Pet health product sales soar during COVID-19.

“Animals are such agreeable friends—they ask no questions; they pass no criticisms.” This quote, made famous by George Eliot, a Victorian novelist, aptly describes the relationship many Americans have with their pets. Be it a hamster, rabbit, cat, dog or any other four-legged friend, Americans love their companion animals. According to the American Pet Products Association (APPA), $95.7 billion was spent on pets in 2019. And that number is anticipated to be even higher in 2020. The APPA estimates that $99 billion will be spent on pets by the end of this year.

A sizeable portion of that money is being spent at retail establishments. While vet, product sales and other services garnered $39.6 billion, nearly the same amount, $36.9 billion, was spent on pet food and treats. Supplies, over-the-counter medicines and live animals contributed another $19.2 billion, according to statistics from the APPA.

As a significant amount of discretionary income is being spent on pets in this country, inquisitive retailers want to know: what new pet health products are up and coming and what products are currently selling best? Are there new trends in delivery innovations? What can retailers do to enhance their pet health inventory? And how has COVID-19 affected the pet health industry and consumer interest, and is that expected to change in the future?

Pet Health Products: What’s New and Better?

Regina Flight, category manager at NOW Pets with headquarters in Illinois, stated that the manufacturing company has three new products on the market. Each was formulated by Dr. Barbara Royal, DVM, CVA. “We get real-world feedback from pets and tweak the product until it has a high rate of accessibility,” Flight explained. “Just as with people, many pets have more than one health concern that could benefit from supplements.”

The three newest additions to the NOW Pets lineup are a kidney support product and a cardiovascular support product for both dogs and cats, and a flea and tick spray for dogs, Flight stated. While the NOW Pets Kidney Support Powder for Dogs and Cats features botanicals, antioxidants, arginine, and taurine, the NOW Pets Cardiovascular Powder for Dogs and Cats features a blend of carnitine, taurine, antioxidants and botanicals. Both are incorporated in a “tasty powder that easily mixes into pet foods,” Flight said. “Chicken bone broth, which is sourced from the USA and both growth hormone and steroid free, is added for flavor.”

Rachael Stewart, marketing manager for American BioSciences, Inc., based in New York, stated that the company is excited to release a pet version of its popular whole-hemp extract supplement, GreenPower very soon.

“We tend to stick with our tried and trusted brands that we’ve researched carefully and have been selling for years,” said co-owner of Noble Beast, Marsha Vallee. The pet supply retailer is located in Arizona. That said, the company has recently added new products. “We have expanded our line from Amber Naturalz, adding products for breathing, sinus and pain,” said Vallee. “And added some Turkey Tail from Super Snouts, Ultra Oil for skin and coat health and expanded our line from Animal Essentials to include products for colon health.”

Grant Rogers is the digital marketing manager for a CBD product for pets called Fetch, manufactured by Extract Labs. Based in Colorado, Rogers stated that though the company likes to keep things simple, it is always looking to improve its products and their effectiveness. Pet owners, said Rogers, are looking for “real-deal products.”

“Consumers think of their pets as their babies and since pets can’t tell us exactly how they are feeling, it can be hard to decide if a product is helping or not. The best thing the consumer can do is choose a clean, no B.S. product in hopes that it yields the results they are looking for.” Rogers noted, “Consumers want to give their pets products that are organic and not full of artificial ingredients.”

Improving and Enhancing Pet Health Products

As indicated in the statistics shared by APPA, pet health products continue to grow in popularity. Manufacturers are keeping pace with demand, offering newer and better ingredients as new research emerges. “The most significant issue with pet supplementation is that many products do not deliver therapeutic levels of active ingredients,” Chris Hillary, president of sales and marketing at Vital Planet explained. “This is most likely the result because most formulators of pet supplements create their products using two poorly correlated criteria,” Hillary stated. “One is the mistaken assumption that our pets need some fraction of the level of active ingredient that a larger human needs, and two, is cost.”

Florida-based Vital Planet uses the most effective and efficacious dose of ingredients possible, Hillary explained, so that pet owners and their pet family members get the results they are seeking. “A good example of this is our Flora Dog and Flora Cat probiotics. Most pet probiotics sold contain fewer than 100 million live probiotic colony forming units (CFUs), even though studies in pets have demonstrated effective dosage at 3 billion to 20 billion CFU per serving,” Hillary stated. “Our Flora Dog and Flora Cat are formulated with at least 20 billion CFU of probiotics per serving. Health food retailers have the opportunity to sell a more therapeutic pet probiotic than those found in either mass-market retailers or the local vet’s office.”

Constant improvement in their product offerings based on the latest science is important to many manufacturers, and Primo Pup Vet Health is no exception. “Recently we have done a lot of work with ingredients derived from whole foods—mushrooms, turmeric, green-lipped mussel, pumpkin seed, papaya, coconut, dandelion root, algae, etc.,” explained Casey Jones, president of Primo Pup Vet Health, in Arizona. “These more natural ingredients have proven to have the power of nutraceutical grade ingredients and have been a great success,” said Jones.

Additionally, utilizing superfoods—such as chlorella—is a win for pets just like it is for humans, said Jennifer Jimenez, vice-president and COO of Sun Chlorella, based in California. “Combining the king of superfoods, chlorella, along with the king of adaptogens, eleuthero, has made Rejuv-A-Wafers a breakthrough pet health supplement. It brings two of the most powerful ingredients in their respective categories to tackle the core of health, nutrition and stress,” said Jimenez. “When pets have these two health categories covered the result is more healthy living for pets. Rejuv-A-Wafers can help pet’s gut health, energy, coat and skin, promote fresher breath, improve body odor and much more.”

Trends in Pet Health Products

There is no doubt that supplements can have an extremely positive effect on a pet’s health. But what if pet owners struggle to get their four-legged friends to eat them? “A challenge in animal supplements is palatability—taste, texture and smell—we are constantly exploring new delivery methods for our active ingredients,” said Jones. “Our offerings include soft chews, chewable tablets, gels and liquids.” Having a variety of supplement forms is important because different animals have different preferences, Jones noted. “If the pet won’t readily take the supplement, they won’t receive the benefit.”

Flight stated that NOW Pets has traditionally offered—and continues to offer—supplements in tablet form. However, the company has branched out, offering its newest supplements in powder form. This mixes easily into a pet’s food and has a great taste, Flight pointed out. “This form simplifies getting the dose right, which is helpful given that a dog can be 5 pounds or 150 pounds,” Flight stated.

CBD is everywhere, noted Jimenez, and that includes pet products. While THC—the psychoactive component in marijuana, is toxic to dogs, Jimenez noted, other cannabinoids can be beneficial to dogs suffering from inflammation, anxiety, arthritis, and even certain seizure disorders. “Cannabinoids are still being researched and it’s important to chat with your vet if you’re considering CBD products for your pet,” Jimenez said.

Vallee too noted that CBD is something many pet owners are looking for when they visit Noble Beast. “We get a lot of people looking for CBD products, joint health, calming and immunity support,” said Vallee. “Also, products to hide pills or supplements in are always popular.”

Another popular trend is pet products which are made all or in part from organic ingredients, said Rogers. “Consumers are looking for natural products and the word ‘organic’ is perhaps the hottest buzzword when it comes to food and holistic health. Consumers are avoiding items that contain artificial ingredients and preservatives in favor of clean, simple ingredient lists. This new attitude is carrying over to products purchased with their furry friends in mind.”

Rogers continued, “As the average consumer continues to be more concerned with contents, the demand for natural health products is only going to continue to grow.” Jones agreed, stating that supplements, in general, are continuing to do very well in the marketplace. “We are seeing surging demand for both dog and cat supplement products across the board. Multivitamin, probiotic and salmon oil/omega-3 supplements are currently doing extremely well,” said Jones.

Merchandising Ideas for Retailers

As always, being creative with displays, promotional ideas, and educating consumers is an important step for retailers who are in need of merchandising ideas. NOW Pets created a video with the help of Royal, that retailers can use for employee training. “Pet parents are looking for effective, natural products, and also want to be sure anything they use is safe for their animal companions,” stated Flight. Sharing how products are made and what makes them safe and effective is a win-win for the manufacturer, the retailer, and ultimately, the customer. Information sheets and brochures are also available for NOW Pets products, said Flight.

Going beyond the normal pet aisle is one way to draw customers’ attention to pet health products, said Hillary. “We have seen it to be helpful if the retailer includes the pet supplements not only in the pet aisle but also incorporated into the human categories.” He noted that including hip and joint products for dogs among the human joint supplements, or probiotics for pets alongside human probiotics, results in better exposure and can help sales.

Jones agreed. Another tip that is effective? Placing pet health products in high-visibility areas, such as end caps, near the register, or in other high-traffic spots. This can be “really helpful in encouraging a customer to pick something up for their pet in addition to the supplement for themselves that they came to the store for,” said Jones. Primo Pup Vet Health offers in-person staff trainings—a “key” to retailer sales of pet-related products, said Jones—along with shelf literature, point of sale displays, and more. Literature, educational trainings and assistance with promotions are all offered to retailers by Sun Chlorella, noted Jimenez, and all of these options have veterinarian endorsement.

The education of consumers is key, reiterated Stewart. “Educated consumers that use our products with guidance, for the right purpose, appropriately and for the right periods of time are our best customers,” Stewart said. And, she noted, these customers get the best value for their investment. Exclusive discounts, training, promotional and educational materials are other ways in which American BioSciences support retailers. “As a small business, we are very nimble and will work with our retailers on a customized sales plan to help them promote our products and fit their individual needs.”

Noble Beast is a small pet retailer and as such, Vallee stated, it’s appreciated when manufacturers supply smaller displays to accommodate the square-footage of the store. “Some of our manufacturers offer frequent buyer programs—such as the Grizzly line—which our customers like a lot,” Vallee noted. “The best way to promote a product is when staff has personal experience using a product or if we have customers who tell us that their animal has benefitted from the product and can pass on that information to the potential customer,” Vallee said. “It is also good when a company has a good helpline where customers can get further information on the products and how to administer them properly.”

Pet Health Products: Recent Studies & Anecdotal Evidence

In an effort to create an alternative for prescription medicines for pets with joint health and/or mobility issues, Stewart said, American BioSciences has created DGP for pets and stated that the company has seen this work where other supplements haven’t. “It is not the usual joint supplement [made with] chondroitin or glucosamine. Instead, it is a blend of ingredients for joint function, nervous system function, immune function and gastrointestinal function, and older pets with mobility problems are noticeably happier and active after just one week of taking it regularly,” Stewart stated that it is one of the company’s most popular products to date.

“Trends in the human supplementation market tend to be the same in the pet market except there can be a significant lag from human to pets,” said Hillary. “For example, the human probiotic market grew exponentially in the decade from 2005 to 2015 while the pet probiotic market remained relatively nonexistent. Since 2015 the human probiotic market has leveled, while the demand for dog and cat probiotics has experienced double-digit growth every year and is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.”

Though CBD-related pet health products are on the rise, Fetch believes it’s important to reference studies, not just first-person (or pet, in this case) knowledge. “We are supplying CBD and funding to Colorado State University’s Veterinary School to study the effects of CBD on canine glioma cells,” said Rogers. “Currently, much of the information about how CBD may be able to help is anecdotal. We want to change that by putting actual studies from an accredited university out there.”

The Outlook of Pet Health Products

The outlook for pet health products in the future is very bright. “The pet health care products market, most notably supplements, is at the strongest point it has ever been,” said Jones. “As the ‘humanization of pets’ trend continues to bring dogs and cats ever closer as members of our families, concern for their wellbeing is ever-increasing.” As for the effect of COVID-19 on sales and the market in general for pet health products, Jones stated that something unexpected happened with the onslaught of the pandemic earlier this spring in the U.S. “As with many categories in the supplement space, we have seen significant increases in sales since the onset of COVID-19 in the early spring. Animal health care is important to pet owners and supplements are great insurance to ensure that companion animals are as healthy as they can be.”

Hillary noted an interesting correlation between pet and human health conditions. “Our pets experience the same health problems as their human family members—joint pain, digestive disorders, poor diet and nutrition due to overly processed foods, and heart and brain degeneration,” Hillary said. “It is no surprise then that the top four categories of dietary supplementation are the same for both humans and pets: multivitamins, probiotics, omega-3 oils and glucosamine for joint health.” Trends, new and innovative products, and ingredients, and a growing interest in natural health all point toward a continued upward swing in the retail market for pet health products. And that’s good news for manufacturers and retailers during these uncertain times. VR

For More Information:

American BioSciences, www.americanbiosciences.com
Extract Labs/Fetch, www.extractlabs.com/store/cbd-for-pets
Noble Beast, www.noblebeastpets.com
NOW Pets, www.nowfoods.com/pet-health
Primo Pup Vet Health, https://primopup.com/
Sun Chlorella, www.sunchlorellausa.com
Vital Planet, https://vitalplanet.com/

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