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"Pet Food that offers a 'functional' benefit increased by 130 per cent between 2006 and 2010....Pet clothing such as 'therapy jackets' for aches and pains and sun visors for cats with sight problems have now hit the market."
They also quote figures by MTW Research that sales of pet clothing will hit £35m by 2015. Coats, sweaters, rain jackets and hoodies are popular.
The demand for dry dog food has increased by 90 per cent in the past 10 years and dry cat food sales have increased by around 80 per cent in the same period.
They say that 'natural' pet products are on the rise and not to ignore social media as pet sites are becoming an important marketing tool for pet food companies.
They give the total number of pets in the UK as 27 million, approx 1 in 2 households, and the percentage of households owning a pet broken down as follows:
Dog 22%
Cat 18%
Indoor fish 9%
Outdoor fish 6%
Rabbits 2.7%
Birds 2%
Guinea pigs 1.5%
Hamster 1.4%
Domestic fowl 0.6%
Turtoises/turtles 0.6%
Lizards 0.6%
Snakes 0.4%
Rats 0.4%
Horses 0.2%
Gerbils 0.1%
They offer some links:
Pet food manufacturers association
Mintel
Pet Statistics
The US Market
The Kennel Club
Market Information
Emerging Markets
The US market is the biggest market spending £33bn on pet care in a global pet products market of £51.7bn.
They describe the sector as both growing and lucrative, covering both products and services.
I confess that our dogs do have rain-jackets.....
"Call yourself a terrier?....Wuss!!!!"
Hmm...maybe they'd look good in hoodies
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