Each month the Petfood Industry E-newsletter will bring you the latest market data available from several different sources including Euromonitor International, Information Resources Inc. (IRI) and ACNielsen.

New report: The World Market for Pet Food and Pet Care Products
The global petfood and pet care products market recorded impressive average annual growth of 6.5% from 2000-2005, according to Euromonitor International's new The World Market for Pet Food and Pet Care Products report. The rise in consumer health awareness that has had such a dramatic impact on developments in human-focused consumer goods extended its influence into petfood and pet care products. This process was bolstered by the phenomenon of pet humanization, which increasingly saw consumers perceive their animals as surrogate family members. As a result, major developed markets witnessed a significant increase in demand for higher value products offering benefits such as functional properties.

At the same time, emerging markets played an increasingly important role in the global petfood and pet care products market. As urbanization raised purchasing power, improved distribution infrastructures and changed consumer lifestyles, emerging markets saw an increase in both the capacity and the will to shift from feeding animals meals made at home to buying prepared petfood. Manufacturers worked to drive growth in markets such as Russia and China by raising consumer product awareness through aggressive advertising. However, demand remained fragile and price-sensitive, with the growing availability of low-priced products from local manufacturers serving to dampen growth in several emerging markets.

Euromonitor International publishes petfood and pet care reports on 52 country markets. Click here for more information about petfood and pet care reports from Euromonitor International and to buy reports online.

E-news

How Americans find packaged goods
The consumer package goods (CPG) industry generates nearly US$2 trillion in sales in the US, and it is second to none when it comes to total advertising expenditures. Although the industry will spend an estimated US$15.6 billion to advertise online in 2006, that accounts for just 1% of its total advertising outlay. The How America Searches report, from iCrossing, recommends that CPG marketers increase their use of online and search engine marketing, targeting leading search engines and retailer websites, as well as brand and specific product sites.

A survey conducted for iCrossing found that among online adults in the US, 39% have performed a search for CPGs online, with 20% indicating they do so at least monthly and 9% claiming they do so weekly. CPG online searchers tend to be well-educated, wealthy and female, and fall into the 35-44 age bracket—prime targets for CPG marketers. CPG searchers make nearly equal use of search engines, retailer websites and brand/product sites to search for CPGs online. In the survey, 67% of respondents cited search engines, 61% selected retailer websites and 60% chose product and brand sites.

By contrast, only 26% go to shopping comparison sites like BizRate.com; even fewer visit product rating sites. When it comes to specific product categories that consumers search for online, footwear and apparel generate the most interest, followed by food items, personal care products, petfood and supplies, and cosmetics. The reasons why consumers go online and search include looking for special offers and coupons, finding more product information and store locations, and buying.

Product news

A new website to help individuals source job opportunities
A website has been developed to help companies find qualified individuals and help individuals advance their careers. Looking for a new career opportunity? Visit www.PetFoodIndustryJobs.com on a regular basis and watch for a new career opportunity. To be more proactive with your search, post your Profile and have potential employers contact you. Sales managers, general managers and human resource managers can post their job openings to help find the best individuals.

Shrink labeler provides flexibility
PDC International Corp. has introduced a heavy-duty and highly flexible shrink sleeving machine that runs both tamper evident neckbands and shrink sleeve labels. Marketed as the R-200 Evolution series, this system is engineered for continuous operation at speeds between 50 and 200 cpm. It provides precise graphic orientation, and accommodates sleeve diameters from 38 mm to 175 mm (sleeve height of 67-250 mm). Containers can be filled or empty, and the R-200 Evolution's product handling system accommodates virtually any product size and shape, including round, oval and square packages.

Research notes

Subnormal adiposity found in lipoprotein lipase-deficient cats
Normal adiposity occurs in humans and mice deficient of adipose lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity. Subnormal adiposity found in LPL-deficient cats is indicative of limited de novo synthesis of fatty acids (FAs). In 14 LPL-deficient (3.0±0.1 kg) and eight normal (3.7±0.1 kg) queens, FAs in triacylglycerol (TAG), phospholipid (PL) and nonesterified FAs (NEFAs) of plasma and inguinal subcutaneous adipose were determined before and after (days 38, 61, 110, 117 and 251) dietary linseed oil supplementation (30 g/kg). By day 60, LPL-deficient queens gained body weight (+0.4±0.1 kg), developed normal body fat mass (25± 2%), and were enriched in 18:3 (n-3) in their plasma and adipose lipids.

Adipose TAG 18:3 (n-3) enrichment in LPL-deficient queens was subnormal at all sampling times and, as observed in normal queens, apparently not equilibrated by day 251. Adipose FA profiles in TAG but not PL were substantially different (P< 0.05) between LPL-deficient and normal queens; the 16:0 to 18:2 (n-6) ratio was high in LPL-deficient (2.4–4.4) relative to normal queens (1.0–1.4). In LPL-deficient queens, fed-state plasma NEFA (n-6) and (n-3) enrichments were similar to those in adipose TAG, and plasma NEFA concentration was high (0.62±0.05 mmol/L) and similar to that in normal queens after withholding diet for 16 hours.

These data indicate that LPL deficiency in cats reduces dietary FA storage efficiency, favors storage of saturated over unsaturated FAs and stimulates de novo FA synthesis substantive enough to support normal adiposity.

Source: Veltri, B.C., et al., 2006. Adipose fatty acid composition and rate of incorporation of a -linolenic acid differ between normal and lipoprotein lipase-deficient cats. J Nutr 136: 2980-2986.

Pinto beans provide a source of copper in rats
The trace element copper (Cu) is a required nutrient in the diets of humans. It has been found in animal studies to be essential for efficient iron absorption and oxygen utilization and for aiding free radical degradation. Dry beans (Phaseolis vulgaris) are potentially good sources of Cu; thus, the objective of this study was to determine the bioavailability of Cu from dry beans using the pinto bean as the source. Dry beans were obtained from a local market, cooked according to package directions and dried. Weanling male Sprague-Dawley rats (eight groups of eight rats each) were fed a Cu-deficient diet (AIN-93G) for four weeks followed by two weeks of Cu repletion with diets containing 0–6.5 mg Cu/kg diet, added as CuSO₄, or with 0.6 and 1.5 mg Cu/kg incorporated into rat diets as pinto beans at 10 and 20%.

Standard response curves were developed based on repletion-induced recovery of 10 indices of Cu status, including organ Cu concentrations and Cu-dependent enzyme activities, in response to increasing dietary Cu as CuSO₄. Recovery of these variables in rats fed the pinto bean diets was compared with the standard response curve at similar levels of dietary Cu. Based on the recovery of all 10 variables, the relative bioavailability of Cu from dry beans was at least 100% of that with the highly available CuSO_4. For three of the variables, liver and heart Cu concentrations and serum superoxide
dismutase 3 activity, estimated bioavailability values of Cu from beans were 138, 140 and 134%, respectively, of those from CuSO₄. We conclude that the dry pinto bean is a good source of dietary Cu with respect to both concentration and bioavailability.

Source: Saari, J.T., et al., 2006. Pinto beans are a source of highly bioavailable copper in rats. J Nutr 2999-3004.

Positions available

Our help wanted listings aim to inform petfood industry professionals about employment opportunities worldwide. Contact gstadel@wattnet.net for more information on placing a listing in upcoming issues.

References

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