More and more demanding, more and more aware – a new consumer drives the pet food market

Let’s start with a short but basic question about the development prospects of the Pet Food category in Europe, our part of the continent and in Poland itself.

I think one word can be said: very good. This is a very large category today, which few people realize. In Poland, Pet Food is permanently in the top 15 FMCG categories. Its value is approximately PLN 7 billion – more than it might intuitively seem, because it exceeds, among others, categories such as tea, coffee and children’s food.

This is mainly due to the fact that we have a lot of animals in Poland. We are talking about nearly 15 million pets and every second household has an animal. This is also characteristic of our entire region of Europe – animals are very present in everyday life. In Romania it is even approximately 70 percent. households, so the scale is really large.

At the same time, the market is growing very dynamically – at a rate of approximately 7-10%. annually. This growth is healthy because it is driven by both value and volume. There is one more key factor here: today, about half of the calories fed to animals in Poland do not come from ready-made food, but from “human” food. This means a huge natural potential for a shift towards ready-made products – this is already standard in Western Europe.

The second trend is premiumization. Poles are increasingly willing to buy higher quality products, and the category itself is still less “premiumized” than in the West, so there is ample room for value growth. Segments such as treats and wet food, which are more premium by nature, are growing particularly rapidly.

The scale of the region is also interesting: approximately 25% of people live in Central Europe. all cats and dogs in Europe, but the market value is only about 10%. the entire continent. This shows a very simple relationship – the growth potential is still huge, even about two and a half times.

There is also the business aspect: it is a very profitable category for both manufacturers and retailers. Therefore, the prospects are very good indeed – and on many levels at the same time.

Who exactly is consumer 3.0, which is increasingly talked about in the context of emotions, data and loyalty? It sounds quite mysterious, but at the same time this concept is becoming more and more prominent in the market discussion. What will the future shopping experience look like? And is this a consumer to be afraid of, or one that gives the industry new opportunities?

There is certainly nothing to be afraid of – rather, you need to understand it well. Consumer 3.0 is primarily a young consumer. There are a lot of young people entering the category today. It can be said that on the one hand he is very demanding, and on the other hand he is extremely conscious.

This is a generation brought up in the world of digital – e-commerce and constant access to information. He knows a lot, reads a lot and makes purchasing decisions on his own based on knowledge from the Internet. They use traditional sources of advice less often than older generations, such as pet stores or direct recommendations from specialists. Instead, he looks for information online.

It also enters the category with a very clear assumption: an animal is a family member. And today, no one is surprised that his status at home is treated almost equal to that of a human being. This naturally translates into expectations towards products.

There is a very rapid transfer of trends from the human food market. Consumers are looking for bio, fresh, high-protein solutions, they are experimenting with vegetarian products for animals and expect “human grade” quality, i.e. standards similar to food for humans. This raises the bar for producers, but at the same time translates into a higher quality of life for animals, which is the goal of the entire category.

It is also a consumer who consumes media differently and reacts differently to brand communication. Product quality is a necessary but not sufficient condition. He expects transparency from producers – regarding where, from what and how products are made – and real involvement in environmental and climate issues.

As a result, the line between “pet food” and “pet care” is starting to blur. Consumer 3.0 is interested not only in food, but also in the entire ecosystem of services: health, insurance and care, such as pet sitting. In the future, we can expect the development of a full system of solutions supporting owners at every stage of “animal parenting”.

And although there is a lot of data, analysis and rational arguments in this category, ultimately it remains strongly emotional. Purchasing decisions are rarely purely calculated – the heart decides more often than an Excel table.

Have you in your company wondered about this phenomenon? There are approximately 13.5 million dogs and cats living in Poland today. In practice, there are now more pets than children in households. Where does this phenomenon come from? Why do we love animals so much and care for them so intensively in this part of Europe?

This is indeed a very specific phenomenon and in fact there are more animals than children today. There are several reasons, but if I were to point out the most important one, it is a change in the way we perceive the relationship with an animal.

Animals give us a lot today – primarily mental comfort. They help you deal with stress, loneliness and sometimes depression. They provide an emotional relationship that is unconditional. And this is something that more and more people simply appreciate in their lives.

This was very clearly visible during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the isolation period, the number of animals in households in Poland increased significantly. People more often decided to welcome animals into their homes because they gave them a sense of closeness, stability and emotional support. At the same time, involvement in care was increasing – not only feeding, but also more “participatory” forms of feeding and caring.

This was also visible in the market structure – the segments of delicacies and wet food, i.e. products that require more interaction and involvement than just serving dry food, were growing dynamically. This was a very clear trend.

Of course, there are other factors as well. On the one hand, we have elderly people whose children leave home – often the animal then becomes an everyday companion. On the other hand, younger generations, in one- and two-person households, very often decide to have a cat or a small dog.

It is also worth mentioning a very good example of the influence of animals on people, which is dog therapy. The program, run by Mars Pet Nutrition since 2017, involves dogs visiting children’s hospitals and nursing homes with therapists. The effect is very visible – reduction of stress, improvement of mood, real joy of patients. These are moments that very vividly show how strong the relationship between humans and animals is. Indeed, in this part of Europe it is particularly visible. Perhaps this is also due to the fact that we have been living close to animals for generations.

Another interesting fact is that the largest population of dogs and cats in the region is not in Poland, but in Ukraine. It is a market operating today in very difficult conditions, and yet with the largest number of pets in this part of Europe, which further demonstrates the scale of this phenomenon.

A market with huge potential, but also an increasingly aware and demanding customer – sometimes even capricious. Won’t it be an increasingly difficult challenge to meet his expectations?

I think we can handle it. Firstly, because we know more and more about these consumers. Today, access to data – both from the media and from retailers – is so extensive that it allows us to understand their needs and behavior very precisely.

This allows us to act completely differently than before. It is no longer about “bombarding” with random messages, but about more conscious, tailored support for the consumer in his or her daily “care journey” related to a dog or cat.

And this is the key change – we are moving from mass communication to a more relational, tailored approach. Therefore, I am convinced that this new consumer, although more demanding, will also be more satisfied with how we respond to his needs.