Ensuring digestive health is key for most owners in order to support the holistic health and wellbeing of their pets.
A new global survey has found that pet owners still want the best for their animals despite high inflation and the rising cost of pet food. Would you agree?
Most owners are staying loyal to their preferred brands, the research indicated, with price considered to be less important than ingredient quality, nutritional value, taste, and health claims.
Over half of respondents are even willing to pay a price premium for pet food with health-promoting ingredients that have been scientifically proven.
Conducted by market research agency FMCG Gurus, on behalf of BENEO, the survey questioned 2,500 dog and cat owners in the US, Brazil, UK, Germany, and China.
Only 1 in 6 pet parents globally has turned to cheaper products or brands, even though almost 9 in 10 surveyed pet owners feel that pet food prices have risen in the last year.
Pet parents are very concerned about their pet’s health, as reflected by the survey, with more than 4 in 5 owners considering their pet’s health to be as important as their own.
The link between their pet’s digestive health and overall health is also more widely recognised by pet owners, with over 3 in 4 cat and dog owners understanding that the digestive system has a positive influence on many aspects beyond the gut, such as bone condition, mental and physical wellbeing and the immune system.
More than 1 in 3 surveyed said therefore that they feed their pets food that features claims to support digestive health. In addition, almost half of pet owners associated prebiotics with gut health.
What do you think?
As horse owners would you agree with the findings of this survey? Are you unwilling to compromise on feed quality? Have you changed your feed because of price? Or are you sticking to your brand of choice? Is that for health or other reasons? Would you pay a premium for proven health benefits?
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Understanding equine health and feed…
While we’re on the subject of nutrition, why not access some of our thought-provoking and informative content about equine health, feed and supplements.
We’ve analysed everything from feed ingredients and prebiotics/probiotics, to overall gut health and digestive health, as well as how to understand the claims on labels.
Follow the links below to access the content:
Ingredients – Last year we published a Feed Supplement Review every week, analysing everything from L’Arginine and Glucosamine, to Milk Thistle and Zinc Chelate.
Probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics – Dr David Marlin gives a clear and simple explanation.
Gut health – Choose from Webinars, Product Reviews, Podcasts, Studies, Tips, and more about supporting your horse’s gut health.
Digestive health – Browse our GI Guide, Treatment Analysis, Supplement Reviews, Product Reviews, and more to understand the ins and outs of equine digestion.
Labelling claims – Swot up on our guide to spotting 15 common marketing tricks used by equine supplement manufacturers, and watch Dr David Marlin’s webinar to learn how to decode label jargon.
Equine Nutrition – Replay our Nutrition 101 webinar with David and Professor of Equine Nutrition, Dr Shannon Pratt-Phillips, about the importance of equine nutrition or listen to David’s podcast on nutrition.
