Janoschka magazine_Linked_V2_2017

24
k n o w l e d g e & c o m p e t e n c e
puristic design
for premium quality
Instead of depicting dogs and cats as energetic with
eye-catching, realistic photo shots or funny and cute
in cartoon drawings as in the past, the trend is clearly
moving towards monochrome, and, in the premium
segment in particular, even black packaging. This corresponds
with the developments in the food market. At
the moment, the supermarket shelves are dominated
by packaging that communicates in a very clear, direct
and tidy way – when it comes to the presentation and
declaration of the ingredients in particular. In keeping
with this, the premium category of pet food adopts
catchwords that are associated with health and wellbeing:
these provide information about the ingredients
– whether they are “organic” or “sustainable”, for example
– or also about their preparation, such as “made
by hand” or “air-dried”. With regard to the sources of
protein, whether it be meat, fish or soya, details about
animal welfare or the freshness of the catch are important
aspects that can be found on the packaging.
It is to be expected that, in the medium term, even detailed
lists which show everything that is not included,
such as “gluten-free”, “no additives” and “reducedcalorie”,
will no longer satisfy the consumer.
The demand for more transparency, which has been
becoming louder in the food industry over the past
few years, has, in the meantime, also reached the pet
food manufacturers. “Clean labels” guarantee, here
just as there, that the product only contains nutritious
ingredients, without any additional and superfluous
extras, such as artificial flavourings and colourings. The
packaging design places the focus increasingly on conveying
the relevant information simply and at a glance:
symbols and icons make it easy for consumers to understand
whether a food is suitable for their pet.
The trend towards simple food has also reached the
pet food market. In particular, the need to deal with or
prevent allergies calls for foodstuffs with hardly any or
hardly processed ingredients: a requirement that can
only be satisfied with certified ingredients. Today, however,
a lot of food packaging already provides the source
of the ingredients: Angus beef as well as French wild
boar can be found in dog food or Scottish salmon in cat
nibbles.