National Animal Supplement Council Conference Takeaways
An important part of our work is having a finger on the pulse of the natural products industry. It is why we are members of industry groups like the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), American Botanical Council, and National Hemp Association. We attend quite a few informational sessions that these groups put on like AHPA’s Botanical Congress. Most recently, we attended the National Animal Supplement Council (NASC) Conference and there were some great takeaways that we wanted to share:
Market Trends
The pet supplement industry is worth $66.9B and growing. This growth is thanks to the pandemic “pet boom.” In the coming years, these pets will age into the pet supplement industry.
There is a lot of overlap between pet trends and human trends. In fact, if the pet owner takes dietary supplements, the chance they are giving their pets supplements increases. As a result, the pet supplement market is growing in the immunity, microbiome, and CBD segments. These areas are seeing similar growth on the human side.
Pet owners are mainly purchasing their supplements through their veterinary office. Although, a significant number of owners are looking online for supplements and finding them either on Amazon or Chewy.com. As veterinary offices continue to become more “retail-ized” this dynamic will continue.
CBDs
At the conference, the Pet Poison Help Line presented their data on calls related to CBD/THC. The good news: There were no deaths related to animal consumption of either human or animal CBD products. However, when animals get into human vape supplies, they can get significantly sick. An interesting observation was that many of the symptoms were the same as when a pet consumes THC. After looking at data from product testing, they determined that a contributing factor is due to adulterated products that, in fact, contain THC despite claiming to be CBD products.
Further, on the regulatory side, NASC shared that in Vermont, there is legislation proposing a $35/product registration requirement and if it is successful, it is likely to spread to other states. Also, in Florida, legislators are pushing for certified testing of all products. Though, because of disagreements over Florida’s definition of “chews” and “treats,” the outcome of this legislation remains unknown.
As those of you operating in the pet space know, currently, hemp is not approved for use in animal food or treats. As a result, the NASC logo cannot be used on pet foods that contain hemp. The sentiment is that CBDs will not be approved for use in animal food or treats either, keeping CBDs within the supplement segment of the pet product industry.
We hope that these takeaways are as helpful in your marketing and other strategic plans as they are to us.
