There are seemingly unlimited ice cream and frozen dessert options available for us but what about our pets, specifically dogs? Wouldn’t they appreciate a frozen treat from time to time as well, especially in the warmer months?
As dogs cannot consume most of the regular ice creams and frozen desserts that we would usually have in our freezers at home, brands have been coming up with new and innovative formulations to allow our furry friends to be able to join in on the happiness that is frozen treats!
Pets are unable to adequately digest cow milk and therefore ice cream treats for humans are often out of the question. This, however, offers brands a very large (and growing) gap in the market to fulfil a consumer need, especially since making your dog its own ice cream can be time consuming and leave you unsure of whether the ingredients you are using are safe for your pet to consume or not.
According to Market Watch, the global pet food industry is predicted to reach $115 billion USD in 2024 and register 5.25% CAGR by the end of the same year. This demonstrates a huge opportunity for brand owners of pet products to expand and reach new audiences through innovations like frozen desserts made specifically for our pets.
The term ‘pet parents’ is also becoming more of a common turn of phrase as the Millennial and Gen Z generations are opting for more pets (instead of having children?). As this market grows and as these pet parents want to take better care of their animals, they will begin to look for more innovative and unique products to purchase for them. Typically, they also have higher disposable incomes and are willing to spend that little bit more on higher quality items. This is where pet ice cream could fit in very nicely.
Pet ice cream is currently still quite a niche product in the global market but this is likely not to remain as such for much longer as more and more ice cream for pets products are already appearing on shelves in retail giants. A few examples:
NESTLÉ's FROSTY PAWS
By far the market leader in North America, FROSTY PAWS ice cream by PURINA (Nestlé Group) has been sold in the USA for more than 35 years, with sales now reaching over US$20 millions.
This item sells for US$3.33 on Walmart online in the USA for a pack of 4 frozen dog treat cups (96 ml per cup) with each cup containing 130 calories.
Available in 2 flavours: original (a blend of flavours) and peanut butter.
ALDI's FROZEN DOG TREAT
Aldi also has an ice cream style treat for dogs in their HEART TO TAIL brand range which launched in Summer 2019.
Similar to the above, they are sold in a pack of 4 cups (103 ml per cup) and come in two flavours: Original and Cheese & Bacon.
This seasonal item (only available during the hot months) is sold at a price of US$ 2.99 (€ 2.60) across all the USA.
LOOKING for a RECIPE and a CO-MANUFACTURER?
One of INNODELICE’s ecosystem partners has also developped recently a product in this category which focuses on dairy-free, all-natural, frozen dessert treats for dogs.
This product allows pet parents to offer their dogs a healthy, dairy-free treat made without sugar, preservatives, colourings, artificial ingredients or flavourings. Each flavour is sold separately in packs of 300ml (4 cups of 75ml) or alternatively in a bigger 400ml format (4 cups of 100ml).
Dogs can currently enjoy their treat in two flavours:
Vanilla & Honey
Coconut & Honey
And since we believe this market is on the rise, we have added a filter in our CO-MAN and BRANDS platform so that you can directly select "PET FOOD" under our RECIPE dropdown menu. Have a try here!
To learn more about how you can add pet ice cream to your portfolio, be sure to connect with us here.
ABOUT INNODELICE
Founded by former executives in the Ice Cream industry, INNODELICE aims to create a worldwide ecosystem of solutions within the frozen dessert industry. Thanks to the relationships fostered by INNODELICE, manufacturers, brands, importers, distributors and suppliers can discover, buy and sell solutions to GROW their business. These solutions include co-manufactured and branded products as well as innovative and competitive ingredients, packaging and services. Our collaboration model generates lower costs and fewer risks for our participating partners while optimising their time to market. To learn more about INNODELICE, contact Nicolas MARIE (nicolas.marie@innodelice.com), Andrea MONTREUIL (andrea.montreuil@innodelice.com) or visit www.innodelice.com.
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