Magazine: Bites in portions

The pet food market has been expanding for years. More and more cat and dog owners are feeding their little favourites with special food that contains vitamins and minerals, instead of lunch and dinner leftovers. This is especially true for cat owners: sales of cat foods are developing more dynamically.

According to Balázs Buzás, marketing manager (Purina) of Nestlé Hungária Kft., sales of wet cat food in aluminium foil bag are growing by two-digit numbers, but dry cat food sales are also improving nicely. Another promising segment in the pet food market is treats: this category is also expanding by two-digit numbers in both the cat and the dog food segment. Beatrix Szecsenyi, trade marketing manager of MARS Magyarország Értékesítő Bt. informed our magazine that sales of single-portion dog food products elevated by 20 percent. Still, canned dog food has the highest share in dog food sales.

Péter Horowitz, founder and managing director of St. Pierre Hungary Kft. revealed to us that 1,240-1,250g canned pet food realised the majority of sales in the last few years, but last year and this year their dominance decreased a bit. At the same time sales of 415g products increased considerably. Private label products are strong in the pet food segment. Andrea Temesi, trade and marketing manager of Partner in Pet Food (PPF) Hungária revealed that the pet food market is promotion-sensitive.

Purina leads the way in innovation, often not only following consumer demand but generating it. For instance in the progress made by single-portion dog food last year PURINA FRISKIES products played an important role. Mr Buzás told that their new product in the dry dog food segment is the PRO PLAN super premium product line with improved OPTINUTRITION formula. Thanks to the scientific methods used, PRO PLAN products offer high quality nutrition and guarantee excellent nutrient absorption.

OPTIDIGEST and OPTIDIGEST Large products are perfect for large dogs with sensitive stomachs, while OPTIDERMA Large products are made for large-sized dogs with sensitive skin. The company put new cat food products on the market last year: GOURMET Savoury Cake and FELIX Sensations Crunchy.

In February MARS Magyarország introduced a new, tastier version of the Sheba pet food product in aluminium foil bag. When developing this cat food, the company kept in mind that cats like to eat little but more often, and didn’t forget about the fact that cats like to eat food when it is fresh (the food comes in small, 50g bags). In the second half of 2017 one of the biggest-ever innovations by Whiskas will debut: new-recipe Whiskas Casserole. A single-portion, a 4- and a 12-piece version of the product will be available in aluminium foil bag.

PPF’s Andrea Temesi told Trade magazine that one of the company’s key innovations is the sterile product line that they had developed for neutered cats and put on the market last year. Besides dry and aluminium foil tray products, they are now also offering products in aluminium foil bag and canned pet food. In the premium category they launched the Prevital Naturel range – these products are free from colouring, sugar and additives, and have high meat content. The company’s Nutrilove brand offers premium pet food to both cats and dogs. The Nutrilove range consists of 44 products, all of which are made in the company’s own factory using special recipes.

St. Pierre Hungary Kft.’s innovation activity focuses on two things: satisfying the nutritional needs of pets as well as possible and serving pet owners as best as they can. Since the market is very much price-sensitive, they back the selling of Ozzi cat and dog food products with price promotions.