4/12/2021 By Jeannie SwedbergThe pet food topper and mix-in segment are gaining momentum fueled by new product activity and consumer interest. Toppers and mix-ins give pet parents the ability to add that something extra to their everyday kibble. While I honestly don’t think most dogs and cats look at their food and think, “oh no, not kibble again.” I do believe pet parents are concerned about feeding their pets the same thing day in and day out, and this is part of the reason why the topper/mix-in market is starting to gain traction...READ MORE
2/25/2021 By Jeannie SwedbergA recent blog in Petfood Industry had editor-in-chief, Debbie Phillips-Donaldson, pondering whether plants and plant protein would be the next big thing in petfood. Naturally, as an advocate for adding fruit in petfood and treats, this caught my attention. Ms. Donaldson gave examples of existing brands offering plant-based pet food (V-Planet, Natural Balance), startups with plant-based and vegan products (sweet potato/peanut butter), alternative proteins (microalgae, insects) and more. READ ON...
2/3/2021 By Jeannie SwedbergDuring all the grim economic news caused by the pandemic in 2020, the petfood segment managed not only to hold its own but actually continued its 10-year growth trend – a welcome silver lining. Despite everything, petfood innovation activity and sales rose during the past year. Through July of 2020, petfood and treat sales were up 4.3% compared to the same period in 2019, according to Nielsen data. And in 2020, new petfood and treat launches increased...READ MORE
1/11/2021 By Jeannie SwedbergAs promised in the previous Market Insights blog, this is the second part of my coverage of the webinar, “Fruit in Pet Food Formulations: Nutritional Benefits & Trends”. It will dive into the nutritional portion of the webinar presented by Matt Panasevich, Ph.D., Senior Nutrition Scientist, Blue Buffalo Co., who discussed the use of fruit and fruit fiber in pet food applications. As a bit of background, much of Dr. Panasevich’s career has been spent in nutrition research and the qualification of novel ingredients for use in pet food processing. Currently, in his role at Blue Buffalo, he investigates the application of novel nutritional technologies and their potential impacts on companion animal health.
11/24/2020 By Jeannie SwedbergTree Top sponsored a webinar earlier this month – Fruit in Pet Food Formulations: Nutritional Benefits & Trends. Since there was so much great information included in the webinar, I’m going to cover it in two blog entries. This first one will summarize the info Mintel’s Lynn Dornblaser shared on trends influencing fruit use in pet foods and treats. In a subsequent blog entry, I’ll review the info on nutritional benefits of using fruit in petfood formulations that was presented by Blue Buffalo’s Matt Panasevich, Ph.D.