Page 37 - PET worldwide issue 01/2022

Photo: © Choat – stock.adobe.com

Green transformation is scarcely any firm not trying to tiny and no one knows whether
meat-free pet food will shed its
The PSC is a good example dem- burnish its image through energy- niche status, many manufactur- 2022
onstrating that many players in saving measures and the use of
the pet supplies sector take se- renewable energy sources such ers have now left their comfort
Mars Petcare will introduce
riously goals such as sustaina- as wind and solar power; scarcely zone to test sustainably manu- new packaging with an incre-
bility and the careful and respon- any company that does not think factured products in the mar- ased recycling share
for its wet cat food brand
sible use of resources and raw about reorganising its supply ket. Leading pet food producers Sheba in Europe.
materials. In promotional texts, chain to obtain its raw materials are even venturing into vegan
company brochures and adver- primarily from regional suppliers pet food, something that would
tising, pet supplies companies where possible, rather than glob- have been inconceivable a few
put greater focus on ecological ally. The coronavirus pandemic, years ago.
facts: for example, that the in- which mercilessly exposed the fra-
gredients in a food derive from gility of the current supply chain The devil is in the detail
regional farming, or that product system, has significantly acceler- Despite all the fervour, many prod-
packaging consists of recyclable ated the trend towards restruc- ucts that boast sustainable goals
or biodegradable materials. No turing efforts in this regard. on the packaging do not live up
matter whether logistics, produc- This is also the case in the to their promises. When it comes
tion or packaging are the topic pet food industry. The price of to verifying the sustainability of
under consideration, all processes meat has risen dramatically in products and services, the devil
are subjected to greater scrutiny recent months, and as meat is is in the detail. A good example
with a view to reducing the carbon now seen as contributing to cli- of this is compensatory action.
footprint. mate change, a growing num- A number of companies support
Firms are being driven by a ber of companies are switching reforestation initiatives in far-off In many of its branches, German
change in consumer behaviour. to plant- or insect-based protein countries to obtain justification pet store chain Das Futterhaus
In urban regions in particular, sources. Although the market for marketing their products as has “unpackaged zones”, which
contribute to reducing packaging
many customers prioritise a share of these products is still climate-neutral; but the calcula- waste.
company’s track record in sus-
tainability, as well as health as-
pects, when deciding on their
purchasing criteria. Where does
the company source the raw in-
gredients of a product? What
materials does a product con-
sist of? Where is it manufac-
tured? Satisfactory answers to
these questions are increas-
ingly important to consumers.
Especially in a business that is
more interested than any other
in the welfare of pets, a growing
number of shoppers expect com-
panies to exercise care with the
environment.

Influence of Covid-19
Many companies in the pet
sector are doing just that. There

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