Small Pets, Big Appetites | Current Issue | petbusiness.com – Pet Business Magazine

They may be small, but their nutritional needs are large. Pets such as guinea pigs, rabbits, ferrets, rats, and hamsters need vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients, and their owners are looking for healthful foods and snacks. Manufacturers say retailers can tap into these pet owners’ love for their little friends and boost sales in the section by paying attention to the latest trends. 
“There are two trends that we see in small animal nutrition,” says Sydney Romsos, marketing specialist for Kaytee Small Animal. “First, small pet parents are seeking new and nutritious snacks that encourage healthy behaviors and make it easy to bond with their pets.” 
Pet parents of small animals look for healthy food that contains natural ingredients and no added sugar, fillers, or artificial preservatives. They also want food that is made for a particular species. “Every small animal is different and needs varying levels of protein, fat, and fiber to help them live their best life,” Romsos says. 
Snacks help humans bond with their pets, and can satisfy a pet’s natural desire to chew. Like their daily food, small pets’ snacks need to be healthy, so Kaytee launched Natural Snacks with Superfoods, which can be served as a treat or as a topper over pellets or hay. Also new is Kaytee Baked Wellness Snacks with Vitamin C to support small pets’ wellness. 
The second trend is that people are trying to save time and money. To help consumers cut down on the number of shopping trips, this year Kaytee launched a bulk 9.5-lb. value size of Timothy Complete Guinea Pig Food. The value size is also good for pet parents with multiple guinea pigs, which Romsos says are social animals and are often kept in pairs.
Retailers should keep their assortments fresh, new, and focused on species. 
“People care about their pets as much as their family members and treat them as such,” Romsos says.  “They seek the same natural, high-quality food they feed their family.”
Last year the brand, which is owned by Central Garden & Pet, launched Field+Forest by Kaytee, which contains vitamins and minerals and is made without artificial preservatives, fillers, or unwanted sweeteners. The pellets feature species-specific ingredients. For example, the rabbit, guinea pig, and chinchilla diets have high-fiber timothy hay as the No. 1 ingredient, while hamster, gerbil, and rat diets are made with a variety of plant proteins and hearty grains and no timothy hay. The all-in-one pellets also feature species-unique shapes to support dental health and prevent selective eating, which can occur when small animals favor some foods over others, especially with medley diets.  
 
Another way to eliminate the potential for selective eating is to make all the pieces flavorful. Supreme Petfoods uses extrusions instead of pellets in all its diets, including mixes and single component diets.
“Extruded nuggets are generally tastier than cold-pressed pellets,” says Claire Hamblion, marketing director for Supreme Petfoods. “Selective feeding tends to be less of a problem in mixes made with extrusions, which is something owners are increasingly aware of.” 
The extruded pellets are cooked under pressure, which gives them a crunchy texture and good digestibility, and makes them highly palatable without any added sugar. 
Other trends, Hamblion says, include the preference for natural products containing wild or foraged ingredients, as well as the increasing trend for grain-free diets. 
“We are seeing strong sales of Selective Naturals Grain Free Rabbit and Guinea Pig Foods as customers increasingly seek out these products,” Hamblion says. 
Supreme Petfoods added Russel Rabbit Tasty Nuggets and Gerty Guinea Pig Tasty Nuggets to the company’s Tiny Friends Farm range of species-specific small pet diets. Hamblion says the Tiny Friends Farm diets provide great value, wholesome nutrition, and eye-catching packaging featuring fun, friendly characters. 
 
These product benefits are especially attractive to millennials and Generation Z, who represent a growing proportion of small pet owners. 
“These customers are often highly engaged, highly knowledgeable and willing to spend more on their pets,” Hamblion says. “They no longer view small animals as ‘starter pets,’ considering them as family members and companions.” 
These shoppers buy premium quality brands at higher price points, and look for natural ingredients and science-based nutrition. The loyalty of these customers is crucial for retailers and manufacturers, Hamblion says, and one way to maintain that loyalty is to offer foods that are not available in supermarkets. Pet specialty retailers should offer life stage diets, especially junior diets. The stores can recommend a junior diet from a range not available in supermarkets, and retain customers as the pet progresses to an adult diet. For example, Hamblion says, Supreme’s Science Selective has particularly strong brand loyalty, with 80 percent of junior food shoppers remaining brand loyal when switching to adult food.
“Junior food products may only be fed for a relatively short time, but they represent a significant point of market entry, laying the foundations for optimum nutrition for life as well as customer loyalty and repeat store visits,” Hamblion says. 
Made in the USA is another key trend in many categories, including small animal nutrition. 
“Pet owners are definitely seeking made in the USA foods,” says Holly Sher, owner and president of Evanger’s Dog and Cat Food Company, which also makes ferret food. “Made in the USA continues to grow exponentially, and it continues to be sought out for an assurance in sourcing, high quality ingredients and best in class manufacturing.”
The trend is consumer driven. 
“Our ferret parents were reaching out to us about more information on our grain free game meats,” Sher says. “We took a look at the research done on ferret nutrition and realized not only is there little research done, but the foods that were available based on the nutritional requirements of a ferret’s system were quite poor.”
The company offers Evanger’s Ferret Food with Maximum Meat, which offers complete and balanced ferret nutrition with a fresh, single source protein. The food contains high-quality ingredients and essential vitamins and minerals, and is naturally grain-, gluten-, filler,- preservative- and carbohydrate- free.
 
In addition to offering the right assortment of small animal nutrition products, retailers can benefit by becoming good sources of education for customers seeking information about small animal diets. 
“For example grains, fillers, or added carbs can shorten a ferret’s lifespan,” Sher says. “For this reason, Evanger’s contains none of those things in its natural, maximum meat, complete and balanced ferret diets.”
Education is key, says John Gerstenberger, vice president of product development for Ware Pet Products. Educational resources are available through industry trade associations such as PIJAC and APPA. 
“Also, the staff of the retail store should be encouraged to keep a pet of their own as this is the best way to learn about the unique needs of each pet species and be able to best recommend solutions,” he says. 
Ware Pet Products is a supplier of cages and other small animal hard goods, and also chews. The company updated and expanded its Health-E Small Animal Chew Collection. New styles include Health-E Berry strawberry shaped chews made from carrot and topped with timothy hay; Health-E Nutz mix of vegetables and grasses such as timothy hay, squash, carrot, and sweet potato for color; Paisley chews with the same ingredients of Health-E Nutz but rolled and cut into a unique shape; Fun Kone & Kup timothy hay stuffed in a thin strip of pine wood; Health-E Blossom apple stick with timothy hay to make the stalk and topped with a veggie floweret; and a Variety 4-pack containing a timothy hay, apple, timothy/carrot, and carrot treat.
“We are seeing natural/healthy chew items growing in popularity,” Gerstenberger says. “Chews are a great upsell opportunity for retailers to offer an enjoyable and healthier variety for their small animal pet customers and repeat purchases too.”  PB
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