Where next?
Detail:
Yes, we’re all familiar with the term ‘humanisation of pets’, but a recent Euromonitor report has hammered the point that much closer with the phrase ‘Pet Parents’.
The term basically refers to owners who have become more like parents to their pets, and is described as a “relationship of love, a feeling that does not know of crisis and recessions”.
What characterises Pet Parents? Well, says the report, at the heart is their belief that animals have almost the same rights as humans, and are deserving of love, respect and attention.
The trend of pet parents, says Euromonitor, has been around for years now in North America and Canada, but is only just taking off in Latin America.
As a result, the pet food and pet care product markets in Latin America and the Caribbean are experiencing something of a boom. For instance, the pet food market in Latin America is expected to grow 6.7 per cent next year.
And considering that in countries like Chile, up to 70 per cent of all pet food is prepared at home, there is huge potential if these owners can be converted to commercial pet food.
Which is all well and good. Certainly good news for manufacturers that are geared up for exports to these countries. And if not, perhaps this is an area worth investigating a bit more closely.
Reptiles, for instance, are also apparently seeing unprecedented sales in a number of these countries.
Could Latin America be the next Eastern Europe/Russia? Only time will tell.
However, moving on from the issues of potential economic growth and success, and as a quick aside, am I the only person to cringe at the term ‘Pet Parent’? To me, this conjures up all sorts of images, and unfortunately all of them negative.
Yes, I accept and understand the whole argument for the ‘humanisation of pets’. It makes sense and can be argued logically. But ‘Pet Parents’ takes this to all-new levels, and I wonder if it is a step too far down the anthropomorphic route?
Yes, the pet-owner relationship is very personal, and yes, pets do become important fixtures of any family – I’ve heard some women say that their dogs pay them more attention than their husbands! But at the end of the day, a pet is a pet.
Do you remember Mrs Pumphrey from All Creatures Great and Small and her pampered lap dog, Tricky Woo (note that Mrs Pumphrey was based on a real person who lived in Yorkshire – I stood outside her former home just last week!).
In any case, Mrs Pumphrey (not her real name) treated Tricky Woo like her adopted son and lavished every luxury on him. I recall one episode in which she queried vet Herriot about his ‘flop bot’ – in short, Tricky Woo would walk for a short while and then flop to its bottom. The diagnosis? Tricky was over-indulged, obese and unfit!
You could argue that Mrs Pumphrey was the ultimate ‘Pet Parent’. Is this an image we want to bring to the trade? I, for one, hope this term does not catch on.
The term basically refers to owners who have become more like parents to their pets, and is described as a “relationship of love, a feeling that does not know of crisis and recessions”.
What characterises Pet Parents? Well, says the report, at the heart is their belief that animals have almost the same rights as humans, and are deserving of love, respect and attention.
The trend of pet parents, says Euromonitor, has been around for years now in North America and Canada, but is only just taking off in Latin America.
As a result, the pet food and pet care product markets in Latin America and the Caribbean are experiencing something of a boom. For instance, the pet food market in Latin America is expected to grow 6.7 per cent next year.
And considering that in countries like Chile, up to 70 per cent of all pet food is prepared at home, there is huge potential if these owners can be converted to commercial pet food.
Which is all well and good. Certainly good news for manufacturers that are geared up for exports to these countries. And if not, perhaps this is an area worth investigating a bit more closely.
Reptiles, for instance, are also apparently seeing unprecedented sales in a number of these countries.
Could Latin America be the next Eastern Europe/Russia? Only time will tell.
However, moving on from the issues of potential economic growth and success, and as a quick aside, am I the only person to cringe at the term ‘Pet Parent’? To me, this conjures up all sorts of images, and unfortunately all of them negative.
Yes, I accept and understand the whole argument for the ‘humanisation of pets’. It makes sense and can be argued logically. But ‘Pet Parents’ takes this to all-new levels, and I wonder if it is a step too far down the anthropomorphic route?
Yes, the pet-owner relationship is very personal, and yes, pets do become important fixtures of any family – I’ve heard some women say that their dogs pay them more attention than their husbands! But at the end of the day, a pet is a pet.
Do you remember Mrs Pumphrey from All Creatures Great and Small and her pampered lap dog, Tricky Woo (note that Mrs Pumphrey was based on a real person who lived in Yorkshire – I stood outside her former home just last week!).
In any case, Mrs Pumphrey (not her real name) treated Tricky Woo like her adopted son and lavished every luxury on him. I recall one episode in which she queried vet Herriot about his ‘flop bot’ – in short, Tricky Woo would walk for a short while and then flop to its bottom. The diagnosis? Tricky was over-indulged, obese and unfit!
You could argue that Mrs Pumphrey was the ultimate ‘Pet Parent’. Is this an image we want to bring to the trade? I, for one, hope this term does not catch on.
By:
Sandra
Date/time :
19/07/2010
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