The Future of Pet Food

The view from inside Global Pet Expo

By Marion Nestle, PhD, and Malden Nesheim, PhD

Press credentials! Our Bark editorial responsibilities open doors to otherwise closed-to-the-public pet events, so off we went to attend the gigantic tradeshow sponsored by the American Pet Products Manufacturing Association (APPMA). The exhibition, spread over an area the size of 15 football fields on two floors of the San Diego Convention Center, is open only to the trade. This was our chance to do some serious research and get a quick overview of where the pet industry—worth $43 billion a year in products, food and veterinary services—is headed.

The exhibits made it clear that products and food are hot commodities. Manufacturers hawked everything a dog or her owner could possibly want, from houses to exercise equipment, clothes, toys and bathrooms (not to mention half-pound chocolate treats in the shape of dog poop for humans). To get through it all, we had to restrict ourselves to looking only at foods and ignore everything else. Even so, we were at it for nearly two days.

Here’s what the future of pet food looks like from this perspective:

Everyone is pushing treats. Although Big Pet Food companies—Nestlé Purina, Mars, Hills (Colgate-Palmolive), Iams (Procter & Gamble) and Del Monte—were well represented at the show, 80 percent of the food exhibitors were small businesses selling treats. No wonder: treats are easy to make, they don’t have to meet nutrient standards and the markup for retailers exceeds 50 percent.

Increasingly, pet food looks like human food. Pet food makers are not only using “human-grade” ingredients, but ingredients good enough for humans to eat—sliced chicken breasts, fish filets and the like. We spent a morning munching on “all human-grade” dog biscuits, and loved some crisp and savory bone-shaped cheese treats that would go well with a California Zinfandel.

Treats can be doggie junk food. Watch out for calories! Treat makers do not have to say how many calories the products contain, so we asked. One seller of cheese treats told us each contained five calories. Given their weight and fat content, we thought 25 would be more like it. We asked why some treats that looked like Oreo cookies tasted sweet when their label said “no sugar.” Answer: They contain molasses and honey, which don’t count as sugars (which, of course, they are). We were amused to see 50-calorie packs, just like the ones for people; 50 calories is a lot for a small dog, however, and treat calories can quickly add up.

Pet foods are marketed just like human foods. Practically all the small pet food companies are going organic, natural, environmentally green, kosher, gluten-free, vegetarian or functional (with herbal supplements and antioxidants). Package labels read much like those on human foods, with many of the same buzzwords: anti-aging, heart health, weight loss, joint health, anti-allergenic.

Bottled waters are flooding the market. Waters supplemented with herbs, vitamins and minerals were all over the place, as were gadgets for providing pets with water while on the road. We tasted the waters. Unlike similar waters for humans, which are sweetened to disguise the taste of isolated vitamins and minerals, these were not. Sellers insisted that dogs loved them. (We didn’t.)

China is off-limits. In an effort to mitigate the effects of the 2007 melamine pet food recalls, booths were decorated with American flags and signs proclaiming “no ingredients from China,” “no wheat gluten” or “no wheat products.” Nevertheless, pet foods and treats made in China were much in evidence (and many treat sellers, when pushed, admitted that their ingredients still came from China). We asked several sellers of Chinese products how they were doing in the face of so much hostility toward Chinese ingredients. They said they were working hard to ensure the safety of their products, and hoped the climate would soon improve.

Everything is premium or super-premium. Large and small companies alike marketed products as premium, although they could not define what that meant. Some—but by no means all—premium products advertised a higher meat content with no by-products. Big Pet Food companies were introducing beautifully packaged premium products, but we thought their ingredient lists looked much the same as those of the nonpremium lines. Our distinct impression: Premium simply means higher price.

Misinformation is rampant. As noted previously, we viewed some nutritional claims as erroneous, unlikely or unhelpful. We also were surprised to see package labels that did not conform to the voluntary, but widely followed, regulations set by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) in conjunction with the FDA. Sellers of these foods told us they were not required to follow AAFCO regulations, so they didn’t.

Raw foods are going commercial. Never mind butchers’ bones and cheap meat cuts. Companies are making packaged, easy-to-serve raw products that do not make a mess. These are not marketed as “complete and balanced,” so consider them raw treats.

Big Pet Food is doing something for everyone. As well as starting (or buying) beautifully packaged natural and green product lines, Big Pet Food companies are conducting business as usual. We attended the press conference for the release of a new complete-and-balanced product in the shape of a dog bone. Its ingredients were the same as those in any other commercial food; there wasn’t even a nod toward the natural, organic or green market segment. In a way, this makes sense; conventional pet foods still make up 90 percent of sales.

Our Conclusion: Current trends in the pet food business reflect trends in the human food business. As evidence, we shipped home four boxes of brochures and samples. We will refer to these materials as we discuss some of the trends in more detail in forthcoming issues of Bark.

© 2008 Bark Magazine

Marion Nestle, PhD, MPH, is the Paulette Goddard professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at NYU; her latest book is What to Eat and her next, Pet Food Politics: The Chihuahua in the Coal Mine, comes out in September. Malden Nesheim, PhD, is professor and provost emeritus of Cornell University.

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