Feeding Fido : Consumer Food Preferences Bring Pets to the Table
Consumers increasingly demand premium foods that satisfy particular lifestyle requirements. Simultaneously, organic, holistic and natural pet foods lead the $18 billion U.S. pet food market. Little is understood about the relationship between consumers’ food choices for themselves and food choices for their pets. Using a Heckman two-stage decision model, we find that premium (organic proxy) human food consumers are more likely to purchase premium pet food. This finding suggests a consistency between the food quality demanded for one’s own consumption and his or her pet’s consumption. Like within premium human food demand, education and income have significant positive effects on premium pet food purchases. This study also surprisingly reveals a possible age cohort effect as younger consumers are more likely to purchase premium pet food, despite potential budget constraints. The findings combined suggest an increase in the demand for pet food ingredient transparency, at minimum, with implications for markets and food safety policies