The Interview - Daniela Moreno

Dear Daniela, for us it is a great honor that you have granted us this interview. Could you give us a brief personal introduction?

Currently, I am the Director of R&D for Latin America in the dry food and treats segments at Mars Pet Nutrition and responsible for our regional pet research center. I have more than 15 years in the pet food industry in various roles, in the areas of research and development, innovation, consumer analysis and marketing for the brands of Pet Nutrition Latin America, among which PEDIGREE® and Whiskas® stand out. I am an engineer in Food Industries from the Tecnológico de Monterrey and I have a diploma in Innovation and a certification in Business Coaching. I am fortunate to work in a very interesting category and in an incredible company, with vision and values ​​that inspire me, because I contribute to improving the lives of pets and families, since I firmly believe that they make our lives better. I live this every day with Lucho, my own French bulldog.

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1) Being Mars Petcare a family business in the field of Pet Food manufacturers, with long-term investment projects, we would like to take the opportunity to consult you, how do you think the Pet Food market will look in a few years?

I believe that the relationship between pet parents will become closer and closer and in the coming years the concept of 'value for money' will continue to gain relevance. Companies must maintain diversity in our product portfolio, meeting the different needs of customers and their pets, while adapting to new shopping trends with innovative proposals that serve various types of consumers.

A clear example of the changes in the market for the coming years is the vision of the new generations who are choosing to incorporate pets as one more member of their family, as well as looking for healthier alternatives according to their lifestyle. Another great opportunity is in the segment of cats in Mexico that grows above the category of dogs, because the pace of life and the spaces available to live in cities make it much easier to seek the company of a cat. According to the Pet Ownership Survey 2020, the presence of cats in homes reached 13 million vs. only 6 million in 2017. For all these reasons, we have a very positive view of the performance of the market, and our focus at Mars is to know in depth those responsible for pets, translate their needs into products that they, as well as their dogs and cats, love, always doing the right thing for our customers, consumers and their pets.

2) Regarding the growth of the market in your country of residence, Mexico, how much do you think the demand for Pet Food will continue to grow? What kind of food do you think will prevail? What are the current trends that could last over time?

Mars Petcare Mexico's pet food business is the fourth most important for Mars Petcare globally, which continues to represent a scenario of great opportunities.

In our country, the pet food category grew an average of 10% each year prior to the contingency. However, the market accelerated as more pets entered our homes. At Mars we are being very cautious recognizing the changes in the environment, but we believe that the category will continue to rise, closing the year with double-digit growth.

One of the most important trends that will continue in the coming years is the relevance of animal welfare. Consumers are looking for more natural foods that offer nutritional balance and help pets lead healthier and happier lives. They understand that carefully processed food can bring great benefits to the health and quality of life of their pets, which translates into a positive impact for the industry.

Consumers will continue to search for convenient distribution channels which will continue to cause the growth of digital commerce. We will also see more informed consumers who will seek to know who is behind the manufacture of the products they consume, the causes they support and their contribution to having a more sustainable planet.

3) As Director of R&D Dry and Care & Treats could you tell us if Mars is developing any new products for pets?

In this last semester of the year we innovated and evolved our product portfolio in Mexico to reach the different market segments. In this sense, we launched two new varieties of our WHISKAS® brand: WHISKAS® sterilized cats and WHISKAS® protein mix, and we relaunched the complete portfolio of dry PEDIGREE® under the concept of 'Feed the good'. We also seek to satisfy the needs of pet owners interested in taking care of the nutrition of their dogs and cats, with accessible options prepared in accordance with the quality standards that characterize us, with two new brands: CHAMP® and KITEKAT® that provide an optimal balance. of nutrients at a very competitive price within its category. In addition, our PAL® brand renewed its image and strengthened its formula. We also redesigned some dog treats and added new formats and weights. Our innovation agenda for 2022 is ambitious and we are working to offer options for all consumers in our category, always under the endorsement of the Waltham Research Center that scientifically supports all the products we make. You will soon see in the market some of the surprises that we are cooking.

4) How important do you consider packaging to be? Do you think that the type of packaging can help define the choice of a product by the pet parent?

As a global company with a diverse portfolio of food and pet care products, we know that packaging plays a very important role. Consumers are looking for a package that not only has an attractive design, but also ensures that the product was kept in optimal condition from the beginning of its manufacturing process until it reached their hands.

Another very important factor is that consumers are looking for a product that represents the company's commitment to contribute to a healthier planet through sustainable packaging. That is why at Mars we are taking steps to redesign our packaging portfolio and continue advancing towards our sustainability goals, promoting solid initiatives that reduce and improve our impact on people, the planet and the communities where we operate, in order to fulfill our Purpose: In the world we want tomorrow, the planet is healthy.

5) From the pandemic we saw a growth in online sales. How do you think companies will adapt to this marketing trend? Does Mars consider it favorable?

Without a doubt, D-Commerce was the big winner in terms of marketing channel trends as a result of the pandemic: it doubled in size in less than 3 months. We consider this extremely favorable given that we had record sales through this channel and we will continue to search for new spaces, strategic alliances and formats that meet the requirements of this way of doing business. We know that this is not a fad but a trend that is here to stay and that the pandemic has accelerated. Our consumers will continue to adopt this channel as their regular place to shop for years to come. Companies must learn to play in this channel from the way in which products are shown to consumers, to the development of efficient logistics models, forming strategic alliances with the main players of this same channel.

6) Another significant change from confinement is the importance that pets have acquired within the family nucleus and the requirement of pet parents when feeding them. How do you think this benefited the Industry?

The impact has been very positive just because of the transformation of the role of pets. They enter fully into the family dynamics. According to the 'Better Cities for Pets' study, one in three pet managers surveyed added a pet to his family during the pandemic. 86% mentioned companionship as the main benefit and 78% said they reduce their stress or anxiety level thanks to them. Another important indicator of the relevance that they have taken is the increase in adoptions in shelters. Through our Pedigree Adóptame® web app, and in conjunction with the shelters that make up the program, we saw a greater rapprochement between people and shelters. We have achieved more than 1000 adoptions from April to date.

This set of situations impacts because there are more pets to attend to and the supply of services grows. More specialized and diverse services will be needed such as: aesthetics, hotels for pets, toy libraries, accessories and others. That necessarily opens up opportunities for the entire industry and not just for the food industry. In our business, consumers are more aware, they look for proposals that are not only innovative, but also healthy, which promotes market growth.

7) Being Mars Petcare a company committed to the environment, what are the challenges that it intends to face in order to generate more sustainable processes?

We know our responsibility to contribute to a healthy planet by being, precisely, a global company. We want to continue leading the category, grow above it, be much more profitable, leverage innovation and advance in meeting the goals that we have established in our One Generation Sustainability Plan. In this plan, we address key areas of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and include ambitious goals based on science and our Five Principles.

We have tackled various environmental problems with different strategies. We choose materials that are easier to degrade and plan to increasingly reduce our carbon footprint from recipes with more sustainable sources of raw material. Likewise, we try to guide consumers about the recycling capabilities of our packaging. Some of our global goals for 2025, seek that 100% of our plastic packaging is reusable, recyclable or compostable, reduce 25% the use of virgin plastic, use 30% of recycled content in plastic packaging and maintain the elimination of PVC in our supply chain.

All this without counting the other programs in other branches of Mars such as 'Por Amor al Cacao', 'Tejer el Futuro', the restoration of reefs with Oceanus A.C. or the program "Charco Bendito".

8) Anything else you want to add?

At Mars we pride ourselves on being a family business that thinks long-term, the future of our people and the planet. We believe that the world we want tomorrow begins with the way we do business today. Our priority is to meet the nutritional requirements of companion animals by offering innovative products that help them have a longer and healthier life, so we will continue working based on our Five Principles to improve the well-being of families, their pets and contribute so that the keeping of companion animals is increasingly responsible, sustainable and simple to crystallize our vision of making a Better World for Pets.

Fuente: All Pet Food