Fruit Juice Concentrates
  • Dried Fruit
  • Specialty Markets
  • Fruit Preparations
  • Resources
  • Request Samples
  • Spec Sheets
  • Regulatory Documents
  • Crop Information
  • Harvest Chart
  • Applications
  • Sales Materials
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • White Papers
  • Market Trends
  • About Us
  • Our Story
  • Facilities
  • Citizenship/Sustainability
  • Contract Manufacturing
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Blogs
  • Crop Update
  • Research and Development
  • Market Insights
  • Pet Scoop
  • Quality Food and Safety Insights
Northwest Naturals
Tree Top Ingredients Newsletter

Sign up to receive our monthly blog full of industry news and insights designed to keep you informed – delivered to your inbox.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.