Wet Dog Food Sales Are Up

Dry dog food has long dominated the market, but within the past year, requests for wet dog formulas have been on the rise, according to industry insiders. Manufacturers are capitalizing on consumers' wet food requests by adding more wholesome ingredients to their formulas, while pet specialty retailers are offering an increased, more diverse selection of wet food products in stores.

'With so many new pet owners and new customers to our stores, demand for more wet food options has grown significantly,' said April Wright, owner of The Dog and Cat, which has two locations in Vermont.

Wright also reported increased attention on fresh ingredients and said Fromm Family Foods and Weruva are extremely popular in both retail locations, adding that both manufacturers 'make it easy' for customers to satisfy their pets' dietary needs because they equally offer a vast assortment of wet options.

Bethany Lontz, store manager of Blue Dog Pet Shop in Lemoyne, Pa., said wet food with sustainable sourcing is popular, and Weruva dominates as the store's most popular line.

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'Most customers that are buying wet food are doing so either because they have older dogs that they want softer food for, or they're looking for a topper because their dog is picky with just dry food,' Lontz added. 'People also like to see food that looks similar to theirs, so shredded foods with veggies in them are usually quicker to sell than pâté diets.'

Justin McClenaghan, owner of Justin's Pet Store in Cobourg, Ontario, Canada, reported seeing an increase in customers buying cans of wet food as toppers or meal enhancers.

'People are looking at their pet's food bowls wondering what it must be like to eat the same, dry thing every day without a change,' McClenaghan said. 'Having spoken to many customers, the idea of simply giving your dog kibble, and kibble alone, is old fashioned. More than ever people want to spoil their dogs with more diverse meals.'

The COVID pandemic required pet owners to spend more time with their pets and further evaluate their companions' eating habits, said Rob Cadenhead, general manager of Gott Pet Products, the St. Francis, Wis.-based parent company of Hound & Gatos. As a result, the motivation to add variety to pets' diets prospered, along with requests for high-quality ingredients.

'Demand for wet food has been higher in these pandemic-challenged times, which is driven by pet owners having more quality time to spend with their dogs,' Cadenhead said. 'They're more interested than ever in serving something special and super tasty to their pets, which is what wet foods and toppers are all about.'

While the pandemic has driven demand, supply chain issues could take a massive toll on future sales of wet food products, insiders noted.

Kevin Eddy, president of Pet Food Warehouse, a pet store in South Burlington, Vt., reported supply chain issues with canned items prior to the pandemic. Eddy noted a boost in wet food sales over the past six months, but wondered about the effects of recurrent supply chain issues.

'At the moment availability is our biggest concern,' Eddy said. 'Now with the massive global supply chain issues, availability is even more uncertain.' Fortunately, some manufacturers are looking for ways to keep customers—and pets—a priority and combat supply chain frustrations.

'Our parent company, Wixon Inc., recently announced plans to invest over $15 million in a large-scale project that includes purchasing new manufacturing and packaging machinery and acquiring a 100,000-square-foot facility in an industrial park near our headquarters,' Cadenhead said. 'But what's equally important, it will assure our retailer partners of an even steadier product supply.'

Pricing

Does Price Affect Consumers' Decision to Buy? Dog owners can be hesitant with cost when introducing wet varieties into their pets' diet, industry insiders reported. Pricing is almost always a consideration when people are comparing wet recipes and brands, said Rob Cadenhead, general manager at Gott Pet Products, the St. Francis, Wis.-based parent company of Hound & Gatos.

'Purveyors of premium diets need to justify why pet owners should pay more for their brands,' Cadenhead said. 'Hound & Gatos recipes, for example, are exclusively prepared with traceable ingredients from reliable suppliers. They're made with 98 percent real meat, poultry or fish, which are considerably costlier than grains or plant-based proteins.'

Wet is an essential part of a dogs' diet and should be added to bowls to improve their meals, said Jason Trickett, vice president of merchandising for Ren's Pets, a Canadian retail chain with more than 30 locations.

'Consumers are looking to make the right choices for their pet, because they are part of the family and they want to ensure they are feeding the highest-quality products,' Trickett said. 'We don't see price as a barrier into the category, and we see wet as an easy addition to improving a pets' diet.'

But for customers who are budget conscious, wet food toppers can be great alternatives. When wet food is used as a topper, more people are inclined to splurge as it can last them four to five days, said Justin McClenaghan, owner of Justin's Pet Store in Cobourg, Ontario, Canada.

Making the proper recommendations for a canine and understanding a customer's price range can make a great difference when cost is a concern, said Larissa Wasyliw, vice president of e-commerce and marketing at Ren's Pets.

'There are statistics out there that pet parents would rather spend money on their pets instead of themselves,' Wasyliw said. 'They truly care about the well-being of their pets and want to feed them the best they can.'

Consumer Education

Understanding and Sharing Dietary Benefits

Dog owners are increasingly embracing wet diets as a way to give their pets more variety or simply as a topper to kibble. Customers that are new to the category might require guidance from their local independent pet store to find the right option for their dogs.

Rob Cadenhead, general manager at Gott Pet Products, the St. Francis, Wis.-based parent company of Hound & Gatos, advocated taking a 'consultative approach' with customers shopping the wet dog food set.

'Some are simply looking for a tasty topper to add variety to their pet's meal routine, while others are searching for a healthier diet or have specific nutritional issues in mind,' Cadenhead said. 'Hound & Gatos offers a wide range of materials to educate staff members on our complete product line. We also provide training sessions throughout the year to help further employee knowledge.'

Staff training is key, said Jason Trickett, vice president of merchandising for Ren's Pets, a Canadian retail chain with more than 30 locations.

'Vendor product knowledge training has been happening across all our 33 locations now that lockdowns are over,' Trickett said. 'Staff listens carefully when a customer comes in and recommends the best option for the pet. Our vendors are also excellent with keeping our teams up-to-date on all of the product information.'

Having access to a large variety of wet food diet lines can be critical for customers who have ingredient concerns due to their pets' dietary complications, industry insiders noted. 'Pet owners are becoming more educated that enhancing a dry food diet with wet, freeze-dried or frozen improves the health and well-being of their pets,' said Kevin Eddy, president of Pet Food Warehouse, a pet store in South Burlington, Vt.

Increased resources and tools are available online for consumers to learn more about enhancing pets' wet diets. 'Shoppers themselves are becoming more self-educated using the internet as a tool for knowledge,' said Justin McClenaghan, owner of Justin's Pet Store in Cobourg, Ontario, Canada. 'More and more people are buying canned food without asking for opinions from staff.'

Trade Talk

Ann Hudson, vice president of marketing for Whitebridge Pet Brands in St. Louis. What's driving demand for wet diets in the dog food category? What innovations does Whitebridge offer in this segment?

Humanization of pets continues to be a primary driver for most things that are happening in food and treats. We sleep with our dogs, we travel with our dogs and we eat with our dogs. And why shouldn't their meals look and taste just as good as ours?

Tiki Dog Taste of the World recipes are made with human-grade ingredients and hand-packed in individual-serving sized cups to keep each meal fresh and conveniently easy-to-serve. With ingredients like ham and pasta noodles in Italian Carbonara, rice and red peppers in Asian Stir Fry and shrimp and tomatoes in Spanish Paella, each recipe is modeled after international cuisine. Made with dog-safe, human-grade ingredients, they look and smell just like people food.

Shopping for wet is more fun, and because the investment per can or cup is lower, owners can afford more variety in flavors and formats. Owners feel a certain amount of guilt when they dump extruded kibble in a bowl and walk away. Wet food is a meatier and tastier choice than dry food. Unfortunately, most wet foods are made with unhealthy carbohydrates, poor-quality proteins and are too high in fat. Because they all come from a small group of plants in the U.S., they all look and smell the same and use similar ingredients.

Tiki Dog has more than 60 different wet recipes, including four new Whole Foods items in cups. Each version is packed with brown rice in a flavorful consommé made from lobster or fish. Other recipes include Meaty, a taurine-rich line of meat-only limited-ingredient diets for dogs who are intolerant to legumes or grains.

by Alexis Mattson - PeT Ptroduct News