STATISTICS BY THE NUMBERS As trends sweep the US pet food and treat industry and brands embrace an omnichannel approach to reach customers, what stories do the numbers tell? By Jennifer Semple | jsemple@sosland.com S nu Starting with the big picture, the US pet food and treat industry continues to grow. That growth has garnered the attention of investors and some large human food manufacturing companies. Both General Mills with the acquisition of Blue Buffalo and J.M. Smucker Company with the acquisitions of Big Heart Pet Brands and Ainsworth Pet Nutrition are now embracing food and treats for pets as one of their key business pillars delivering the growth their investors require. According to market research provider Euromonitor International, global pet food sales totaled $88.7 bila d n o d o f t lion in 2018. US pet rea pet tm S food and treat 2.8 U a manufacturers owned 44% 13.9 of that with Pet food Cat treats Source: Euromonitor International rs 2018 sale ture s fac % 83.3 $32.5 billion in US pet food sales, $4.5 billion in US dog treat sales, $918 million in US cat treat sales, and exports of $1.8 billion. Sales numbers tell what happened, but the growth rates of those sales tell a better story of how certain categories are trending and where they may be headed. Across the board in a global economic environment where any growth is heralded, pet food and treats continue knocking it out of the park. Euromonitor reports the US pet food market grew 5.1% from 2017 to 2018. US dog treats grew 6.6%, US cat treats grew 8.0% and the overall global pet food market grew 6.3%. That growth comes with some tricky challenges. The regulatory environment over the past 10 years has brought US pet food processing standards in line with human food manufacturing. Pet food and treat brands are chasing consumer preferences of matching their own Total Market Size 2018 sales in billions Growth % 2017 to 2018 US Pet Food* $32.5 5.1 US Dog Treats $4.5 6.6 US Cat Treats $0.9 8.0 Global Pet Food $88.7 6.3 Dog treats *US Dog Treat sales and US Cat Treat sales are included in US Pet Food sales. US pet food data is based on retail sales from the Euromonitor Pet Care Database. www.petfoodprocessing.net | 2019 | PET FOOD PROCESSING 19http://www.petfoodprocessing.net