# 1. How would you describe the household dog food market? Sales of dog food are approximated at $5.6 billion for this year of which $3.1 billion will come from supermarkets. As the previous figures show, 55% of all dog food sold in the United States will be distributed through supermarkets. Since there exists such a reliable correlation between human population and dog population, we can say that the greater Boston area represents approximately 1.5 percent of the US dog population. Due to our human desire for companionship and need for protection, dog ownership is on the rise, which will eventually result in increase sale in the dog food industry.
Although there are over 50 dog food manufactures and about 350 dog food brands in the United States, 83 percent of supermarket dog food sales is held by five companies " Ralston Purina (30%), Kal-Kan Foods (19%), H.J. Heinz (17.9%), Nestle USA (12%), and Nabisco (4.3%). The remainder of the market (16.8%) is held by other private labels.
# 2. How might one segment the dog food market and where does Show Circuit fit? One possible way to segment the dog food market would be by categories. We can categorize the different foods in four forms including; canned, dry, semimoist and biscuits/treats (see pie chart attached to see share of market held by each category). The introduction of Show Circuit would add a new category to the list, which would be the frozen dog food form.
If we look at the entire dog food market as a starting point we can see that the price of dog food varies greatly depending on its form. The prices vary form $.63/13.2 oz cans to $9.99/13.5 lbs bags. From this analysis, we can say that Show Circuit being priced at $6.37 per case (12 tubs of 15-once each per case) will be very competitive selling at $0.53/15 oz tub.
# 3. How might Show Circuit be positioned in the dog food market? Tyler Pet Food has long been recognized for its high quality dog food distributed mainly to