CLEAN EATING PETS | PET GAZETTE | 29
CLEAN EATING PETS
With the focus clearly now shifted to wholesome, simple and high quality
ingredients in the pet food market, SHEKINA TUAHENE explores the popularity
and reasoning behind the ‘clean eating’ trend
C
lean eating or eating clean
refers to a diet where one
consumes foods in its whole
and natural state, avoiding
refined sugars and processed
foods in a bid to become healthier overall.
Some versions of the diet encourage the
omission of dairy, gluten and grains or even
promote the consumption of raw foods. Part of
the influence behind the diet is to eat like our
ancestors would before fast and modern life
took over and it is followed by many celebrities
and health enthusiasts. As with many current
pet trends and due to the fact pets are more
highly esteemed in the opinions of their owners,
it is no surprise that the desire to have a clean
diet is one that pet parents want for their
companions.
Responding to that demand from consumers,
Mars Petcare announced it had launched a
new ‘clean eating’ pet food brand Nutro with
a “clean feed” philosophy in September. The
idea of giving pets a clean diet is not new, but
branding a pet food range as such is not so
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commonly seen as the term is usually reserved
for people and the foods they eat and the diets
they follow.
WHAT IS CLEAN PET FOOD?
In basic terms, clean pet food can be described
as food which is simple, with no additives or
unnecessary ingredients. Romain Dumas,
European natural GM of Mars Petcare says the
company conducted research into the clean
eating trend and found that not only was it
growing but 52 percent of consumers believed
food with fewer ingredients was healthier. He
adds: “If I look at our data, clean eating will
drive two thirds of the UK pet care sector by
2020 - by 2020 the value of natural brands
could increase by £300m.”
He points out that within the cat and dog
food sectors in particular, there has been
“dynamic growth within specialist products”
especially those which promise to provide
health and lifestyle benefits. He says: “We see
that they are ready to pay for a premium for
quality for both themselves and their pets.
That’s why we see such a trend and why we
have decided to promote it in this way and to
launch in that area.”
As what for ‘clean eating’ means to a pet
owner when choosing a pet food, Dumas
says it is about “being simple, purposeful and
trustworthy”, which is the ethos the Nutro range
tries to embody. This is echoed by numerous
pet food brands as Chris Lock, managing
director of Lily’s Kitchen says an “ingredients
list [should be] recognisable and the benefits
clear”, while Freshpet’s director of marketing
and head of e-commerce Jake Trainor believes
it represents food “at its most natural state”.
WHICH CAME FIRST, THE
HUMAN OR THE DOG?
When it comes to clean eating, it is at times
difficult to know where the human influence
begins and the pet one ends. Unlike the trend of
humanisation which was explored in August’s
issue of Pet Gazette and assumes that the
human lifestyle is imposed on pets and reflected
in what consumers want for their companions,
December 2018