Sustainable Pet Food Packaging Trends That Are the New Normal

For pet owners their nourishment and food habits are the utmost priority to ensure they retain the best of their health. But whatever they eat, it comes home in a packaged way. While the materials that are used to pack their eatables determine whether it’s eco-friendly or not. Here in this blog, we’ll explore the upcoming trends of pet food packaging and how it can redefine your brand’s contribution for a cleaner and greener planet. So, let’s read on.

What Stats Says About Pet Food Packaging?

Unless we glance at the stats about pet food packaging the whole picture of what’s going on will remain unclear. For instance, the pet food packaging market is expected to reach around USD 27.06 billion by 2035. While in CAGR terms it’s a single digit of 6+% but shows a stable trend. The data tells us that there’s something all brands do proactively in their packaging before it gets too late and their competitors win the game.

• The Cost Which Pet Owners are Willing to Pay

If we gauge, the cost of pet food ranges from affordability to the premiumness of the brand. But pet owners mostly prioritize the quality over anything else. Also, in a study it’s been found that approximately 60% of pet owners are willing to pay more just to ensure the packaging is sustainable and has less impact on the planet during recyclability.

Sustainable Trends That Will Take Over the Traditional Packaging

Below we’ve mentioned some of the materials and its compositions that are used to craft the pet food packaging in a sustainable way. Each of the options is selected as per the needs of the brand’s preservation preferences and the content type.

• Monomaterial Structures

First of all, brands are now switching from multi-layer laminates to single material film options. The multi-layer packaging offers top-notch solutions, but it is not easy to recycle as they’re a lot of resources required to turn it into raw form again.

For instance, some of the latest options for this may include the polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP). Its making and recyclability is easier to perform which isn’t the case with traditional options.

• Post-Consumer Recycled Content

The first option was all about the new materials. But once those materials are utilized they’re turned into recycled raw content again. From these, custom pet food packaging is made which is not only less harmful for the environment but also reduces the demand for new resources.

However, the compositions that are used to bring the packaging to the second life may include the recycled PET (rPET) or high-density polyethylene (rHDPE). Since both are plastic-based options they reduce the carbon footprint for sure.

• Eco-Friendly Closures

Aside from the actual packaging the closure mechanism of the pet food pouches can also bring a lot of change. For a moment it doesn’t seem a much difference a closure zippers can create but when its impact is calculated at scale each modification counts a lot.

Likewise, the focus on the closure should be more as the rest of packaging is easier to recycle. While brands can also turn the zippers or sealers as a stamp for sustainability having the graphics that communicates about the packaging eco-friendliness.

Actual Solutions That Any Pet Food Brand Can Count on with Confidence

You can consider any of the above packaging material for your brand. But the final packaging options can be:

• Stand-up pouches that are used to pack smaller amounts of pet food or also given as treats or samples on the testing phases.
• Flat-bottom and box pouches to pack the premium dry pet foods and freeze-dried meals These bags have a high shelf life and retain their integrity for a long time.
• Side gusset bags for larger kibble volumes. Since these bags are heavy-duty they’re widely used for full sized retail packaging.
• Woven poly bags are the ideal option for bulk economy feeds as the farm supplies are easily managed with it.
• Flexible Rollstock pouches for e-commerce shipments purposes. The materials used to craft these options are designed to retain the fresh or and can be refrigerated as well.

The Bottom Line

All in all, we hope that you’ve explored the trajectory of pet food packaging trends and can consider the ideal options for your brand. Before you finalize any option, you can discuss your concerns with OXO Packaging experts for a tailored solution. You can reach us at (510) 500-9533 or write your query to sales@oxopackaging.com for a detailed response.