The future of pet food packaging

According to The Pet Food Manufacturers Association, 12 million (40%) of UK households own a pet with this growing rapidly during the pandemic. Not only that, but in 2018, the global pet care market was valued at over $190.1 billion, with pet food accounting for $81.2 million in sales. This is only expected to grow further between now and 2025.

Food safety, sustainability, and pet health are the three most important areas for pet food brands to focus on in order to ensure today’s pet owners and of course their pets are satisfied. In this article, we will explore everything you need to know about the future of pet food packaging and how to make sure your packaging wins over customers.

Safety in pet food packaging

Let’s start with the most important aspect of pet food packaging. Consumers want to be able to rely on a brands packaging to protect the freshness of the pet food as it plays a vital role in their pets’ health.

In fact, it’s said that the future of pet food is ‘premium’ as pet owners are willing to spend more on premium, high-quality food, and products if it means improving the health of their pets. This means the packaging of the pet food needs to reflect this and look like the packaging you would expect from a ‘premium’ product. ‘Premium’ packaging does not just mean the packaging needs to look good, but also that it optimally protects the product inside.

Pet food requires protection from water vapour, oxygen transmission and odours. Pet owners expect premium packaging to be spill-proof, protective, smart, and informative to ensure that the food gets delivered in the condition they expect.

Temperature-controlled packaging is of course vital for shipping any raw pet food products so that they stay in the right temperature range and do not perish. Shipping perishable food can be difficult as you have to find a way to create a package that is not too heavy whilst including enough dry ice to ensure the food remains frozen. If you are needing help finding the right temperature-controlled packaging solution for your pet food, give us a call today.

Premium packaging would also need an easy-to-read list of ingredients and information about the food product as this plays an essential role for premium pet food. Packaging labels can build brand equity and trust by educating consumers about ingredients, processing methods, functionality, as well as certifications to show that your brand is reliable.

Sustainability in pet food packaging

As you have probably noticed, sustainable packaging is becoming increasingly more popular and is the biggest trend in packaging right now, and it is no different in the pet food packaging industry either. As consumers are concerned about sustainability, they are taking a closer look at the environmental impact of the products they buy and how they are packaged. While the pandemic did shift many concerns to the safety and security of packaging, this did not stop sustainability still being on the top of consumers’ minds.

According to a survey conducted by Rover.com, three-quarters of pet parents said they are interested in learning how to live more sustainably. 40% said that these concerns impacted the food they chose to buy for their pets and 35% claimed they chose the more eco-friendly pet products.

This shows that customers are looking for packaging that will help them to reduce their environmental impact. The pet food packaging industry have to meet this demand by using packaging that is resource-efficient and recyclable using sustainable raw and recyclable materials, and an eco-friendly production to support a circular economy.

Security in pet food packaging

Spill-proof and tamper-proof packaging has always been an important factor for products within the baby or child market. But did you know this trend is also continuing to grow in the pet food market too? Pets are often an extension of the family, so it’s no wonder that pet owners are also looking for improved packaging security that can keep their pet food better protected.

The innovations include press-lock technology, Velcro, hook-to-hook, and slide and snap seals. These different types of closures help to reassure pet owners of the product safety and freshness and so ultimately enables brands to build customer loyalty and trust.

At Swiftpak, we have an in-house packaging designer that can turn a packaging design into reality, ensuring great protection that is also spill-proof and reliable. Contact us today and we will be happy to get inventing!

Pet food packaging from Swiftpak

Food safety, sustainability and security are trends that are continuing to grow in the pet food industry. If your business is needing some inspiration or help to improve its packaging for pet products, then feel free to contact our packaging experts today.