Britons simply love their furry friends. And even more, they love to splurge on them. They definitely don’t want to compromise when it comes to their “four-legged babies” - be it food or treats or toys or wellness products. No wonder, owners spend billions of pounds on pet products and services each year and it is time that independent convenience stores too take a dip in this pool.
There are about 10.3 million to 13 million pet dogs in our country, the latter figure revealed by Statista in its latest release, marking a sharp increase from a decade earlier when the dog population in the UK was around 7.6 million.
As the population of dogs grew, so did the share of dog-owning households. Around a whopping 34 percent of households in our country now own a pet dog.
Cats are no less-loved either! Cat population was estimated to reach 12 million in 2021-22. Across the UK the share of households owning at least one cat is going strong, if a little behind those who choose the company of canines.
With such massive numbers, it is no surprise that the pet care industry generated a market value of £3.1 billion in 2021. Dog food market is the most profitable, valuing around £1.5bn. And the numbers are only set to rise.
Interestingly, 24 percent of all owners acquired their pet in the last two years, meaning that 5.4 million pets have been acquired since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. According to reports, new owners are more likely to be younger (58 percent of pet owners aged 18-44) with a higher level of education (39 percent of pet owners with a university degree qualification or higher) and a higher household income (48 percent of pet owners with a gross household income of over £50).
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New-age pet parents are generous and ready to splurge when it comes to their furry friends. Consumers are buying pet foods in larger quantities than in the past, moving away from table scraps, leftovers and home-cooked food to packaged pet food.
Zoe Taphouse, Category and Market Activation Director at Mars Petcare, acknowledges the rise of recent pet ownership and points out how it is a perfect opportunity for incremental sales for independent convenience stores.
“As pet parents navigate their new lives as pet owners, it’s important that retailers offer guidance through their store offering by stocking well-known brands that will add a level of comfort to shoppers in the early stages of purchasing these types of products.”
Samantha Crossley, Marketing Director at Lily’s Kitchen, echoes similar thoughts when she says that it is important that convenience stores become pet friendly, setting their shops apart from larger retailers.
“Making your shop pet-friendly opens a whole new sales opportunity to driverevenue and create returning footfalls each month,” Crossley told Asian Trader.
What to stock?
The major players in the petfood market are Mars, Nestlé Purina PetCare, Hill's Pet Nutrition Inc, Heristo AG, and Archer Daniels Midland (Neovia), among others.
Mars is currently one of the biggest players in the pet sector with 42 percent share in the pet food industry, making several extremely popular brands, like Temptations, Crave, Catsan, Greenies, Pedigree, Royal Canin, Sheba, Special Kitty, Whiskas, and many others.
Since consumers gravitate towards trusted brands, the recognizable brands – Pedigree and Whiskas – are ideal for retailers to target this surge in demand.
“These ‘pet parents’ also appear to take comfort from purchasing premium brands – including Sheba and Whiskas which are growing at +9.3 percent and +16.4 percent respectively – as pet food is no longer viewed as a necessity, but more an opportunity to treat and add health benefits to their pets’ diets,” Taphouse said.
When it comes to the pet food market, wet food makes up more than 30 percent of food sales. Wet food is also generally perceived to be a more enjoyable meal for dogs, offering high levels of animal proteins and a variety of tastes and textures.
With an increased number of people spending more time at home due to flexible working, many have switched to wet food because fewer people now need to leave a bowl of dry food out at the beginning of the day before leaving for the office,” Taphouse said.
Dry kibble is close behind, and together they make up more than 50 percent of total sales. It is cheaper and considered more nutritious. Also, due to the harder texture of the food, the pet’s dental hygiene improves with dried food. The remaining food sales are prescription diets and treats.
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Earlier, Nestlé Purina launched Purina Beyond Nature’s Protein for both cats and dogs- a pet food that builds on alternative proteins to make better use of the plant resources.
Popular pet food brand Lily’s Kitchen, now acquired by Nestle, creates recipes which celebrate the big occasions and everyday family meals with comforting recipes, such as Cottage Pie – made with proper meat and wholesome vegetables.
Its latest launch, On the Go Bars, allows pet parents to feed a complete meal while they are out, rather than a complimentary snack, to keep pooches topped up until their next meal, without scrimping on quality or taste.
Available in two mouth-watering flavours – beef and chicken – these Lily’s Kitchen On The Go bars can be popped into any bag or pocket, guaranteeing proper food for dogs.
The most popular dry cat foods in the UK are Go-Cat, Purina, Iams, Royal Canin, and others, with Whiskas Complete coming in as the leader.
Cotswold Raw has created a new range of complete raw meals for cats. The new range, initially available in Chicken and Turkey flavour, is designed to provide the convenience of a packaged food with the balanced nutrition of a natural raw diet.
The treats sector for dogs and cats is also growing year-on-year and is something convenience retailers should consider stocking when filling their shelves. Lily’s Kitchen offers a wide range of treat options here for both dogs and cats, includingbaked treats, chews and training treats, all designed to entertain a pet's taste buds.
What’s New?
Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of what goes into their food, and it’s no different when it comes to their pet’s food. While historically a pet owner would have chosen a well-established brand as a ‘safe bet’, these days they are also topping it up with health benefits and product quality.
Pet humanization is becoming a globally accepted term in the pet industry implying, more and more pet owners are willing to provide their pets with human-like products or experiences. Kelton Research also notes that 81 percent of cat or dog owners consider their pets to be true family members, whilst Mintel reported that one in five of UK cat or dog owners would cut back on spending on their own food before reducing spend on food for their pets. Clearly, “pet parents” are increasingly looking to feed their furry babies only high-quality pet food, irrespective of price.
The trend of humanization has also strengthened the demand for premium pet food, especially in varieties such as gourmet, homemade, clean labels, prepared with locally sourced ingredients, with high protein, artisanal, healthy, grain-free, age-specific, and breed-specific food.
“Premiumisation has long been a key driver of petcare sales, but the last year or so has seen the trend grow in popularity even further, with more owners viewing their pet as a child or family member,” says Taphouse.
“With such strong sentiment, it’s no wonder that premium offerings are continuing to drive petcare sales. This is particularly true of convenience, where sales of luxury brands have increased for cats in particular by 25.1 percent.”
Taphouse advises retailers to utilise this opportunity in store by increasing space for these products from popular brands such as Sheba, building excitement with new launches and offering temping promotions to boost these sales further.
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A key trend within petcare is natural credentials such as ‘clean’ ingredients, recipes inspired by the diets of our pets’ wild cousins, avoidance of grains and other cultivated human food stuff.
“Anything artificial is eyed with suspicion,” informs Taphouse, adding that shoppers are becoming more conscious of what they are feeding their pets.
Mars’ ‘Natural Goodness’ range from Cesar taps into this trend, offering shoppers something even more luxurious to Cesar’s core range. It contains a higher meat and animal derivative content (+12 percent) and lower fat content (-1 percent) which will appeal to those health-conscious pet owners.
Crossley from Lily’s Kitchen also explains how petcare is not only becoming increasingly humanised, there is also a renewed focus on plant-based diets.
“We’ve also noticed that pet parents are often looking for pet products which feel familiar on a human level, such as protein bars, familiar favourites and plant-based foods.
“Lily’s Kitchen creates recipes which celebrate the big occasions and everyday family meals with comforting recipes, such as Cottage Pie – made with proper meat and wholesome vegetables,” she says.
In our country, 9.3 million people eat a meat-free diet and five million of those have a pet. When it comes to the attitudes of the UK’s dog parents, 34 percent believe it’s good for their pet to regularly have plant-based meals, and 43 percent believe it’s healthy to limit the amount of red meat eaten by their pet.
To cater this demand, Lily’s Kitchen has developed Plant Power wet recipes for dogs so that pet parents who want to feed a little less meat now and again can be confident their dog is enjoying a nutritionally complete, balanced meal full of flavour.
Also, for dogs that are susceptible to allergies and other health problems, certified animal nutritionists and veterinarians usually recommend animal-free diets. At present, other manufacturers such as Yarrah and Beco Pets also cater vegan dog food.
Independent retailers should also make sure to stock natural food as well since consumers are also looking for quality, natural pet food for their pets while securing their essentials in convenience stores.
“The natural pet food category has been growing more than three times faster than the total petcare category for the last four years,” points out Crossley.
Products such as muffins, soups, ice creams, crisps, sausages, popcorn, beer, and wine for cats and dogs are also displaying a rapid growth rate. In fact, this year’s heatwave has led to a business boom for Waggy Doggy Doodahs that makes ice cream made with lactose-free milk. The company’s other dog treats include doggy popcorn and doggy crisps.
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The segment is witnessing a series of mergers and acquisitions. Earlier this year, Cranswick acquired Grove Pet Foods- producer of dry dog food for several leading brands under private label relationships alongside its own brands including Vitalin (natural) and Alpha Feeds (working dog).
Inspired Pet Nutrition acquired Pet Food UK and its Barking Heads (known for products such as ‘Fat Dog Slim’ and ‘Purr-Nickety’), Meowing Heads and AATU brands from Piper and its founders. The brands offer a range of natural dog meals and pet treats under the Harringtons and Wagg brands.
Apart from mergers and acquisitions, innovation is also a key aspect in this market. The use of insects as an alternative source of protein in pet food has also garnered the attention of manufacturers aiming towards sustainable production practices. In August 2021, Mars Petcare launched its first 100 percent insect-based cat food formula exclusively in the UK market.
Pet owners’ focus is predicted to shift soon on weight management, skincare, and digestive health. A recent survey shows that two fifths of dog and cat pet food buyers think their pet would benefit from losing some weight, signalling a widespread recognition of the pet obesity problem. Given that 51 percent of dogs, 44 percent of cats, and 29 percent of small mammals in the country are obese, according to Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association, makers are now focusing on coming up with low-calorie or low-fat pet food.
Pets and Indies
The recent pet boom and premiumisation trend have created a new avenue altogether for store owners.
A very quick and easy way to tap this segment is making the c-store pet-friendly, thereby getting a step ahead from big grocers. Placing a water bowl and leaving a roll of dog waste bags close to the shop entrance are some easy ways to let pet owners know that the store is pet-friendly and caters to their needs.
“At Lily’s Kitchen, we know that one of the key missions for convenience consumers is a top-up shop for essentials. For this reason, it is important that shoppers can find a range of core pet food options in their local stores. It can be a challenge to transition to a new pet food, and cats, in particular, can be quite fussy about their meal preferences,” points out Crossley.
Lily’s Kitchen recommends stocking customer’s favourite SKUs, such as the Countryside Casserole dry recipe, which is also available in a smaller kibble size too for small breed dogs.
Another way to drive sales in convenience stores is to indulge shoppers’ impulse. It is important to disrupt shoppers, and POS materials are a great way of doing this, as is featuring pet products at till points too. With petcare being a high value category, pet treats are a great product to feature at a till point, as well as gondola ends and on clip strips too.
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“Over the years, Lily’s Kitchen has helped train and educate retailers on our high-quality recipes and the wholesome ingredients used to make them, to help them explain and sell our products to shoppers. We also work closely with our retailers to help them choose a range of products that best suits their needs, in addition to planogram support, bespoke displays, POS material and samples. Alongside this, we’ve supported the retail trade with promotional activity that encourages shoppers to try our products,” informs Crossley.
By offering a good range of petcare products, from main meals, to treats and functional products (such as our Lily’s Kitchen Woofbrushes), independent retailers can set themselves apart from competitors and drive footfall to their stores, she adds.
Stocking natural and premium pet care options with eye-catching branding will also boost sales and basket spend. Retailers must keep in mind that shoppers (as well as end-users) in this segment are finicky and loyal to brands.
“We also see that 52 percent of convenience shoppers are more likely to go to another store to buy their desired pet food if it isn’t available. Retailers can drive greater loyalty and longer, more fruitful customer relationships by getting to know their shoppers and aligning themselves with the wants and needs of pet parents through the range of products and services they offer in store,” Mars Petcare’s Taphouse says, adding that retailers should raise awareness of their petcare range via front of store displays or aisle ends and promote their store offerings on social media.
With the number of millennial and gen Z shoppers becoming increasingly conscious about environmental, Taphouse further advices retailers to consider showcasing sustainable credentials by offering dedicated recycle points to encourage consumers to drop off pet food packaging or offer refill zones without purchasing additional packaging.
“Understanding the values and expectations of these shoppers will provide retailers with the knowledge needed to be able to meet these needs and will attract younger generations into stores,” she says.
Earning Loyalties
Cost of living crisis is showing its effect on this segment as well. The number of shoppers and trips per shopper are down, however, spend per trip is growing. This indicates that shoppers are trading up in terms of pack size but also, the channel is beginning to see the impact of inflation with spend per trip being in double digitgrowth.
By increasing distribution of larger packs, c-store operators can increase spendwhile helping consumers feel like they are getting good value from a local store, says Taphouse.
Growing pet population, coupled with the rising pet-owning trend and premiumisation, is expected to drive the pet food market during the study period. Overall, the pet food market is projected to register a CAGR of 4.5 percent during the forecast period (2022-2027).
Since petcare shoppers spend more in convenience stores than the average shopper, these numbers present a bright future and clear sign of better sales in the coming years. Following just a few simple steps like stocking well on bestsellers and new launches, independent retailers can not only increase their sales but also earn the loyalty of their shoppers' timeless best friends.
Shareholders in food and drink giants such as PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and Mondelez are among a group of investors calling on the sector to be more transparent about the healthiness of its sales as a first step towards taking accountability for its significant impact on public health, in a move coordinated by responsible investment NGO ShareAction, the NGO stated.
The investors include Legal & General Investment Management, Pictet Asset Management, Nest, and CCLA, who collectively manage £2.34trn in assets. In a letter delivered today (21) to the chief executives of PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Mondelēz, Kraft Heinz, Kellanova, and General Mills, investors have called on the companies to follow the likes of Unilever and Danone in adopting internationally-accepted nutrition standards for publicly reporting the healthiness of their sales.
The investors have raised concerns that an over-reliance on sales of less healthy products leads to poor diets and sicker societies, which they claim harms economic productivity and threatens long-term business success and financial returns. The investors added that a lack of transparency hinders their ability to fully assess risks and opportunities.
“We believe that health is a systemic risk that affects the whole economy,” said Tom Sanders, Senior ESG Analyst at Nest. “The increased consumption of unhealthy products harms public health and could reduce worker productivity, creating externalities that can impact our long-term investment returns as a globally diversified investor. Food and drink companies must take responsibility in helping manage these risks by being more transparent, using internationally recognised nutrition standards as an important first step.”
The move comes amid an increasing focus by governments and consumers on the food and drink sector’s reliance on sales of foods that are high in fat, salt and sugar. Around one in eight people globally are living with obesity, including millions of children, which is projected to cost the global economy more than £3.34trn a year by 2035.
Thomas Abrams, Co-Head of Health at ShareAction, said: “It’s really encouraging to see the momentum building among the investment community to hold the food and drink sector to account for its impact on public health. By adopting a responsible investment approach to public health investors can not only manage financial risks but also help more people to enjoy healthier lives for longer.”
ShareAction and the investors are asking the food and drink companies to commit to adopting one or more of the internationally accepted Nutrient Profiling Models used to define healthy food, rather than their own in-house versions.
Freight-related crime cost the UK economy an estimated £680-700 million in 2023, when accounting for lost revenues, VAT, and insurance costs, revealed a recent report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Freight and Logistics.
The study, funded by the Road Haulage Association (RHA), documented 5,370 reported incidents of HGV and cargo crime across the UK last year, a 5 per cent increase on the previous year. Experts suggest that the actual figures could be significantly higher due to under-reporting. The direct value of stolen goods reached £68.3 million.
According to data from the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS), major crime hotspots include Stafford with 138 offences, Thurrock with 103, and Warwick Services with 87. The East of England, Yorkshire and Humber, and South East regions experienced the highest concentration of incidents, with the West Midlands seeing incidents double in 2023 and Yorkshire/Humber recording a 65% increase since 2021.
Analysis reveals distinct seasonal patterns, with fourth-quarter criminal activities increasing by 56 per cent in 2022 and 26 per cent in 2023, coinciding with the Christmas retail period.
The report highlights significant infrastructure challenges, noting a national shortage of approximately 11,000 lorry parking spaces. Current facilities are operating at 83 per cent capacity nationwide, with utilisation exceeding 90 per cent in the South East, East Midlands, and East of England. The A14 Cambridge-Felixstowe route, serving Britain’s busiest port, has reached 100 per cent capacity for overnight parking.
Three-quarters of recorded freight crimes occurred in independent road parking areas or unsecured motorway service stations, with incidents at motorway services increasing by 59 per cent in 2023.
The APPG’s research indicates that rather than being opportunistic, these crimes are largely conducted by organised groups targeting high-volume routes near major ports. Small and medium-sized enterprises, which comprise 90 per cent of the sector, are particularly vulnerable to losses.
The impact on Britain’s supply chains is substantial, considering that road freight moves 89 per cent of all goods and 98 per cent of agricultural and food products. The cross-party group has proposed several measures, including the establishment of national secure parking standards, enhanced law enforcement resources, and reforms to planning frameworks to increase secure parking facilities.
The report forms part of a broader examination of supply chain security and follows the government’s allocation of £32.5 million in November 2022 for truck stop improvements, supplementing £20 million provided by National Highways earlier that year.
British Beekeepers’ Association (BBKA), which represents hobbyist beekeepers, has urged retailers to stock local honey, after a new research raised significant questions about the composition of blended honey samples imported to the UK and sold at supermarkets.
In a recent authenticity test, 96 per cent of samples of imported honey from supermarkets were found to be ‘atypical’ for honey, compared to 100 per cent of UK beekeeper samples that were deemed ‘typical’.
The Honey Authenticity Network UK (HAN UK) sent 30 honey samples for testing last month, with 24 out of the 25 jars of imported honey not meeting the required standards. All five of the samples sent from UK beekeepers passed the test, as well as one supermarket honey, which was also British honey.
The test was carried out at The Celvia research institute in Estonia, which has developed a DNA Metagenomic test in which the composition of samples is compared against a database of more than 500 genuine honeys.
Diane Drinkwater, chair of the British Beekeepers’ Association– which has a membership of nearly 30,000 beekeepers across England and Wales– said she was “disappointed, but not surprised” at the outcome of the results, adding:
“Our members are small, local producers of artisan honey. Whilst the amounts that they can produce each year will vary due to the seasonable nature of the product, our methods of extraction are unique, and each jar will have its own distinct flavour and texture,” Drinkwater commented.
“We will continue to champion the benefits of local honey in an era of increasing debate over the composition of imported honey sold in the UK”.
According to the International Trade Centre, the UK imported an average of 50,917 tonnes of honey in 2023, of which 39,405 tons were from China. Jars and bottles of honey can be bought off the shelf for as little as 69p, but often feature a blend of products from a number of different countries.
Honey adulteration can take many forms, with one of the most common methods being to bulk out honey with cheap syrups made from corn, rice and other crops.
These new results follow similar outcomes from imported honey samples in Europe, with 80 per cent of samples from Germany, 62 per cent of samples from Finland, and 100 per cent of samples from Austria failing the same test.
Lynne Ingram, BBKA Honey Ambassador and chair of the Honey Authenticity Network UK said: “It is disappointing that yet again, samples of cheap imported honeys in UK supermarkets have been found to be ‘atypical’ for genuine honey. All British honeys in the tests were found to be genuine.
“The lack of appropriate monitoring, testing and enforcement by UK government has led to the UK being flooded with cheap honey, much of it from China.
“Consumers wanting authentic honey are advised to be guided by price as very cheap honey is unlikely to be genuine; to read labels carefully and choose honeys that are not a blend. Ideally buy British honey.
“We would also call on more UK supermarkets to stock British honey.”
Wiltshire Police have arrested five people and seized more than £55,000 worth of illicit vapes, tobacco and alcohol following a series of warrants in the Broadgreen area of Swindon.
In a joint operation HMRC and Trading Standards, officers executed four warrants in Manchester Road at three stores and a property on Tuesday as part of the force’s ongoing Clear Hold Build work within Broadgreen.
The raids led to the seizure of thousands of pounds worth of illegal vapes which breached the legal capacity limit and “were for sale directly next to the counters.” Officers also seized illicit tobacco and alcohol.
Some vapes were advertised as containing more than 15,000 puffs – well in excess of the 600 puff limit for disposable vapes.
Five men were arrested on suspicion of breaching section 92 of the Trade Marks Act 1994. They have been taken into custody for questioning.
“This was a highly successful morning involving excellent multi-agency work,” Sergeant Winter, of the Swindon Central South Neighbourhood Team, said.
“Community intelligence is vital to enable us to conduct operations like this. If you have any concerns around activity going on in your community then please report it to us.”
As industry leaders is cash handling, Volumatic has long supported the use of cash and the importance of maintaining access to cash for both consumers and businesses. The company recognises the importance of the new set of rules created by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) two months ago, to safeguard access to cash for businesses and consumers across the UK.
Since introduction, the new rules are intended to ensure that individuals and businesses who rely on cash can continue to access it and the outcome has already sparked the creation of 15 new banking hubs across the UK, including one in Scotland, with many more to follow.
These hubs provide shared spaces for consumers to access basic services, such as depositing and withdrawing cash, and are being embraced by businesses keen to support the use of cash, who have been struggling in recent years due to the flurry of bank closures across the UK.
With this in mind, Volumatic welcomes the increase in banking hubs and other facilities but recommends businesses go one step further to make things even easier.
“We have known for some time that more and more people are using cash again on a daily basis and so it’s great that access to cash is being protected by the FCA, something that we and others in the industry have been campaigning for, for a long time,” said Volumatic’s Sales & Marketing Director Mike Severs. “Both businesses and consumers need to have easy and local access to cash, and these new rules ensure cash usage continues to rise and will encourage more businesses to realise that cash is still an important and valid payment method.”
With time being of the essence for most businesses, making a journey to the nearest bank, banking hub or Post Office isn’t always possible on a daily basis, plus there is the obvious security risk to both the money and the individual taking it to consider.
Volumatic offers integration with the G4S CASH360 integration
Volumatic’s partnership with G4S, announced back in April 2024, means every business dealing in cash anywhere in the UK can have access to a fully managed solution. This will be especially relevant to those who currently have to walk or travel a distance to a bank or PO to deposit their cash.
Severs adds: “Although having more banking facilities is fantastic news, Volumatic can help businesses even more by bringing the bank to them through an investment in technology like the CCi that can offer integration with the G4S CASH360 solution. Together, we make daily cash processing faster, safer, and more secure and the combination of solutions will save businesses time and money for years to come, making it a truly worthwhile investment.“
Volumatic offers a range of cash handling solutions, with their most advanced device being the CounterCache intelligent (CCi). This all-in-one solution validates, counts and stores cash securely at POS, with UK banks currently processing over 2.5 million CCi pouches each year. When coupled with the upgraded CashView Enterprise cash management software and its suite of intelligent apps, the Volumatic CCi can offer a full end-to-end cash management solution – and now goes one step further.
It does this by providing web service integration with other third-party applications such as the CASH360 cash management system, provided by the foremost UK provider of cash security, G4S Cash Solutions (UK).
“Ultimately, only time will tell how successful the FCA’s new rules will prove. In the short amount of time the new legislation has been in place, the signs are already looking good, and coupled with the new technology we offer, it is a good thing for businesses and consumers alike in the ongoing fight for access to cash and more efficient cash processing,” concludes Severs.