Lindsay Beaton taking a look at some of the top human food trends right now and their connections to the pet market. Once again, just as in the human food industry, education may be the key. “There’s less and less choices of what to put in petfood, and trends are based on perception, not on the science,” said Lisa Alley-Zarkades, vice president of Horn Animal Wellness. “We want to be able to address that at the consumer level.”

1. 18 www.petfoodindustry.com
THE HUMANIZATION OF companion
animals is no trade secret, and the phenom-
enon is only getting more prominent. As a
result, many of the top human food trends
have found their way into the petfood
market—particularly those that focus on
the health and wellness of our furry family
members.
BETTER HEALTH THROUGH nutrition is a significant topic
these days in the human food industry, according to the
Hartman Group Inc.’s report, “Ideas in Food 2013—A
Cultural Perspective.” Sugar in particular is a red flag for
some consumers, with fructose bearing the brunt of the
scrutiny. Added sugar, according to Hartman, is being
linked to systemic inflammation, which in turn can lead to
cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and a whole host
November 2013 IndustryPetfoodPetfood
Health through nutrition, nutrition
for seniors and weight manage-
ment are three of the top trends in
both the human food and petfood
markets.
BigStockPhoto.com and Fotolia.com
Human
food
trends and
the petfood
industryBy Lindsay Beaton
Taking a look at some of the
top human food trends right
now and their connections to
the pet market
Resources
and
reports

2. November 2013IndustryPetfoodPetfood
of other medical ailments.
Gluten-free has become a mainstream idea and product
sell, and that has led to the desire for alternative ways to
gain the nutritive benefits of whole grains, nuts and seeds.
Nut meal, coconut “flour” and raw, sprouted, popped and
puffed grains are some of the other options companies are
now providing for consumers.
Other health/nutrition connections in human food
trends, according to Hartman’s report, include eating more
plant-based foods, supporting locally sourced foods and
using foods as medicine (whole grains, protein, omega-3
fatty acids, probiotics, botanicals).
This trend is just as significant in the petfood industry,
where companies are coming out with grain-free dog and
cat food and treats, products that boast no added sugars (or
dyes or artificial preservatives) and products rich in nutrition
additives like omega-3s.
NUTRITION FOR SENIORS IS a prominent extension of the
health and wellness trend, and one that has captured ground
in both the human and pet worlds. “If you look into the
human nutrition and health arena, you see certain trends
tied in with the latest ingredient/nutrient technology that’s
out there,” said Jeff Alix, global marketing manager for pet
nutrition at DSM. “You see a growing demographic of senior
citizens that are living longer and having a longer period of
time in that senior lifestage. The same thing is happening on
the animal side, with dogs and cats, because we’re seeing a
growing trend in the number of cats people are owning, and
also the number of smaller dogs.
“You do see that animals are living longer, and the
petfood industry realizes now that the pet geriatric lifestage
[is significant],” said Alix. “There’s a lot more emphasis in
nutritional support for this senior stage of life.”
There’s a lot of obvious crossover between the human
and pet side of things when it comes to aging. Bone degen-
eration, immune system functionality and cognitive function
and decline are just a few that both markets are focusing on.
“The aging [human] population today represents 17% [of the
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For more information on the Hartman Group’s 2013 Ideas in
Food report, see www.hartman-group.com/downloads/ideas-
in-food-2013.pdf.
For more information on the 2012 National Pet Obesity
Survey, see www.petobesityprevention.com/2012-national-
pet-obesity-survey-results/.

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total population], and within the next
20 to 30 years it’s expected to be very
close to 20%,” said Roger Clemens,
DrPH, CFS, chief scientific
officer for Horn.
“And that poses its own challenges.
What are the nutrition requirements,
and what should be considered in that
population?” Heart health, gut health,
skin
integrity/
health—
”Those
are
important
in human
health, and are equally germane to
questions in the health of peoples’
animals today,” he said. “So there’s
some cross-fertilization.”
WEIGHT MANAGEMENT IS
yet another trend prominent in
human food that has made its way
into the pet market. According to the
2012 National Pet Obesity Aware-
ness Day Survey, conducted by the
Petfood products database
Looking for products that stay on top of the trends?
Check out our directory of manufacturer and consumer
products at www.petfoodindustry.com/products.aspx
and www.petfoodindustry.com/petfoodandtreats.aspx.

4. 22 www.petfoodindustry.com
November 2013 IndustryPetfoodPetfood
Association for Pet Obesity Preven-
tion, 36.7 million US dogs (52.5%) and
43.2 million cats (58.3%) are over-
weight or obese. With these numbers
comes a rise in type 2 diabetes cases
in animals.
According to petfood industry
experts, the humanization of pets
plays a significant role in this issue.
“Typically, overweight people have
overweight pets,” said Clemens. “We
need to help educate people so they
can stay clear of that.”
AS THE FLUIDITY of human food
trends and petfood trends increases,
it brings up unique concerns for the
petfood industry to deal with. The
bottom line is that pets are different
from humans, said Clemens. Their
nutritional needs are different, and
some human trends such as gluten-
free and grain-free can be dangerous
when cross-applied. “People will
put more energy into the quality of
petfood than the quality of food that
they feed themselves,” said Clemens.
“It’s a big opportunity for us to under-
stand the differences and the similari-
ties so that we can have the quality of
life for humans as well as the quality
of life for pets.”
That gaining of knowledge,
however, may be the easier part
of the equation. “It’s really easy to
transfer the knowledge over to the
animal side,” said Alix. “The biggest
hurdle is regulatory affairs. Science
is advancing at a phenomenal rate;
our regulatory body is not. Their
knowledge base is very old, and their
measuring stick is very short. The
cost to bring new ingredients into
the petfood arena based on solid
nutritional science becomes difficult,
because the science is much more
sophisticated than what the regula-
tory body can articulate at this point
in time.”
Once again, just as in the human
food industry, education may be the
key. “There’s less and less choices of
what to put in petfood, and trends
are based on perception, not on the
science,” said Lisa Alley-Zarkades,
vice president of Horn Animal Well-
ness. “We want to be able to address
that at the consumer level.” ■
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