Report: 'Functional Foods' Becoming Fad in Pet Food Sales
NEW YORK - Innovation is booming in the pet food industry, and new healthy and nutraceutical food options are taking over retail shelves, according to a new Packaged Facts Report, The U.S. Market for Pet Food.
The report, available at MarketResearch.com, outlines growth trends and specific changes within the market that will change the industry in coming years, including the recent acquisition of the Heinz pet food division by Del Monte.
With the population of pets in the United States at an all-time high, and the market expected to reach sales exceeding $12 billion by 2006, the pet food industry is in a position to profit dramatically, the report notes. Pet food owners are continuing the trend away from semi-moist food, establishing dry food as the form preferred by the vast majority of pet owners. But it's the area of "functional foods" for pets -- those that combine enhanced health benefits with nutrition -- that shows the most promise.
"People have been purchasing functional foods products for themselves for years," said Don Montuori, acquisitions editor for Packaged Facts. "We're not at all surprised to see consumers flocking to the new pet food products that promise functional benefits such as oral care and improved skin and coat for their cats and dogs."
Packaged Facts is a division of the New York-based global marketing firm MarketResearch.com.
The report, available at MarketResearch.com, outlines growth trends and specific changes within the market that will change the industry in coming years, including the recent acquisition of the Heinz pet food division by Del Monte.
With the population of pets in the United States at an all-time high, and the market expected to reach sales exceeding $12 billion by 2006, the pet food industry is in a position to profit dramatically, the report notes. Pet food owners are continuing the trend away from semi-moist food, establishing dry food as the form preferred by the vast majority of pet owners. But it's the area of "functional foods" for pets -- those that combine enhanced health benefits with nutrition -- that shows the most promise.
"People have been purchasing functional foods products for themselves for years," said Don Montuori, acquisitions editor for Packaged Facts. "We're not at all surprised to see consumers flocking to the new pet food products that promise functional benefits such as oral care and improved skin and coat for their cats and dogs."
Packaged Facts is a division of the New York-based global marketing firm MarketResearch.com.