One Third of American Pet Parents Consider Ingredients to be the Most Important Factor When Deciding Which Formula to Feed Their Pet

Just One in Ten Consider Age of Their Pet as the Most Important Factor

18 January 2011

Trends & Prospective

New York, NY - Roughly one third (30%) of American Pet Parents consider ingredients to be the most important factor when deciding which food/formula to feed their cat or dog, according to a survey of over 1,000 U.S. dog and cat owners conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of Iams. More than one in five also ranked ingredients as either the second most important (23%) or third most important (22%) factor when choosing a pet food formula.

In contrast, only one in ten (11%) consider the age of their pet to be most important when deciding which food/formula to feed their pet - 17% rank age of their pet as the second most important. In comparison, two in ten (20%) rank it as the least important factor, and an additional 26% as the second least important.

In addition to ingredients, another top factor for Pet Parents is pet preference/ flavor, as 23% of them say this is the most important factor. In contrast, just 13% believe pet preference is the least important.

Price, however, divides the opinions of Pet Parents. While 22% say price is the most important factor to consider, 21% say it is the least important.

Importance of price, however, varies by age group:

30% of Pet Parents between the ages of 18 and 34 say it is most important while only 15% of Pet Parents ages 55 and older agree.
Correspondingly, 29% of those 55 and older say price is least important, while just 17% of Pet Parents 18-34 hold the same opinion.

In addition to age of their pet, few Pet Parents also believe a personal or veterinarian recommendation is an important factor, with more than a third (36%) saying a recommendation is least important and 21% ranking it as the second least important factor. In contrast, just 14% rank it as the most important.

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Love and attention rank as the most important for providing pets with a happy and healthy life

Opinions vary less when it comes to ranking factors associated with providing a happy, healthy life for pets. Nearly half (45%) of Pet Parents rank lots of love and attention as the most important aspect and an additional 20% rank it as second most important.

Nevertheless, lots of love and attention is not the only important factor in providing a happy, healthy life for pets. One in five Pet Parents (19%) say routine veterinary care is most important, while 26% say it is second most important. Similarly, 17% rank regular exercise as most important, with an additional 28% saying regular exercise is second most important. Responses here diverge among the genders with more men (21%) than women (14%) ranking exercise as most important.

More (21%) Pet Parents rank providing an age appropriate diet/nutrition as the second most important factor in providing a happy, healthy life for their pet than those who say it is most important (15%). Comparatively, just one in ten (11%) say an age appropriate diet/nutrition is least important. Showering their pet with toys and treats is by far ranked by most Pet Parents as the least important factor in providing a happy, healthy life (71%), with an additional 13% ranking it as second least important.

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These are the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted October 22nd - 25th, 2010. For the survey, a nationally representative sample of 1,006 randomly-selected adults aged 18 and over residing in the U.S. was interviewed online via Ipsos' U.S. Online Express omnibus. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate within 1773.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire population of adults in the U.S. been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/gender composition reflects that of the actual U.S. population according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Julio C Franco Senior Research Manager Ipsos Public Affairs New York, NY 646-313-6117 [email protected]

About Ipsos Public Affairs

Ipsos Public Affairs is a non-partisan, objective, survey-based research practice made up of seasoned professionals. We conduct strategic research initiatives for a diverse number of American and international organizations, based not only on public opinion research, but elite stakeholder, corporate, and media opinion research.

Ipsos has media partnerships with the most prestigious news organizations around the world. In the U.S., UK and internationally, Ipsos Public Affairs is the media polling supplier to Reuters News, the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, and the Hispanic polling partner of Telemundo Communications Group, a division of NBC Universal providing Spanish-language content to U.S. Hispanics and audiences around the world.

Ipsos Public Affairs is a member of the Ipsos Group, a leading global survey-based market research company. We provide boutique-style customer service and work closely with our clients, while also undertaking global research.

To learn more visit: www.ipsos-na.com

About Ipsos

Ipsos is a leading global survey-based market research company, owned and managed by research professionals that helps interpret, simulate, and anticipate the needs and responses of consumers, customers, and citizens around the world. Member companies assess market potential and interpret market trends to develop and test emergent or existing products or services, and build brands. They also test advertising and study audience responses to various media, and measure public opinion around the globe.

They help clients create long-term relationships with their customers, stakeholders or other constituencies. Ipsos member companies offer expertise in advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, and public affairs research, as well as forecasting, modeling, and consulting and offers a full line of custom, syndicated, omnibus, panel, and online research products and services, guided by industry experts and bolstered by advanced analytics and methodologies. The company was founded in 1975 and has been publicly traded since 1999. In 2009, Ipsos generated global revenues of e943.7 million ($1.33 billion U.S.).