SUSTAINABILITY
“ The biggest change across Europe is that supply chains are no longer being shaped by one factor at a time,” says Dane,“ Today, regulation, consumer expectations and technological change are all evolving simultaneously and often at different speeds.” Across Europe, significant regulatory developments are being made centred around sustainability, packaging and transparency, including legislation such as PPWR and EUDR. At the same time, customers are asking more questions about where ingredients come from.
“ 45 % of pet parents rank sustainability as very important when purchasing pet food, even more than household cleaning( 41 %) and personal care( 40 %) products,” says Dane. Alongside this, the pace of innovation in the pet food industry has also accelerated dramatically. For decades, innovation has moved relatively slowly, from cans to pouches and incremental product improvements.
“ Today, we’ re seeing growing demand for formats such as fresh, air-dried and
78 September 2026