PET CARE
A PAW-FECT OPPORTUNITY
Pet ownership is up and so is the demand for convenient pet care purchases, writes Thomas Oakley-Newell.
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ustralia has always been a nation that loves pets, but over the past two years, largely due to the pandemic we have seen a massive uptick in pet ownership. New data shows that 69 per cent of households now own a pet, making Australia the second largest pet owning nation in the world. The research by Animal Medicines Australia (AMA) revealed that over the course of the pandemic there has been more than two million pets adopted, with many people now working or spending more time at home they’ve been provided with the opportunity to properly care for a new addition to the family. This boom in pet ownership means significant growth for the pet care category, the AMA research found that on average dog owners spend $3,200 per year while cat owners spend $2,100, bringing the total spend for dog and cat owners nationally to $20.5 billion and $10.2 billion respectively. The growth of the industry means there is significant opportunity for brands and retailers to move away from the traditional avenues of specialist pet stores and supermarkets and begin stocking product in the petrol and convenience (P&C) channel. 18 December 2021/January 2022 | C&I | www.c-store.com.au
RAINING CATS AND DOGS! Over the past 18 months with more people spending time at home, there has been a shift in purchasing behaviour as consumers start to impulse buy products for their pets. Nestlé Purina, one of Australia’s largest pet care brands, said it has noticed an increase in sales across the impulse channel and has altered its product range to cater for this shift. “To deliver to Purina’s objective of driving growth across the pet care category by providing more choice and increasing accessibility of our strong performing brands, we’ve focused on our product ranges for smaller format and independent convenience retailers,” Nestlé Purina stated. Nestlé Purina currently stocks a range of pet foods and treats across the sector including cat food brands Fancy Feast, Friskies, and Felix, dog food brand Supercoat, and dog treat range Lucky Bones. The updated product range optimised specifically for the P&C channel includes smaller pack sizes for the impulse shopper and single serve options opposed to multi-serve options that correlates to purchase behaviour.
