The Global Pet industry is shifting toward being a hugely competitive market. Pet ownership from 2020 has increased by over 50% in European countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany and France.
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00:00 The business of pets is growing at a staggering rate.
00:05 In this edition of The Exchange, we explore how owners are going to extra lengths to ensure our beloved pets are well taken care of.
00:13 Welcome to The Exchange from our studios here in Doha.
00:19 Now, we all know how much we love our pets, but how does that translate into the world of business?
00:26 Well, consumers across the planet are spending fortunes trying to ensure that our loved companions are happy and healthy.
00:35 According to a recent report by Bloomberg Intelligence, the global pets market is worth $320 billion.
00:44 A huge figure, but let's look at what is predicted to happen in less than a decade.
00:50 Demand for all things pet related is set to accelerate with increasingly bigger numbers forecast for the near future.
00:58 All this means that by 2030, the pet business is forecast to be worth half a trillion dollars.
01:05 Statistics good enough to get more than a few tails wagging.
01:09 One of the biggest growth areas is in pet travel.
01:13 Earlier, I spoke to Sonia Morgan to find out about her company, Pet Travel EU,
01:18 a business committed to keeping our furry friends safe on the move.
01:23 We are a pet travel company. We do international air travel anywhere in the world.
01:31 And we also do European road transport.
01:34 We specialize in individual road transport, which is slightly different from other people.
01:40 We're not pet couriers where we put a load of animals in the van.
01:44 We travel them individually. So we just travel one family's pets from A to B by road.
01:52 I would never send an animal on a route that I would not send my own animals on.
01:57 I think that is the most important.
01:59 There are some airlines we're very fond of using and some we are not so fond of using.
02:05 What is very important is that your dog or cat is used to his travel box.
02:11 Because it is, after all, an unusual situation for a dog or a cat.
02:17 But if they're used to the box they are going to travel in,
02:21 then they will treat that as their primary environment.
02:25 And once an animal is used to its primary environment,
02:27 you can put that primary environment anywhere and they feel happy.
02:31 Potentially, it will grow. People will continue moving around the world.
02:36 European road transport seems to be going up as well.
02:41 People are more and more concerned about their pets, that everything is correct for them.
02:50 And that is the nice part of our job, is that we can help people do it correctly.
02:57 Interesting stuff there, showing just how businesses can help move our pets across the world.
03:04 But what about companies that look after our pets while we're at work?
03:08 We sent our reporter Jack Parrock to find out just how they operate.
03:12 Hi, guys. Meet Teddy. This is my three-year-old Havanese toy poodle, Cross.
03:19 He and I are off today to meet a dog daycare business called Okazoo,
03:23 which was one of the first here in Brussels to professionalise the service.
03:27 Okazoo vans like this one head out every morning to pick up 100 dogs like Jamie per day.
03:33 Dog owners pay 435 euros monthly for five one-and-a-half-hour walks a week.
03:40 This business was started in 2010 by Corina Koch, who saw a gap in the Belgian market.
03:47 For ten years before, there was no really professional service.
03:53 We wanted to give professional contracts.
03:58 The first customers were foreign people. For them, it was usual to have this kind of service.
04:04 In Belgium, not really.
04:07 Okazoo employs ten full-time dog walkers who let the dogs run in this forest here on the outskirts of Brussels.
04:15 Teddy is absolutely loving this. He thinks he's one of the big dogs.
04:21 Pet ownership has been increasing dramatically here in Belgium, 12% in the past two years alone.
04:28 Nearly one in three Belgian households now has a dog.
04:32 Corina says she's constantly having to put dogs on her waiting list.
04:36 We need staff. We need to train staff.
04:39 We could grow very fast, but here in this kind of business, we need to take the time to grow.
04:50 Okazoo's success reflects a global trend of pet-powered economic growth.
04:56 Dogs like Jamie might be adorable, but they're also worth a lot of cash for businesses like this.
05:05 Jack Parrock there, and our special reporter, Teddy,
05:10 showing us just how companies are taking advantage of this surge in demand.
05:14 Well, as people are becoming more health-conscious, we're also doing the same for our pets.
05:20 I caught up with one of Europe's leading figures in pet food and supplies.
05:24 He told me just how valuable this part of the market is becoming.
05:29 One of the key things we will continue to see is the increase of calorific coverage in the markets
05:37 where pet owners are still converting from home-prepared pet food to more commercial pet food.
05:42 We see that a lot in Central and Eastern Europe.
05:45 That will continue to be a key growth driver for the category,
05:48 to having both lower-carbon products as well as more recyclable packaging.
05:54 Those are things that we think will certainly be of more consumer interest.
05:57 Finally, we believe consumers will be interested in paying more for better products,
06:01 particularly as it relates to better science.
06:04 We're putting a lot of energy on our own part into creating more specific nutrition solutions,
06:11 specifically catering to nutritional needs of pets.
06:14 Now it's time for our regular feature, Business in 60 Seconds. Start the clock.
06:20 Apple will be announcing the results for the first quarter of the year this month.
06:25 Stock for the company was high throughout 2023 with the launch of the iPhone 15,
06:30 which sold out in nearly every corner of the globe.
06:34 Bosses will be hoping this translates to good news for shareholders.
06:38 And McDonald's will be announcing their quarterly results this month.
06:42 With the fast food franchise going from strength to strength in 2023,
06:47 the company will be hoping to continue this good performance with a strong start to 2024.
06:54 Shareholders will be hoping financial success stays on the menu.
06:59 And 2023 was a busy year for Elon Musk,
07:03 and he'll be hoping that Tesla continues its strong performance in the first quarter of 2024.
07:09 With the company set to announce a huge range of products this year,
07:13 it looks like good news for shareholders could be on the way.
07:18 So pets are big business.
07:24 It seems that despite space age advances in technology and economic disruption,
07:29 some things don't change.
07:31 This need for the love and companionship that billions of us have with our cats,
07:36 dogs and other animals is stronger than ever.
07:40 And businesses great and small are poised to take advantage.
07:44 Well, that's all we have time for on this edition of the show.
07:47 Thank you for watching.
07:49 Please do check out Euronews.com for all your latest business news.
07:53 And join us again next time on The Exchange.
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