Sales of seasonal gourmet petfood on the rise

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Dogs alone account for £1.1bn in food sales and cats make up £769m, while the doggy treat market – the only animal treat category recorded by the PFMA – is worth £203m annually.

Manufacturers broadly agree that behind this tendency to treat our pets lies a general anthropomorphism, whereby pet owners who believe in the virtues of a mixed diet for people project these needs on to their pets.

However, research suggests that animals do not need or benefit from a diet as varied as those enjoyed by humans.

The PFMA estimates that one in three pets in the UK – about 7m animals in total – are overweight, although this is proportionately less than the 60 per cent of humans in the UK who are classed as overweight or obese.


The best plan can turn out to be a dog’s dinner

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four multinational heavyweights control 90 per cent of the petfood trade: Proctor & Gamble, Mars, Colgate-Palmolive and Nestlé.