Wet pet food plays a central role in how owners care for their cats and dogs. Pet ownership is rising worldwide, and it’s estimated that more than half of all homes have a pet, with families in the US, Brazil, the EU and China alone accounting for over 500 million dogs and cats1. As a result, the global pet food market is projected to exceed 120 billion euros by 2027, with wet pet food expected to deliver more than 40 billion euros of that total2.
Pet owners increasingly see pets as valued family members. They want food that supports health and wellbeing, offers good value and fits busy routines. That puts pressure on brands, co‑packers and retailers to innovate faster, launch with confidence and scale efficiently in wet pet food.
Meeting those expectations calls for a connected innovation journey – from insight and early concepts, through recipe development and pack design, to industrialisation. Whether you’re expanding a private‑label range, refreshing established recipes or moving from cans or pouches to cartons, we work with you from first idea to products in the bowl. These seven steps show how we can drive your growth in wet pet food.
From age‑specific wet meals for cats to high‑protein dog recipes with added functional benefits, success starts with understanding where demand is moving. Pet owners around the world cite complete nutrition, product safety and high protein as key purchase drivers, while also caring about value and convenience3.
Instead of relying on assumptions, you can tap into our global consumer and market insights on pet food. We help you sift through the data to pinpoint promising segments and demand spaces – for example, natural recipes with clearly sourced ingredients, health‑specific products targeting digestion or joints, or private‑label ranges that balance quality and price.
From here, we work with you to define your winning niche and jointly scope what success looks like, from relevant KPIs to timelines and target markets, so your next moves are grounded in real insights rather than intuition.
Next, it’s time to turn those insights into tangible ideas in a workshop at one of our Customer Innovation Centres. You bring your pet food ambitions and we bring consumer insights, trend intelligence, brand expertise and packaging knowledge.
Using structured ideation tools and early mock‑ups, we co‑create and refine wet pet food concepts and Tetra Recart packaging directions that fit your brand, your target owners and your commercial goals. We consider how owners feed their pets day‑to‑day – from single‑serve pouches and bowls to mixed feeding routines – and explore formats that simplify life while still feeling like the “right” choice for the pet.
This collaborative process lets you move from abstract ideas to concrete, testable concepts before you commit to detailed formulations and full design development.
Once your concepts are defined, the focus shifts to recipes that perform – in the factory, in the bowl and over the long term. More than half of pet owners say they look for healthy ingredients in pet food4, and launches with claims such as “high/source of protein”, immune support, skin and coat health or digestive benefits have been growing steadily5. At the same time, expectations for taste and palatability remain high.
The Tetra Recart Food Development Centre acts as an extension of your R&D team – in Lund, Sweden, or via our mobile testing unit at your site. Our chefs, food technologists and processing experts help you translate concepts and insights into wet pet food recipes optimised for Tetra Recart cartons.
Together, we clarify what you want to achieve – from texture and chunk size to protein sources, functional claims and portion formats – and address any technical hurdles. We then plan and run focused trials with carefully selected ingredients. As we test and refine, you review multiple options and provide feedback. You leave with validated samples and clear recommendations, ready to support your launch and scale‑up plans.
Tetra Recart gives your wet pet food a visual presence that helps it stand out on shelf and online. Optimised design turns your package into a “silent salesperson” – quickly communicating which pet it’s for, what it offers and why owners should trust it.
Supported by our design expertise, your Tetra Recart package becomes a powerful asset for differentiation. We apply principles that help your brand get noticed and understood:
- Spotlight your story: Focus on two to three core messages on the front – for example, “for adult indoor cats” or “with natural ingredients” – to cut through shelf noise.
- Use category cues wisely: Make it immediately clear whether the product is for cats or dogs, and signal life stage, size and flavour/protein source, while still standing out within the pet food aisle.
- Engage every side: Use the carton’s surfaces for storytelling, feeding guidelines, storage and recycling information, and transparent ingredient lists so owners can see what they’re giving their pets.
- Strengthen on‑shelf impact: Design packs so they work together, creating a strong “billboard” effect when multiple cartons sit side by side.
- Use colour intelligently: Apply colour and ink thoughtfully to reinforce brand identity, differentiate variants and support clear, readable design.
By balancing familiar pet‑food cues with distinctive design – and leveraging the shape of the carton – you can give wet pet food a modern, trustworthy presence that fits how pet owners shop today.
How do you bring your wet pet food range to shelves without unnecessary capital costs and operational complexity? Tetra Recart offers industrialisation options that support a smooth journey from pilot to full‑scale production, tailored to your portfolio:
- Invest in your own lines: If you are ready to build in‑house capability, Tetra Recart filling lines are designed to run a range of wet pet food recipes efficiently, while making good use of operators and floorspace.
- Leverage co‑packing partners: If you prefer an asset‑light approach, our network of experienced co‑packers can help reduce upfront capital, accelerate time to shelf and simplify entry into new markets. This is increasingly relevant as more pet owners look to private‑label options that deliver quality at a lower price6.
- Integrated processing expertise: We bring processing know‑how to help you design heat treatment, mixing and filling processes that protect product quality, food safety and visual appeal.
- Smart packaging, smarter logistics: Flat‑packed Tetra Recart cartons free up warehouse space and reduce shipping costs, supporting your margins and helping to lower transport‑related emissions compared to many rigid formats such as cans or trays7.
- A full‑service supplier: We coordinate across development, trials and production, combining materials, equipment and services to make your journey towards market launch more efficient and less risky.
For many pet food brands and private labels, co‑packers provide a faster, lower‑risk route to market – especially when testing new recipes or entering new geographies.
We use our global experience and network to connect you with Tetra Recart co‑packers who fit your technical and commercial requirements in wet pet food. Whether you need to replicate regional recipes, manage large volumes across multiple SKUs or navigate complex distribution set‑ups, we can recommend partners with the right capabilities and capacity.
With the right co‑packer in place, you can test and scale new wet pet food concepts more quickly, secure reliable production and focus your internal resources on brand‑building and portfolio management.
Read more about how to find the right co‑packing partner for your wet pet food.
Our support continues beyond the first production run, helping you finalise pack design, develop compelling messaging and prepare retailer presentations for your wet pet food range. Once your products are on shelf, we can work with you to interpret performance data and owner feedback to understand how they are perceived and used.
This real‑world feedback enables you to refine communication, evolve pack design, adjust distribution and, where appropriate, optimise your recipes. Many pet owners say they would rather cut back on their own food spending than on their pets’8, but they still expect value and quality, so your offer needs to keep evolving.
This focus on continuous improvement helps your wet pet food innovations reach their full potential. In a category where health, value, convenience and perceived responsibility all matter, Tetra Recart gives you a platform to keep adapting and growing.
1 Health for Animals; NielsenIQ
2 GlobalData 2024
3 Innova Pet Ownership Survey 2023
4 Euromonitor International, Voice of the Consumer survey 2023
5 Mintel, A year of innovation in Pet Food and products 2023; Mintel, Patent insights: innovations shaping Pet Food
6 Innova Pet Ownership Survey 2023; Euromonitor Passport / Voice of the Consumer Lifestyles Surveys 2021–2023
7 12% more 390ml packages, and up to 50% more 100ml packages on each pallet and truck. Based on internal simulations comparing Tetra Recart to cans and jars of equivalent sizes.
8 Mintel, The future of pet food 2023