MARKET ▶▶▶
More pets boost Polish pet food market
The Covid-19 pandemic has speeded up the Polish market transition to ready-made pet food and promises to boost domestic sales in the years ahead to the benefit of emerging local producers, who are being encouraged to compete with the international giants.
BY VLADISLAV VOROTNIKOV, CORRESPONDENT T
here are already 14 million dogs and cats living in Poland under one roof with their owners. If there is no pet in a house yet, statistically speaking, you will definitely find one next door. Every second house-
hold keeps at least one, and most owners consider their pets to be family members. On the other hand, the Polish pet food market is relatively immature, and the popularity of ready- made pet food differs from that in Western Europe. In Poland, it is estimated that only a third of pets are fed ready-made food, compared to 90% in Germany or Belgium.
More pets during pandemic Despite the pandemic hampering GDP growth in Eastern Europe, the pet food market in this region continued to grow, reaching 2 million tonnes in physical terms and € 6.3 billion in monetary terms in 2020, accroding to research conducted by Euromonitor International. The Polish pet food market outper- formed the region’s average, showing a 6% increase in physical terms and a 4% increase in monetary terms in a year-to-year comparison, reaching 387,000 tonnes (worth € 914 million), said Aleksandras Bacevicius, an analyst with Euromonitor International. The Covid-19 pandemic brought about several important trends. First, the number of pets increased by 1.8% compared to the previous year, rising to 20.4 million. “Social distancing measures and self-isolation at home have driven people to compensate for the loss of social interaction with animal companions. This was especially the case among elderly social groups,” Bacevicius said. In addition, spending more time indoors, Poles had the opportunity to reconsider their pets’ diets. Euromonitor International estimated that a third of all dogs and just over 40% of all cats in Poland are fed with ready- made pet food. Both figures are on the rise, which is in line with what is seen in other Eastern European countries.
24 ▶ ALL ABOUT FEED | Volume 29, No. 9, 2021
Premiumisation of pet food The Polish pet food market also experienced a trend com- monly described as premiumisation, with a rising number of customers switching to purchasing better and more expen- sive pet food. However, this trend is yet to be reflected in the sales statistics. Premiumisation also created an individually tailored pet food segment. PsiBufet, founded in 2016, was a trailblazer in this niche. The company sends pet food all over Poland in cycles from two to four weeks, under a subscription model. The pet food composition is selected by a specially designed algorithm using information about the pet’s weight, activity, allergies, and several other health parameters. This aligns with the changing pet food market in Poland. Until recently, the industry was dominated by the FMCG industry giants: Mars with Pedigree, Royal Canin, and Whiskas are the most popular brands, just like Nestle with Purina and Felix, as well as Butcher’s Pet Care. “Currently the international compa- nies’ share is declining to the benefit of smaller companies, usually local, selling mainly through traditional channels, but also developing e-commerce. They offer products under their own brands, successfully competing with the well-known global companies,” said Michał Kierul, an analyst of the Polish consulting agency Navigator Capital. Most local pet food pro- ducers in Poland are relatively small companies. It is estimat- ed that the revenues of each of the largest local suppliers, such as Pupil Foods, DNP – the owner of the Dolina Noteci Premium brand, Maced, or Mispol with Tropi, Barney, and Miao brands do not exceed or only slightly exceed sales worth PLN 100 million (€ 21 million) per year.
Consolidation expected Polish pet food companies are also predicted to form an alliance and merge in the coming years in order to become even more competitive in the domestic market. “The rapid growth of the market and the large fragmentation of Polish companies support the trend towards greater consolidation. In the next few years, we can expect increased merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the Polish animal food sector,” Kierul said. All players now have to adapt to changing market conditions. For example, Poland experiences strong growth in single-serve pet food products, like wet food in one-por- tion packages. Like in many other segments, the Covid-19 pandemic caused a boom in online pet food sales in Poland.
PHOTO: PIXABAY
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36
