Pet food is animal or plant material that is used for consumption by pets. These products are sold through a variety of distribution channels. However, these products are primarily made available in supermarkets and pet stores. The global pet food market offers specific food, which can be categorized as dog food, bird food, fish food, and cat food among others. A major proportion of the meat that is made available as pet food is not of human grade. These materials are generally byproducts of the human food processing industry.

Increasing purchasing power, rapid urbanization, and changing lifestyle are some major factors fueling the demand for pet food in the Asia Pacific region. Apart from this, increasing preference of the population for a nuclear family has also fueled the adoption of pets in Asia Pacific. Moreover, rising awareness about pet health has further augmented the demand. Due to both these factors, the demand for nutritious pet food as compared to ordinary pet food has increased considerably in the last few years. In addition, a number of regulatory issues, rising cases of pet allergies in humans, and growing obesity among pets are some of the major factors boosting the demand for pet food in Asia Pacific.

Dog Food Segment Remains Dominant

The Asia Pacific pet food market in terms of pet type is segmented into dog food, cat food, and others. The others segment includes bird food and fish food. The dog food segment holds the most prominent chunk of the market share and is expected to swell to 61.1% by 2020. The dog food segment was nearing a valuation of US$6.0 bn by the end of 2015.

Currently, there are several kinds of dog feed available in the market, which include dry, wet or canned, nutritious, and treats. Increasing awareness about pet health is one of the major factors fueling the demand for dog food in the Asia Pacific. Moreover, changing lifestyle and rapid urbanization is also expected to boost the demand during the forecast period. Additionally, the percentage of dogs as pets has increased considerably in the region in recent past. In India, the dog population had increased to about 58.1% by 2013 and similar trend has been observed in markets of Australia, China, and South Korea.

India Emerging as Most Lucrative Market

Japan is one the major markets for pet food in Asia Pacific, and is expected remain the dominant market during the forecast period, reaching a market share of 36.5% by the end of 2020. This dominance in demand from Japan is attributed to apartment-culture, which is the most common type of domicile in Japan. Because of this, Japanese consumers tend to prefer smaller pets. Australia is second most prominent market for pet food in Asia Pacific, which is due to considerable increase in pet ownership in the country in recent years. A large number of households are switching to pets for security and recreational purposes. However, the demand for pet food is also expected to increase at a fastest rate in the countries of India and China.

The pet food market in Asia Pacific is dominated by a few major brands that operate globally, such as Mars Inc., Nestle S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Co., Procter & Gamble Co., Del Monte Foods Co., Agrolimen S.A., and Unicharm Corporation. However, stiff country-wide competition is prevalent from smaller players. For example, Purina Friskies in Japan, Whiskas in Australia, Pedigree in India, and Royal Canin in South Korea.