Consumer habits

More and more consumers buy prepared pet food and rely on the guaranteed quality and safety of these products.

According to the latest research data 37% of the Hungarian population between 14-69 years of age (2,833,000 people) buy some kind of prepared dog or cat food for their pets.

Wet dog food is purchased by 22% of the Hungarian population, while the percentage of dry dog food is 25%, snacks and treats make up 8%, wet cat food 14% and dry cat food 15%. (TGI Hungary)

The volume of the purchased pet food increased by 9% while the value grew by 10% in relation to the previous year. Altogether, both the retail purchase and the frequency of shopping increased according to the 2004 data of Gfk Hungary: in the past two years the frequency of buying pet food increased from 16 to 17 which means that pet food consumers buy pet food products 3 times in a two month period in average.

Dog owners represent a 41% share in value of the retail pet food turnover while their share in volume is considerably higher, 54% in the independent shops and 52 in the smalls shops belonging to chains. Supermarkets and drug stores have the lowest share that is   27% and 29%, respectively.

Cat owners represent a 29% share in value of the retail pet food turnover. Their share is high in volume, 39% in the independent shops and 36% in small shops belonging to chains. Their market share in other shops is 23% and in the hypermarket category it is slightly higher, 26%.