My pets eat healthier than I do. It's true. Before the era of Amazon, the only food delivery programs were diet plans. Way back in 2002, I thought it would be a good idea to order The Zone Diet home delivery program. I lived in New York City, one of the few places where delivery was possible, and celebrities Sarah Jessica Parker and Jennifer Aniston were doing it, so why not? I ordered a month’s worth of food. It was expensive. Stupid expensive. A sleek cooler packed with bland three meals, showed up on my stoop every morning. I just had to reheat it. I tried it for a day and hated every bite. Not wanting to waste food, I gave the rest to my dog. My dog continued to eat eggs, chicken, steamed vegetables, sweet potatoes for a month. My friends joked that my shelter dog was on a celebrity diet. Meanwhile, I ate corporate lunch meeting leftovers.

Thankfully a lot has changed since then. Today we all have easy access to high-quality meal kits and human-grade pet food. Pet stores are not the only place to find fresh pet food, retails chains like Target and Whole Foods have refrigerated pet food sections. I buy fresh cat food when I grocery shop at my local Busch’s. I know I’m not the only one spending more on pet food.

According to Statista, approximately $42 billion dollars of pet food was sold in 2020, and this figure is estimated to increase to around $44.1 billion in 2021. With fresh ingredients comes the need for new standards of packaging. According to the study by ResearchAndMarkets.com, based on material, plastic is one of the most widely used materials in the pet food packaging market. It offers high barrier, temperature resistance and the needed durability while being cost-efficient. I, like many pet parents, am shifting toward food in pouches. The high-barrier films and reseal technology keeps pet food fresh. Pouches also prevent odor, moisture and oxygen transfer. Treats have migrated to pouch packaging.

Speaking of pouches, the 24th annual Global Pouch Forum (online) event is Tuesday, June 8th to Thursday, June 10th, and it’s more interactive and user-friendly than last year. The experts, with category-wide experience, will divulge how the first dual-sided pouch came to market and what trends are on the horizon.

Email me if you have any questions. Hope to see you there.

Enjoy the read,

KRISTIN JOKER
jokerk@bnpmedia.com