Despite being one of the biggest pet food markets in the world by value, America’s pet owners appear unimaginative in their choice of pet food flavors.
GfK data on sales of dry food, wet food and treats for both dogs and cats reveals the most popular flavors across eight key countries, based on the value sold.
America’s dogs and cat, for example, appear to be totally addicted to chicken – at least, that is the most popular flavor that their owners are buying for them across all three categories. In a country that spent $13 billion in the ‘pet specialty’ market in 2015, that accounts for a significant share of wallet.
Spain’s lucky four-legged friends, on the other hand, get far greater variety, with beef and fish flavors rivaling chicken for both wet food and treats.
France’s cats also do well, showing equal variety as Spain in the wet food and treats bought for them – although the ubiquitous chicken continues to dominate when it comes to selecting their cats’ dry food and their dogs’ wet and dry food.
The Czech Republic, Greece and China stand out in preferring beef flavor above all others for their dogs’ wet food.
Pushan Tagore, vice president of global marketing for pet care at GfK, comments, “The US generally sets a trend on what is popular in pet food, but here we see clearly how different the individual markets are around the globe. Clearly the US has scope to innovate further within this area, to bring more variety to the palates of our four-legged friends.”
