Background: Breeder’s Own Pet Foods, Inc. sells frozen and refrigerated pet food for show-dog kennels. They are determining how and where they should introduce their pet food into the retail dog food market in Boston. The new market for frozen/refrigerated dog food is small, yet growing. Breeder’s has been presented with a marketing proposal and must determine whether or not their product will succeed. Market Analysis: The dog food market is a $14 billion market and frozen/refrigerated dog food makes up 1% of this market. Within Boston, the estimated dog market is 938,400 and approximately 25% of these dogs make up Breeder’s target market [Exhibit 1]. Dry, canned, treats, and frozen/refrigerated dog foods are the four segments within the dog food market. Dry food makes …show more content…
The market shares demonstrate that consumers favor dry foods as it is the cheapest option. 64% of dog food sales is through stores such as Walmart, PETCO, farm/feed stores, veterinarians, and online/small pet shops. Supermarkets make up 36% of dog food sales. National brands such as Nestle and Iams make up 75% of the market and are mostly offered in supermarkets. National brands appeal more to supermarkets due to economies of scale as well as higher shelf turnover. It would be difficult to convince supermarkets to carry Breeder’s frozen/refrigerated dog food as it is not price competitive and 80% of new supermarket frozen products fail. Also, consumer behavior does not align with placing dog food in a human frozen food section. Most consumers are accustomed to going to a pet aisle for their pet food. This places tremendous effort on Breeder’s and the supermarkets to inform customers about where to find frozen/refrigerated dog food. Breeder’s