PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 6

OFF THE LEASH

My Favorite

STORY

If I could sustain your attention for a few minutes, I'd like to
talk about one of the best sustainability stories - pet food.
As pet food and treat brands jockey for attention, the brand
story is marketed to attract new customers and grow brand
loyalty. That story appeals to what consumers value; and sustainability is increasingly part of what is valued, whether it's
the sustainability of the ingredients or packaging or the environmentally friendly practices of the company. Often missed
in that story is the important role pet food and treat products
play in the sustainability of human food processing.
Despite the attention on human-grade ingredients for
pets, pet food still runs on side streams, secondary streams,
co-products, or waste streams - whatever you prefer to call
it - of the human food industry. Pet food is helping human
food processors reduce their carbon footprint, be more environmentally friendly and achieve zero waste. Not only for
meat, poultry and fish ingredients but also for grains, fruits
and vegetables, the human food and pet food sustainability
stories are forever connected.
The use of left over or unwanted streams of ingredients not
destined for the human-food channel is one of the reasons the
pet food and treat industry is getting so much attention as a
growth industry. The cost of ingredients is low compared to
the generous price per pound that the market will bear. While
the pet food and treat market is built around environmental
sustainability, another angle is how sustainable the growth is
in the pet food market. Will the price per pound of pet food
and treats continue to grow untethered?
The rules are being broken and traditionally premium
brands are crossing into retail channels not known for offering
these brands. Also, retail channels are creating premium house
brands to compete with the high end
of the product market. In this quest to
gain all the market share possible, these
trends could also be eroding the price
per pound that the market will bear and,
once an industry starts undercutting the
price of its high-end products, the margins could start eroding for everyone.
Only time will tell, but the perspective on sustainability is certainly broad. Regardless of how you look at it, pet food inherently has an important sustainability story to tell.
Jennifer Semple | Editor, jsemple@sosland.com

6

PET FOOD PROCESSING | March 2019 | www.petfoodprocessing.net

EDITORIAL
Pet Food Processing Editor
Jennifer Semple
Pet Food Processing Digital Associate Editor
Jordan Tyler
Baking & Snack Editor
Joanie Spencer
MEAT+POULTRY Editor
Joel Crews
Contributing Editors:
Donna Berry
Lynn Petrak
Steve Krut
Chris Crawford
Jennifer Barnett Fox
Keith Loria

PUBLISHING STAFF
Publisher
Publisher MEAT+POULTRY
Publisher Baking & Snack
Publisher World Grain
Publisher Food Business News and
Milling & Baking News
Publisher Bake/InStore
Associate Publisher
Associate Publisher
Associate Publisher
Sales Manager World Grain
Sales Associate
Director of Audience Development
Audience Development Manager
Audience Development Coordinator
Director of Digital Media
Digital Advertising Manager
Advertising Manager
Advertising Assistant Manager
Advertising Coordinator
Design Services Manager
Design Services Assistant Manager
Production Specialist
Senior Design Consultant
Graphic Designer
Promotions Manager
Promotions Media Designer
Sales Coordinator

Steve Berne
Dave Crost
Paul Lattan
Dan Flavin
Mike Gude
Troy Ashby
David DePaul
Matt O'Shea
Bruce Webster
Adam Ungashick
James Boddicker
Michael Barbee
Kay Hudspeth
Amy Moser
Jon Hall
Carrie Fluegge
Nora Wages
Erica Reyes
Brittany Crisp
Sadowna Conarroe
Ryan Alcantara
Marj Potts
Becky White
Brian Peterman
Jim White
Abby Chronister
Whitney Hartman

CORPORATE
Chairman and CEO
President
Chief Financial and
Administrative Officer
Chief Operating Officer
and Executive Editor

Charles S. Sosland
L. Joshua Sosland
Staci Greco
Meyer Sosland

Corporate Headquarters
4801 Main St., Suite 650, Kansas City, MO 64112
Phone: (816) 756-1000; Fax: (816) 756-0494
E-mail: PetFoodProcessing@sosland.com
Internet: www.petfoodprocessing.net
http://www.petfoodprocessing.net http://www.petfoodprocessing.net
PET Food Processing - March 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PET Food Processing - March 2019
