PET Food Processing - June 2019 - 62

PACKAGING

"Making the shopping experience
convenient, both at shelf and at checkout,
is a key reason for multipack growth."
Mindy Barry, Mars Petcare

Single-serve options
available in a case
format provide cats with
just the right amount of
wet food for each meal,
a convenience many
consumers prefer.
Mars Petcare

development for St. Louis, Missouri-based Nestlé Purina
North America. "The pack is no good if it offers a flavor
your pet won't eat, so offering an assortment of flavors and
forms can meet the needs of the variety pack buyer. And
retailers should definitely consider 24-count, 32-count
and even 40-count variety packs as everyday items. These
offer a huge convenience to wet cat food buyers."
According to Liss, Merrick is answering the demand
for cat food variety with items like a new wet food
variety pack for cats under its Backcountry brand. In
addition, the company offers a popular Purrfect Bistro
Pâté multipack for cats, including seven of the brand's
most popular flavors, she adds.
Other cat food brands have also expanded their variety pack lineups. The Friskies brand from Nestlé Global
offers variety packs of Savory Shreds in different flavors
and a multipack of its newer Lil' Soups line.
It isn't just variety for the sake of variety for cats. "In
addition to offering variety, Mars Petcare offers package innovations based on consumer needs," Barry says,
noting that such insight led to the launch of SHEBA

PET FOOD PROCESSING | June 2019 | www.petfoodprocessing.net

Perfect Portions, a single-serve option available in a case
format that provides cats with just the right amount of
wet food for each meal.
Packaging suppliers agree that this area has been
active. "Growth is mainly centered on cat products. For
pet food, the fastest growing multipacks are multipacks
of retort pouches and multipacks of single serve cans,"
reports Rebecca Casey, vice president of marketing and
consumer market development for TC Transcontinental
Packaging in Chicago.
For dogs, variety packs are available mostly for
canned products in trays with overwrap, typically
printed with high-impact colors and graphics. The
Pedigree brand from Mars Petcare is one example, with
multipacks of wet dog foods in various flavor combinations, including one with chicken, beef and beef/
chicken/liver. The Purina ALPO brand is also sold combo style, with 12-can variety packs of wet dog food, like
its "Gravy Cravers" option with beef and chicken.
There are variety packs for smaller dog breeds, too.
The Cesar Home Delights line from Mars Petcare consists of trays of turkey and pot roast dog food packaged
in a case of a dozen 3.5-oz. containers. Cesar also offers a
"Steak Lovers" multipack of gourmet wet dog food, with
36 trays of flavors like Classics Filet Mignon, Classics
Porterhouse Steak and Sunrise Grilled Steak and Eggs,
among others.
"The growth in multipacks is not just about the shopper ease. Mirroring trends in human food, we are seeing
growth in the premium dog food category as more consumers are looking for something a little more special
for their pet," Barry explains.
Toscano points out that while dogs don't crave variety as much as cats do, there is opportunity for pet food
makers and retailers to get more traction in this arena.
"We still see six-count, 12-count and 24-count variety
packs offered regularly. All meet different consumer
needs," he says.
Treats are another area where variety is the spice of
life for dogs. Barkworthies of Richmond, Virginia, has
added a new variety pack of treats containing different
types and chew durations.
Beyond flavor differences, variety packs are a way
to spotlight different types or themes of pet food. "It
isn't just combinations of items like four shredded and

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