Petfood and care manufacturers absolutely need to cater to the female buyer when selecting packaging to brand products since women are the buyers of pet products in eight out of 10 households, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association. Furthermore, women are more likely to own dogs and cats, and their emotional commitment to their pets can transfer easily into spending more money on accessories, treats and toys (Mintel Pet Survey, 2006).

According to research developed through Weatherchem focus groups conducted over a number of years, women know exactly what appeals to them, even more so than men. If packaging does not meet their requirements, their buying decision is clearly influenced. Weatherchem found four areas that influence the packaging preferences of women: packaging color, shape, product image and text.

For instance, if the product shape was not ergonomic or if a package is difficult to lift and carry, it is much more difficult to sell to women. Packages like Purina’s Tidy Cats litter and Deli-Cat brand cat food are more appealing to the female buyer, according to Weatherchem. Both items come in large jug containers that are easy to store and have convenient carrying handles to make using the product effortless for the consumer. Adding a directional dispensing closure to such packages would make it even more user-friendly.

The increase in current value sales of petfood and pet care products in Denmark exceeded inflation in 2007, according to Pet Food and Pet Care in Denmark, a report from Research and Markets. All sectors recorded reasonable value growth rates last year, but value sales cat food proved the most dynamic. This was mainly because the cat population continued to increase considerably and so the demand for cat food increased. With the shift toward premium and superpremium products, premium dry cat food was the most dynamic subsector in 2007. Despite a further decline in the population of large breed dogs, and thus less demand for dog food, the growth in dog food value sales was the above the inflation rate. This was primarily because consumers bought higher quality products.


Private label sales also increased significantly in 2007. This was despite a higher proportion of dog and cat food sales from specialty stores that sold branded products. The development came mainly as the result of intensified efforts from discounters and supermarkets/hypermarkets to sell private label dog and cat food. Private label was more prominent in premium products and was therefore able to the meet the increasing trend for such products. Danish consumers, still price conscious, welcomed this development. While private label shares increased in the premium range, its share growth in the mid-priced range was by far the most significant.

For more information from Pet Food and Pet Care in Denmark, visit www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c80003.

---