Feeding Fido: Changing Consumer Food Preferences Bring Pets to the Table

Consumers increasingly demand premium foods that satisfy particular lifestyle requirements. Simultaneously, premium pet foods lead the $18 billion U.S. pet food market. Using a Heckman two-stage decision model, we investigate the relationship between consumers’ food choices for themselves and food choices for their pets. Premium human food consumers with higher education and incomes are more likely to purchase premium pet food. This study also reveals a surprising age cohort effect: younger consumers are more likely to purchase premium pet food, despite budget constraints. The findings have implications for pet food marketing strategies. They also suggest an expected increase in demand for pet food ingredient transparency and pet food safety policy.