Inside Global Pet Expo 2019
New products and trends from the floor of the largest Global Pet Expo to date.
Trends, new products and more
More than 1,100 exhibitors attended Global Pet Expo from March 20-22, 2019 to showcase new products, develop key industry relationships and promote their brands. On the show floor, large companies, co-manufacturers and family-owned businesses alike offered pet food and treats influenced by the overall market with a few key trends worth noting: regionally inspired formulas, enhanced mealtime experiences for cats and dogs, high-protein and limited-ingredient diets, increased variety in cat food and treats, a boom in CBD pet supplements, and redesigned packaging to make an impact on increasingly crowded shelves.
Enhancing the mealtime experience
Meal toppers and enhancers have taken off in the pet food market, often serving the purpose of providing supplemental nutrients or variety and excitement to a pet diet.
Presidio Natural Pet launched Sushi Meal Toppers, which are Japanese Bonito tuna flakes that can be added on top of a regular pet diet for added flavor.
Functional meal enhancements
“I and love and you” showcased functional toppers with health benefits, including “tummy,” “boost” and “shine.” In addition, its newest dog food product Baked & Saucy — bone broth-coated kibble — can be served dry, with added water to create a kibble in gravy, or as a meal enhancer.
Tiki's toppers
Tiki Pet continues to expand its portfolio of meal toppers for cats and dogs. The brand offers functional toppers, such as its pumpkin formula for sensitive stomachs, and a variety of others meant to spice up mealtime by adding something different.
Toppers are often sold in convenient, single-serve pouches or cartons, and enter the market at a relatively low price point. This could incentivize consumers to buy in, especially as humanization trends develop and pet owners become invested in their pets’ mealtime experiences.
Bon Appétit!
Merrick’s Purrfect Bistro Bon Appétits Gravies and Morsels offer cats a special snacking moment and are specifically designed for supplemental feeding only. The gravies provide cats with up to 25% of their daily water intake while acting as a meal enhancer, and the morsels have visual inclusions and can be used to add more protein and vegetables to a cat’s diet.
Focused on feline
Premiumization has given way to an increased variety in cat food, especially with meal toppers, stews and gravies and ancestral formulas.
New limited-ingredient Filets cat food from Redbarn Pet Products are grain-free and available in protein pairs: salmon and shrimp, tuna and salmon, tuna and turkey, chicken and tuna, and tuna and pumpkin.
New Pristine formulas
Castor & Pollux added two complete diets to its Pristine line, wild-caught tuna and cage-free duck. Each formula is complete and balanced and available in single-serve pouches.
Caru's first cat stew line
Caru, a manufacturer of stews and treats for pets, released its first line of cat stews shortly before Global Pet Expo. Each formula is limited-ingredient and free from GMOs, grain and gluten. The stews come in six recipes: chicken; chicken and crab; turkey; wild salmon and turkey; wild salmon and chicken; and beef. Each formula is packaged in a 6-oz. TetraPak carton. Caru also offers grass-fed beef bone broth and free-range chicken bone broth for cats.
Limited-ingredient diets
Limited-ingredient diets (LID) have become increasingly popular for pets with food sensitivities and consumers looking for added ingredient transparency.
Wellness Natural Pet Food released CORE Six, a limited-ingredient, high-protein dry kibble line for dogs including just six ingredients in each formula, at the beginning of 2019. Each of the four recipes includes a sustainably sourced animal protein: Free-Range Lamb & Chickpeas, Cage-Free Duck & Chickpeas, Sustainably-Sourced Salmon & Chickpeas, and Small Breed Sustainably-Sourced Salmon & Chickpeas.
Keeping it single
Redbarn introduced single-protein cuts of meat for dogs, free from fillers, grains and artificial ingredients. The new chicken and beef flavored treats are oven roasted, rich in protein, and highly dense for extended chew time.
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Charlee Bear joined in the limited-ingredient trend with its new freeze-dried treats, formulated with just two ingredients: one meat and one superfood, such as blueberries.
Wet pet still stacking up
Purina's Dog Chow line is tapping into the desire for high-protein diets with the release of High Protein canned dog foods formulated with beef, chicken, lamb or turkey. The manufacturer is also extending its Beneful line with single-serve wet dog foods, including a variety pack of its Superfood Blend formulas, medleys for meal enhancement, and breed-specific formulas.
Petcurean innovates NOW FRESH line
Petcurean showcased its small dog breed dry kibble products as part of its NOW FRESH line, alongside its other kibble products and an extended variety of NOW FRESH wet dog and cat food.
High-protein priority
High-protein formulas, as well as those that include ancestral or exotic sources of protein (i.e. rabbit, wild boar, bison, quail) continue to be a notable trend in the pet food market.
Essence, a new Pets Global brand, offers red meat formulas, Ranch & Meadow Recipe, for cats and dogs, as well as poultry formulas, Air & Gamefowl Recipe, and Ocean & Freshwater Recipe fish formulas. The red meat formulas include animal proteins from boar, goat, lamb and pork, poultry formulas incorporate guinea fowl, duck, turkey and chicken, and the fish formulas are focused around herring, sardine, mackerel and salmon protein. Animal protein ingredients make up 85% of each the dry formulas and 96% of the wet formulas.
New Backcountry kibbles
Merrick introduced two new formulas to its Backcountry product line focused on ancestral animal proteins, adding a High Plains formula with beef, wild boar and turkey and Wild Field with duck, rabbit and quail. Both formulas are dry kibble with freeze-dried raw protein inclusions that go through a high-pressure pasteurization process to ensure food safety.
Really regional
Regional recipes, or formulas calling to a specific nation, region or climate and the game and ingredients native to them, have erupted in the canned pet food space, but are also apparent in dry kibble pet foods.
Health Extension has released four new formulas of its existing “geographically themed” grain-free canned dog food line: Montana Grill Buffalo and Whitefish; Carolina Skillet Pork; Mediterranean Roast Lamb; and French Bistro Rabbit. The brand offers other regional recipes including Tuscan Style Quail, New York Style Beef, Italian Feast Venison and Northern Catch Salmon.
Purina expands Beyond
New regionally inspired dog and cat food recipes from Purina’s Beyond line include Texas Beef and Pacific Tuna, both of which are grain-free.
Formulating with CBD
With a number of CBD and hemp-based products on the market for human consumption, it’s no surprise the pet market has started to formulate functional CBD supplements for pets. While the regulations are not yet clear, many brands have taken this opportunity to enter the hemp-based pet market.
Honest Paws released a CBD-infused peanut butter for dogs to aid anxiety, pain and inflammation, allergies, insomnia, digestive issues and seizures. The organic peanut butter is infused with 100% pure, full-spectrum CBD oil.
Earth Animal's crowded booth
Earth Animal unveiled a line of transdermal CBD products under its Nature’s Comfort brand, along with an edible CBD pet supplement. The company plans to release five new products soon. Here, Dr. Bob Goldstein explains some of the new products and the benefits CBD has for pets at his company's booth during the show.
Zen-pet
These two dog products from Earth Animal are formulated with full-spectrum CBD. Zen-Pen is a transdermal application and Zen-Tabs are edible supplements.
Sustainable packaging a plus
Earth Animal also announced its partnership with Braskem, a leading thermoplastics polyolefins and biopolymers producer, on the release of its newest sustainable packaging initiative for its new Wisdom dog food line. Earth Animal will include at least 30% of Braskem’s sugarcane-based I’m green polyethylene biopolymer in all Widsom packaging.
Widsom dog food is formulated with Vitality Cubes, a proprietary nutritional component that provides essential vitamins and minerals for the diet. Other ingredients include US-sourced poultry and organic fruits and vegetables. Wisdom is manufactured in small batches and air-dried using patented wind technology to provide optimized nutritional quality.
Hemp seed versus CBD
True Leaf revealed its new branding along with several hemp-seed products, which do not contain CBD but do offer some of the same benefits. Here, Dr. Katherine Kramer, founding chair of the veterinary advisory board at True Leaf Medicine International Ltd., discusses benefits of formulating pet products with parts of a hemp plant. True Leaf said it is currently developing CBD products to add to its portfolio.
Presidio's Blossom line
Presidio showcased its line of Blossom hemp oil products formulated with proprietary strains of 100% organic hemp. The brand owns a farm in Colorado that produces the hemp plant used in its pet formulas.
Lord Jameson Dog Apothecary
Lord Jameson introduced its Dog Apothecary Collection, which includes organic fruits, vegetables, plant-based proteins and PCR Hemp (CBD is a derivative of PCR). The soft-chew supplements are available in three functional formulas: Chill’N, designed to relieve anxiety and promote overall wellness; Golden Health, formulated with turmeric and PCR to support joint health and aid inflammation; and Daily Greens, aimed to support stomach and digestive health.
Human-grade CBD treats
Wet Noses released CBD-infused dog treats early on in 2019 and showcased them at Global Pet Expo. The company's human-grade CBD (TR)EATS for dogs are formulated with CBD oil extracted from US hemp. According to the company, they are non-psychoactive and THC-free.
Gott brands redesigned
Gott Pet Products’ brands Hound & Gatos and Charlee Bear both launched colorful new packaging late in 2018, giving them a fresh new face in the modern pet food and treat market. Matrix Partners, the marketing agency behind Charlee Bear and designer of its new packaging, won the 2019 Graphic Design USA award in the American Package Design Awards competition for the design.
Bold and simplified
Hill’s Pet Nutrition released its new packaging earlier in 2019, featuring shelter animals on each package, more direct messages about the product and a greater focus on connecting with the consumer on an emotional level, rather than a scientific one.
Until next time
These trends, among others, dominated the floor at Global Pet Expo and continue to grab the attention of consumers and retailers. Freeze-dried food and treat options, formulas with humanely and sustainably sourced ingredients, and products with natural and organic attributes are also big players in the market. As consumers become more environmentally conscious, companies become more transparent, and retailers such as Petco become more stringent on artificial ingredients, it’s safe to say the pet market will continue to adapt to changing consumer priorities, industry trends and the humanization of pets.
