If you don’t look after a pet, you likely know someone who does. With many of us spending the majority of our time staying at home due to the pandemic, pet ownership has skyrocketed, with more and more households adding these lovely new members. Indicatively, between 2015 and 2020, 40-45% of UK households owned a pet. In 2021/22, this figure has gone up to 59%. In the USA, this is 70%. Consequently, the pet care industry is also booming, with 2021 pet food sales reaching $110bn globally, more than double compared to 10 years prior, when it was a ‘mere’ $51bn. But the number of pet owners is not the only aspect changing in the category. The way we take care of them has also been transforming. With millennials taking over as the biggest pet ownership demographic since 2017, we’ve seen changes in both nutrition and lifestyle spending habits.
So What?
In order to help our clients & partners access unprompted consumer data on the pet nutrition and pet lifestyle categories, and what will drive them in 2022 and beyond, we are now monitoring pet conversation data. It can all be found within Trendscope, our AI-powered self-serve predictive analytics tool that helps identify trends, maturity of topics and category drivers – current and future! What’s in there though? A lot:
Discovering What’s Next
With so many pet owners at Black Swan Data, we couldn’t go without having a look at the data ourselves and pulled out some very interesting insights. Here are some of them. Pet Food Follows Human Food With the number one priority for owners being their pet’s wellbeing, it’s no wonder that more attention is being directed towards what they feed them. One area that’s gaining momentum is thorough research and vet consultation around pet diets, with many parallels to what we as humans consume. Long gone are the days of buying the most affordable dried food– pet parents are now looking for the best. This is why we see a shift towards adding nutritional supplements beyond pets’ standard daily diet, in order to boost vitamin and mineral intake. In many cases, longevity and future growth is the focus, leading to consumers investing in foods that include probiotics, collagen, or even follow specific diets, like low-carb. As the humanisation trend continues, could we soon be seeing more ‘niche’ food products on the shelves?
The Evolution of Grooming
The shift towards advanced products does not stop at what pets are being fed. Grooming is gaining ground in owners’ routines, as they are looking to balance the need to treat and prevent conditions. Natural, hypoallergic and at-home remedies for parasite control are becoming increasingly popular, while at the same time, consumers are looking for sustainable, natural products. Herbal natural oils to remove ticks, anyone?
A Member of the Family
An interesting finding that combines both nutrition and lifestyle, is the approach Millennials take when it comes to having their pets join their adventures. They are not left with professionals or friends to be taken care of anymore. Instead, they join in! This leads to the need for a supplement-rich diet or increased protein and fibre intake for them to be able to keep up with their owners on that long hike. And then comes resting. What’s better than a sleeping bag specifically designed for our furry friends, or portable beds that can be set up anywhere?
The Data have spoken
It is abundantly clear that pet care is evolving on all aspects, including that of consumers looking for sustainable, responsible production practices. With the addition of millions of consumer pet conversations on Trendscope, you can have access to data that will give you a 360° view of everything that is important in Pet Nutrition & Pet Lifestyle and help develop products that respond to these upcoming needs.
Black Swan’s Pets
Since we don’t produce food or products for pets, we decided to celebrate this launch with an internal competition for the best dressed pet! Participations came in from our colleagues from all over and it was a real challenge for the committee (very official, right?) to decide! The winners received prizes for both them and their little friend. Want something to make your day a little brighter? Here are some of the entries we had!
Get in Touch
Interested in learning more? Drop us an email at
hello@blackswan.com to chat with one of us about Trendscope’s capabilities, these brand new datasets and what they can offer you!
