NCI Future of Feeding Webinar Series | Featuring Kate Vlietstra

Kate Vlietstra, Associate Director at Mintel Food & Drink.

Each month, NCI holds a new update in the Future of Feeding webinar series, which focuses on using innovation in the processing of animal food, the equipment being used, as well as using grains from our region for co-products. This month, we featured Kate Vlietstra, Associate Director at Mintel Food & Drink. Vlietstra presented on “The Future of Pet Food,” and included a discussion about the current trends and research being done in the world of pet food. She also shared some of her thoughts on what effects will likely be observed as a result of these industry changes while also offering a few suggestions for how brands can adapt to them.

Two examples of pet food brands incorporating less common grains (in line with human trends), including Ancient Grains.

Vlietstra began her presentation by looking at the current situation with pet food. She attempted to answer the question: where are we now in terms of the pet food industry? This section of her presentation largely focused on the observation of trends in pet food beginning to mirror trends in human foods. For example, she put forth evidence to support the idea that pet owners are more concerned than ever before what ingredients are in the pet food they’re providing their pets. These owners are seeking foods with healthier ingredients (ex. healthy grains) for their pets (just as they are for themselves) in the interest of the health of their pets and themselves.

This is in line with Mintel’s perspective on the pet food industry. Vlietstra states includes the following three core ideas as being important to their mission: 1) leveraging evolving pet health priorities; 2) making sustainability tangible and transparent; and 3) humanization meeting premiumization. These three pillars reflect the shifts that are being observed in pet owners, such as their evolving pet health priorities and their use of supplements to add nutritional benefits to their pet’s diet.

These and other changes were stated by Vlietstra to be part of what she called the “next two years of the [pet food] industry.” This simply includes the actions pet food producers must take in order to respond appropriately to changing consumer views on the industry and their pets. She listed several action steps she believes pet food companies should take, including promoting the benefits of supplements in flexible formats (offering owners flexibility with respect to their pet’s nutrition), targeting the demand for functional pet drinks (which are easier to swallow and digest than solid foods/supplements), supporting anxiety-prone pets using medicated catnip and CBD drops (among other supplements), and making sustainable packaging easier for consumers to understand.

Statistics regarding owners’ viewpoints on their pets.

Vlietstra made it clear that, now more than ever, pet owners are dedicated to their pets. As the graphic to the right shows, relatively large percentages of people appear to view their pets differently than perhaps originally thought. They view their pets as of equal status to themselves, and treat them as such. This leads straight into her next idea, which revolved around a growing consumer interest in not only pet-friendly human food (ex. pet-friendly birthday cake) but also meal kits that allow for pets and their owners alike to share mealtimes. In fact, the idea of a “shared” meal kit has gained so much momentum that dog food brand Cesar recently partnered with food delivery app Postmates to begin offering a small number of Bestie Bowls – “yours” and “theirs” meal duos that allow for dogs and their owners.  

Once Vlietstra adequately covered where she believes the pet food industry is trending towards over the course of the next two years, she expanded that timeframe out even further to the next five years. She started by explaining Mintel’s individual perspective on what the next 5 years holds for this industry. And, what important considerations pet food companies must remember in order to, once again, reflect changing consumer preferences and expectations.

Examples of innovative digital marketing strategies being employed by pet food brands.

Vlietstra summarized these consideration as follows: 1) lab-grown food (an alternative to meat that emits less carbon) edging steadily closer to widespread adoption; 2) science and data being important for pet brands to use to help consumers make informed purchasing decisions; and 3) the evolvement of the physical pet store, particularly to appeal to a younger audience of pet owners. She stated that this last point could be achieved through offering pet services at pet retail stores, among other methods (ex. expanding the use of digital products by brands to sell experiences rather than just products).

Northern Crops Institute greatly appreciates Kate Vlietstra’s involvement and input in our webinar. At NCI, we continue to work towards fulfilling our mission to support regional agriculture and value-added processing by conducting educational and technical programs that expand and maintain domestic and international markets for northern grown crops. All of this wouldn’t be possible without the innovative ideas of guest speakers like Vlietstra.

To watch the recording, click the video below.

For more information about future webinars offered at NCI, click here.