THANK YOU PET PRODUCT NEWS for featuring Natura Petz Organics STARTER PACKS IN Q4 FOCUS: SUPPLEMENTS

Q4 FOCUS: Supplements

With consumers focusing on their pets’ health and longevity, the supplements category is growing.

The pet supplement market continues to grow and benefit from peoples’ commitment to wholesome lives for themselves and their pets. Consumers also better understand how supplements can help keep them and their pets healthier.

“With this trend, we are seeing a strong desire for supplements that are helpful for specific issues, but also combine convenience,” said Heidi Nevala, founder and president of Natura Petz in Minneapolis.

At Pioneer Pet Feed & Supply in Seattle, owner David Bovard said he sees and hears more talk about plant-based, bioavailable raw nutrition, including in supplements. He’s also noticing more companies taking human supplement products and highlighting on the packaging that they also are for animals.

Pet Naturals of Vermont redesigned its packaging this year by adding images of real dogs and cats, said Sara J. Phillips, strategic brand manager for FoodScience Corp., maker of the Pet Naturals of Vermont brand, in Essex Junction, Vt.

While everyone agrees that health is an important topic year-round, insiders report that the extra traveling and dietary changes that often occur during the holiday season mean an uptick in the need for calming, skin care, and probiotic and other digestive formulations during the fourth quarter.

“We recently launched our Starter Pack collection … designed to help address the common issues pets face (Anxiety, Cleanse & Detox, Digestion, Immunity, Skin & Coat, Stone Breaker, Urinary Tract Infections, Wounds & Hot Spots) while also helping to build up their body system’s overall health,” Nevala said.

The company also just released Travel Well as part of its Millennial’s Collection to help calm busy pets and owners who are on the go, Nevala added.

Another calming option comes from Pet Naturals of Vermont, which upgraded its Calming products for dogs and cats to feature higher milligram levels.

Bovard said he stocks extra calming collars, treats and chews during the fourth quarter because he goes through them so quickly.

“Anything that says ‘calming’ resonates with customers, so I specifically stock them during that time of year,” he said.

For retailers savvy enough to take advantage of customer enthusiasm for new beginnings with the new year, starter and multipacks can provide a way to get pet owners turned on to supplements.

In July, In Clover launched its Feline 4 Pack and Canine Combo Pack of “three to four supplements power-packed with therapeutic levels of active ingredients,” said Courtney Taylor, director of customer care and marketing for the Boulder, Colo., manufacturer.

Healthy Dogma now offers a 6-ounce size of its K9 Mobility powdered supplement for joint health.

“Customers might be hesitant to try a more expensive 8-ounce, so the 6-ounce gets them seeing how the product works,” said Tom Peters, president and CEO of the Lake Orion, Mich.-based manufacturer.

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