Petfood moves into premium market
Stock exchange- listed aquaculture company New Zealand King Salmon now has a petfood brand, Omega Plus. Two years ago it established a division to focus on using the raw materials left over from its processing operations.
After research, Simon Thomas, divisional manager of Omega Plus Innovations, says the company identified an opportunity in the petfood market.
“We recognised that we had a raw material that was very wellsuited as a petfood ingredient, due to the high levels of marine based omega- 3 and the associated health benefits these provide for animals,” Thomas says.
“We were already selling to petfood manufacturers, but there wasn’t a lot of interest at the time from the industry to consume larger volumes of salmon.
“We identified that there was very little choice for consumers to purchase quality petfoods and treats in the supermarket that they felt provided their pets with key health benefits. We were therefore able to develop and launch a range of products with the Omega Plus brand that offers a solution in the supermarket aisles.”
Petfood is going through an exciting stage, Thomas says.
“Global trends in the petfood industry are pushing products away from the economy and mainstream categories, and into more premium products.
“Worldwide there has been a drop in volume as dog owners move away from larger breeds of dogs and into smaller breeds — however, value has been on a steady increase as they purchase premium products,” he says.
“We see huge potential in petfood, both domestically and in export markets, with Omega Plus.
“Salmon has become a real hero ingredient in the petfood industry due to the health benefits it provides. We are seeing increasingly strong demand for raw materials, and novel new treat items we can provide.”
Singapore- owned petfood company Addiction Foods New Zealand began in 2002 when chief executive and co- founder Jerel Kwek couldn’t find suitable food for his dog with severe allergies.
Sales of the organic, grain- free petfood made in its Te Puke processing plant are increasing, and the company has been growing at a rate of more than 50 per cent per year for the past four years.
“We are seeing a great humanisation of the petfood industry where pet owners treat their dogs and cats like family, like their children,” Kwek says. “What people are learning about nutrition in their own lives they are also instilling in raising their cats and dogs. Similarly, the trends we see in human foods we also see in petfood.”
The company owns and operates New Zealand’s largest dry petfood plant and exports to more than 15 countries including the US, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan.
“Pet owners are now paying a lot more attention to their dogs’ nutrition,” Kwek says.
The New Zealand Petfood Manufacturers Association says New Zealand’s cat food market has a value of $ 226m, while dog food has a value of $ 168m.
In the prepared petfood market, supermarkets dominate with 87 per cent of sales, with the rest split between vets, pet shops and the rural sector.
In 2012, pet owners globally spent a total of US$ 92b ($ 128.6b) on pet care, with almost three quarters of that on food alone.