The pet food industry is currently undergoing significant shifts in its landscape. Mergers and acquisitions, as well as start-ups consolidating with more established companies, are changing the industry’s manufacturing layout. On the consumer side, the make-up of pet numbers and types (seeing a shift to smaller pets) means the industry’s product market must adapt to accommodate this new pet-owning picture. At the same time, consumers are more involved in their pets’ nutrition and demanding transparency about what’s in their pets’ food and how and where it’s made.
This panel, moderated by Greg Aldrich, PhD, president of Pet Food Ingredients & Technology and research associate professor/pet food program coordinator at Kansas State University, will delve into these issues and build a predictive picture of what the pet food industry will look like in the coming years. What is the future of the pet food industry? What changes will be necessary to accommodate the various shifts? How can we, as an industry, continue to balance consumer needs with our own? Panelists include Michael Dennis, VP of marketing and sales for Interflex Group; Cathy Enright, PhD, president and CEO of the Pet Food Institute; John Kuenzi, president and CEO of Rubicon Scientific; and David Sprinkle, research director for Packaged Facts.