Once upon a time, a cat owner went to her local store to find sustainable cat litter for her favorite cats. Her purchase was a very easy choice because it was a niche market. As the selection of environmentally friendly waste expands to include varieties made from wheat, corn, coconut husks, cassava and even green tea, this situation is bound to change.

Luana Francischini, PR Director of the new brand Petfive Brands, said: “From a big picture, the natural/sustainable market is still small, but the trend shows that it will undoubtedly continue to steal share from the traditional waste market segment.” (formerly 7Pets) , Garfield cat litter manufacturer.

The company recently hired the pet-centric Matrix Partners to help rebrand and make the American’s most popular lasagna-eating orange tabby a family favorite.

“Garfield cat litter is already on store shelves in 18 countries/regions, and we are negotiating with several new regions,” Francis Cini said. "The monthly growth continues to increase and the repurchase rate is high. This supports our theory that once cat parents have tried our garbage, they will be very satisfied and will not look back."

Garfield’s litter consists of two types of biodegradable and washable litter made from corn and cassava (a tropical root, also known as yucca). They also have new packaging that will highlight the benefits of natural waste and educate consumers on the expectations of natural products and how to choose the products they need to match their environment and a healthy lifestyle.

"Our waste is exactly what the millennial pet parents seek: a product that looks, feels, and all-natural/environmentally friendly, and most importantly, is harmless to pets and effective for parents," Francischini said. "That being said, we recognize that most of our loyal customers and Facebook fans today are baby boomers. However, millennials’ acceptance of the Garfield brand is increasing, and if they represent most of our customer base in a few years Not surprisingly. The fact that further supports this is that millennials are more willing to invest in quality products that are natural, sustainable and biodegradable."

In order to cope with the name change and rebranding, the company also launched a new plant-based cat litter product, which is sold exclusively in pet stores and targeted at millennial cat owners. This cat litter called Sustainably Yours made its debut at the Global Pet Expo in Orlando last month.

"Our R&D department is able to further improve our plant-based formulas to create a higher level of natural, sustainable, and high-quality cat litter," Francischini said.

Next Gen’s Green Tea Fresh cat litter was developed in Japan to provide a comprehensive natural solution for every cat family and is still being produced overseas.

"Green tea contains a natural antioxidant called catechin, which acts as an astringent and inhibits the growth of bacteria," said Janice Yamamoto, the company's marketing director. "Bacterial growth is the cause of the unpleasant smell that is common in litter boxes. Therefore, by inhibiting bacterial growth before the bacteria start to grow, green tea can provide our cat litter with a pleasant natural fragrance while eliminating unpleasant cat litter Pot smell."

She also confirmed that Green Tea Fresh and the company's other sustainable products, namely Cypress Fresh and Timber Fresh, are attractive to a wide audience.

"For different reasons, different demographics are attracted by our trash," Yamamoto explained. "I think millennials care about making sure their purchasing power is spent on products that consider the environment. But we also have a lot of customers in big cities, and there are more'experienced' demographics, they are attracted by our trash Because they weigh less than 90% of clay, they are much lighter to carry."

The Village Pet Supply area in Valley Village, California, borders Studio City and West Hollywood and has a large number of residential apartments. According to reports, local customers are buying sustainable waste because they are lightweight and easy to transport and use.

"Our customers come from millennials and baby boomers," said Sara Katz, the store manager. "In addition to the lightness of cat litter, they also buy products like The Green Tea Fresh because they care about the overall health of the cat. If they ingest anything, they will not ingest harmful substances like clay. Green tea is very popular because it can control the smell well-it always smells fresh-and it doesn't go too far after opening the box," she added.

According to Jean Broders, senior brand manager of World's Best Cat Litter, the washable product is a strong selling point of the brand.

"Especially for apartment residents, flushability is a huge advantage," Broads said. "No more dragging heavy trash bags-just scoop up and rinse! Our consumers will also comment on how long our trash can last. Consumers do not have to replace the entire trash can for months and months. This is Because of odor control and caking. When these two things work together, our trash will last a long time."

Pioneer Pets received non-GMO certification on its SmartCat ALL NATURAL Clumping Litter.

"We think this is very important because many customers are asking detailed questions about our forage and its source," said Shannon Supanich, the company's marketing manager. "Our litter is made of 100% grass grown in the United States. It does not add any chemicals or fragrances. It will be biodegraded after being treated as a renewable resource. In addition, its paws are very soft and can also be used for kittens."

The company also produces high-side trash bins and double-sided trash mats, which are used to collect trash outside the bins.

"These products tend to be sold to each other," Supanich said. "And we tend to sell them together as a'trash solution' to retailers."

As the category of sustainable waste becomes so competitive, manufacturers agree that continuous marketing is essential.

"'Think of your cat, not the box' is the title of our current marketing campaign," Broads said. “This kind of information can be found in print, digital, POS in-store materials, and social media. We also publish a large number of consumer product reviews. We know that consumers rely on other consumers to recommend products. We introduce the world to others with so many customers Proud of the best cat litter.

“We also provide unique consumer promotions to attract attention to our brand and reward our existing consumers,” she continued. "Last year we held a lottery. The grand prize was a FIAT Spider Abarth. It was a great success in gaining new customers and rewarding existing [customers]. We also launched smaller in-store promotions where consumers can follow their purchases Get free merchandise."

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