 Pet parents are paying more attention than ever to every facet of their pet’s food, including what it comes in
Today’s pet owner is paying close attention to where the ingredients in their dog or cat’s food come from, and product packaging is the most direct way to answer their questions. In addition, much like with their own food, pet owners want to know that every facet of the food they buy for their pets is safe, including the packaging.
One easy way for pet food manufacturers to project accountability is in how the food is presented on pet store shelves.
“We’re definitely seeing more transparent panels,” said Robert Hepburn, vice president of sales for Pacific Bag. “Treats have had windows in them for a long time, but we’re starting to see the folks with kibble want to do windows, as well. [The consumer] actually knows what’s in the bag, because [they] can actually see what it is.”
Safety certifications for pet food packaging
Various food safety certifications can get the job done on the packaging side, assuring manufacturers that their product is going into a container that matches their own strict safety practices. Among these are the SQF (Safe Quality Food) certifications.
“[One of the things] that we bring to the market is our food level safety,” said Bruce Jensen, vice president of sales and marketing for TC Transcontinental Packaging. TC Transcontinental recently expanded its packaging business into the pet food space. “Our plants are SQF Level 2 or 3 certified, which a lot of our competitors are not. It’s the push into fresh, which requires a whole different process and investment. And that helped us bring in a different story to some of our customers: They say, wow, these guys really have their act together, and really understand what it is to be food safe.”
Safety just one piece of a larger packaging puzzle
Safety, traceability and accountability are important to pet food customers, but those concepts alone won’t get pet food off the store shelves. They’re just one part of a larger packaging puzzle that the industry must stay on top of in order to remain successful in a quickly shifting, consumer-driven market.
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