E-commerce has evolved from your basic online shopping in the 80s. We now have online marketplaces, online auctions, pretail, and financial exchanges for currency exchange and trade purposes. Following suit from big brands that have online stores, many small- and medium-size businesses have set up their own online stores, contributing to the growth of e-commerce as a channel to market and sell their private labels.
From brick-and-mortar…
Traditionally, private labels can be found in brick-and-mortar stores. The same goes for private label pet foods. They usually find their way on the shelves of PetCo or PetSmart. Unless of course, the private label owner is a retailer, he can carry his own private label pet food products alongside big brands in his own brick-and-mortar store.
These private label pet food products, be it cat food or dog food (or any other pet food), have enjoyed patronage from pet owners who frequent brick-and-mortar stores. Your “neighborhood pet retailers have continued to experience impressive dollar and volume growth.”[¹] This is reflective of Nielsen’s Digital Shopping Fundamentals research where 51% of pet owners surveyed across US say that “they don’t ever plan to shop for our purchase pet items online.”[²]
…to online retail.
That being said, almost half of pet owners surveyed do shop online. “At US$3.6 billion, pet food e-commerce now comprises 11 percent of the total U.S. pet food market; and those sales represented a whopping 53 percent rise over the previous 12 months.”[³] That was 2018. And the future looks bright as analysts projected that by 2023, “pet product e-commerce will reach US$15.5 billion and account for 26% of the overall market.”[⁴]
This bodes well for online sales of private label pet foods. Currently, private label pet foods have been striking it big in various online shopping sites like amazon.com. This is very encouraging for people who want to venture into the private label pet food industry.
E-commerce channels
Aside from amazon.com, there’s Google for Retail where you can take advantage of Google’s platform. Facebook Marketplace is also a good way to start selling your private label pet food. Then there’s ebay, one of the go-to channels of online retailers, big and small. Here’s an infographic to help you choose which channel suits your needs.
Tell us if you’ve made up your mind to get into the private label pet food business. Addiction Foods is here to help. We may just prove to be the right partner for your private label.
For further reading
- https://www.petfoodindustry.com/blogs/7-adventures-in-pet-food/post/7733-online-wet-pet-food-drive-us-pet-food-sales-growth
- https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/article/2018/an-uptick-in-clicks-and-bricks-for-pet-food-an-omnichannel-perspective/
- https://www.winsightgrocerybusiness.com/center-store/how-private-label-gaining-e-commerce-traction
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[1] https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/article/2018/an-uptick-in-clicks-and-bricks-for-pet-food-an-omnichannel-perspective/
[2] ibid.
[3] https://www.petfoodindustry.com/blogs/7-adventures-in-pet-food/post/7733-online-wet-pet-food-drive-us-pet-food-sales-growth
[4] https://www.petfoodindustry.com/articles/8314-online-pet-food-sales-may-beat-other-channels-by-2023
