Vinassa, M., Vergnano, D., Valle, E., Giribaldi, M., Nery, J., Prola, L., ... & Schiavone, A. (2020). Profiling Italian cat and dog owners’ perceptions of pet food quality traits. BMC veterinary research, 16, 1-10.
Important: While based on the work performed by the above researchers, this article is a unique piece of content created by Intersect, designed to offer a summary of important takeaways for busy readers.
Table of contents
- Introduction
- Materials and methods
- Results
- Discussion
- Conclusion
Introduction
Around 39% of the Italian population owns at least one cat or dog, and the pet food market has shown significant positive growth in the past decade.
Pet owners are becoming more sensitive to pet care issues, and nutrition is seen as a way to safeguard their animals' welfare.
Different pet owners consider specific criteria that they expect pet food to fulfill, which determine their diet choices.
Nowadays, pet owners are more aware of the quality and ingredients in pet food
Social and cultural factors that influence their own food purchasing habits also affect their pet food purchasing decisions.
Key features that influence pet owner choices include:
- Wholesomeness
- Perceived ingredient safety
- Perceptions about nutritional value
- Sources of information about pet nutrition
Pet food producers promote their products using claims such as "cruelty-free," "organic," and "natural," and the quality of commercial feeds is cited as a contributing factor for longer and healthier lives in pets.
The growing trend to pay more attention to specific pet food characteristics is affecting consumers' purchasing choices, with owners preferring to spend more money on premium feeds rather than pet accessories.
Thís study aims to identify the most important pet food quality traits perceived by dog and cat owners in Italy.
Methods and approach
The survey designed for this research aimed to explore the habits and attitudes of dog and cat owners in selecting and buying pet food
The study distributed 972 questionnaires and ultimately analyzed 935 complete responses.
The questions were based on previous literature, and the questionnaire was developed with the help of experts, including a veterinarian, a nutritionist, and a marketing research specialist, to gather relevant information from pet owners.
The questionnaire consisted of two sections.
First section
The first section included 9 multiple-choice questions designed to profile the sample population, including demographic variables such as gender, age, geographical area, education, and occupation, as well as pet-related variables like the type of animal owned, preferred marketing channel, type of purchased pet food, and sources of pet nutrition information.
Second section
The second part of the questionnaire asked pet owners to express their opinions on the relevance of 16 quality-associated characteristics in their decision-making process when choosing pet food.
These characteristics included pet preferences, coat and stool appearance, food smell and presentation, label information, location of pet food facilities, ingredients, brand, price, recyclable packaging, and cruelty-free claims. Owners were asked to rate the importance of these characteristics on a 5-point scale.
| Definition |
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Likert scale A Likert scale is a psychometric scale commonly used in questionnaires to measure attitudes or opinions, typically featuring a range of responses from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree." |
Results
- The majority of respondents were women, working individuals, and those with a medium-high level of education.
- Half of the respondents were from Northern Italy, followed by 34.4% from Central Italy, and 16.1% from the South or the Islands.
- The distribution of pet ownership was relatively balanced between cat owners (30.8%), dog owners (39.4%), and owners of both (29.8%).
- The majority of participants (65.3%) purchased both dry and wet pet food, with only around 10% buying wet pet food exclusively.
- Most participants preferred purchasing pet food from a pet store (63.3%) and sought advice from veterinarians (25.5%) or major brands' websites (30.4%)
The study also evaluated the responses to quality characteristics using a Likert scale.
"Contains natural ingredients" obtained the highest average score, suggesting its significance to the respondents
"Higher price than others" received the lowest average score, indicating that high pricing did not significantly influence purchasing decisions.
Overall, the findings provide comprehensive insights into the socio-demographic characteristics, pet ownership distribution, purchasing habits, and the importance of various quality characteristics influencing pet food purchase decisions among the surveyed population.
Analysis
A deep analysis examined the associations between specific population segments and factors influencing pet food purchasing decisions.
Age
- The results showed that elderly respondents (>65 years) prioritized low price over factors like recyclable packaging and "cruelty-free" claims.
- In contrast, young owners (<35 years) valued appearance of stools, high protein content, and recyclable packaging more.
Education
- Respondents with higher education degrees placed less importance on price, brand recognition, and product appearance/smell, but valued label information, natural ingredients, and appearance of their pet's coat and stools.
Geographical differences
- Geographical differences were also observed, with Southern Italy respondents scoring higher on factors like high price and product appearance/smell compared to Northwest Italy.
Cat versus dog owners
- Wet pet food buyers and cat owners tended to prioritize product appearance, smell, and high protein content, while dog owners focused more on healthy stools and meat as the main ingredient.
The analysis highlighted how different population segments have varying priorities when purchasing pet food, which can inform targeted marketing and product development strategies
Discussion
The research paper discusses the quality indicators that Italian pet owners consider when choosing pet food.
The most important quality indicator for Italian pet owners was the presence of "natural" ingredients, reflecting the trend towards more "humanized" pet food that aligns with human food preferences
Other important factors included the location of the pet food production facilities and the comprehension of the label information.
The study also found differences in pet food quality perceptions based on the age and educational level of the respondents.
Elderly pet owners placed more importance on the price and external characteristics of the feed, while younger owners were more interested in label information.
Educational level was also associated with the perceived importance of different pet food traits. Furthermore, cat owners were more interested in the external appearance of the pet food, while dog owners focused more on the nutritional composition and stool consistency.
The paper suggests that updating legislation regarding "cruelty-free" claims and improving label comprehension could be important considerations for the Italian and European pet food industry.
Conclusion
The study provides the first data on the decision-making processes of Italian pet owners when purchasing commercial pet food.
The most important quality indicator for Italian pet food buyers was the presence of "natural" ingredients, while the least important factor was whether the products cost more than others.
Respondents preferred to ask their veterinarians for advice on pet food or to consult the websites of specific brands.
Among the parameters rated as most important, some were linked to indicators of animal welfare, such as a shiny coat, normal stool appearance, and palatability.
Perceptions of pet food quality parameters tended to differ between dog and cat owners.
The pet owner decision-making process was strongly influenced by their level of education. The obtained data may be helpful in identifying the factors that influence the perceptions of dog and cat owners regarding the quality of animal feed products
