Investment in sustainable packaging is no longer a nice-to-have, but a must-have for businesses to survive in the pet industry, according to research experts Euromonitor International.

Nozomi Hariya, senior analyst of food and nutrition at Euromonitor International, said: “Sustainability is becoming increasingly important in packaging. However, one major issue identified in pet care is the rapid growth of packaging waste that is created by the industry. Pet food is by far the fastest growing FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) industry in terms of packaging unit sales; a trend that is being driven by overall industry growth and a shift to smaller pack sizes.

“Despite these current trends, more sustainable pet care packaging does have substantial growth potential, with nearly half of global pet owners also reporting that they used more sustainable packaging alternatives in 2021 and were more likely to do so than non-owners in this regard.

“Consumer pressure from within pet care, but also from the wider packaged consumer goods landscape, is strong enough to warrant increased focus from brand owners on innovation in this area. With plastic packaging being a major focus of green advocates, an increasing number of companies are now trying to replace this with alternative materials, including Edgard & Cooper, which launched new 100% paper-based packaging in 2021. 

“The use of more sustainable plastic is another solution to reduce the amount of unnecessary plastic waste, such as Nature's Logic claiming to be the first company in the pet care industry to offer Certified Plastic Neutral packaging in 2020, and the global leading player Mars implementing packaging made from food-safe recycled plastic in 2022.”

Nozomi Hariya continued: “Along with the increased demand from consumers for sustainable packaging, governments are increasingly setting concrete strategies and measurable targets to reduce plastic waste, such as Japan obliging businesses to reduce the use of 12 types of disposable plastic items from April 2022. 

“As such, investment in sustainable packaging is no longer a nice-to-have, but a must-have for businesses to survive in the industry. In order to address the extraordinary challenges the industry is facing, collaboration and partnership is crucial, as is bringing value to society and the planet.

For further analysis on sustainability, read Euromonitor’s article called Sustainable Ingredients in Pet Care. Click here to view.