Insights-driven development of humanized foods for pets

Commercialized petfood has been evolving since the late 1800s. From rock-hard, flour-based biscuits to the adaptation of extrusion andcanning, or the most recently developed “fresh-cooked” processes, thedifferentiation between foods for pets and humans is becoming increasinglyblurred.  Today, the U.S. pet food industryis worth $42 billion and continues to rapidly grow year after year.  This growth is, in part, driven by anincreasing pet population which was accelerated by the pandemic (APPA, 2022; Euromonitor,2022); however, much of the growth and evolution of the pet food industry isarguably in response to a growing bond between humans and their pets. As petparents are increasingly looking for new ways to nourish and delight their “fur-babies”,the development of new, alternative formats of pet foods offers many advantagesto pet parents including more variety of food choices that typically have amore pleasant appearance and aroma.  Benefitsfor the pet from these innovative foods include exceptional palatability andnutrient digestibility as compared to conventional pet foods, although barriersto the growth of new, alternative pet food formats such as “fresh-cooked” foodsdo exist.  Most notably, the cost to feedtheir pets a diet solely consisting of “fresh-cooked” foods may be prohibitivefor many pet parents; furthermore, these novel foods bring unique technical challengesto manufacturers that do not exist for conventional kibble and canned petfoods.  From securing ingredient supplyto ensuring the safety and shelf life of products, manufacturers of “fresh-cooked”pet foods have been challenged to adapt new formulations, processing methods,and supply chain strategies that have not previously existed in the pet foodindustry.  This paper will exploreconsumer insights that have led to the evolution of the pet food industry aswell as the unique opportunities that pet food brands face as they seek tosatisfy consumer demand for high quality, humanized foods for pets withoutcompromising the nutritional adequacy, safety, and sustainability of commercialpet food diets.