Pet health products and supplement sales are soaring, and that means that the market opportunity for brands is big. In this blog, we look ats some of the ingredients found in hip and joint supplements for dogs and discuss the opportunities for supplement brands amid the increase of pet joint supplement sales in the market over the past few years. Keep reading to learn more about this growing opportunity!

Pet Supplement Market

There is a lot going on in the pet supplement market, and many of those actions align with people's changes in their own health outlook. Watson [1] predicts that the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) for the pet supplement will increase from its slower performance of 3.7 percent growth through 2014 to reach into the low 5.26 percent CAGR through 2020. That's a healthy and positive jump and it means open opportunities for supplement brands that include pet supplements in their offerings. 

The expanding pet supplement market means:

• New opportunities for pet supply brands to sell new products to your existing consumers
• New opportunities to introduce your brand to new customers
• An easy way to add diversity to your brand - both for the local and online markets
• An easy way to differentiate your brand
• You can add new target markets

These opportunities follow trends in other areas of supplement manufacturing. These include the focus on longevity and quality of life. As people pick up the baton to march towards better personal health and improve their focus on their long-term health, they are applying what they know to their pet's lives too.

It is already a sad thing that pets live lives that are so much shorter than are those of humans. However, the focus among pet owners is the quality of life for their pets. This means healthier foods and pet supplements. 

Which Ingredients are the Most Common in Hip and Joint Supplements in Dogs?

1. Glucosamine and Chondriotin Blends - Glucosamine is well known as an essential supplement for joint health. It crosses over to joint health for pets too. The current treatment for dogs is NSAIDs but there is a pitfall. These non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs damage the gastrointestinal track and can cause secondary issues such as ulcers. The benefit of Glucosamine is that it helps with the production of collagen which is essential for the formation of new cartilage. The loss of cartilage is thought to be part of the disease process for osteoarthritis in dogs. [2] 

Chondroitin sulfate is thought to play a part in preventing the destruction of cartilage by controlling enzymes whose role is the destruction of cartilage cells within joints. This is why glucosamine and chondroitin work so well as a blend. One helps to rebuild cartilage while the other helps to prevent cartilage loss. [2]

When it comes to joint health and pet supplements, methylsulfonylmethane or MSM is a good compound to blend with creatine. The reason is that MSM offers the body a bioavailable sulfur which helps the body to create and sustain collagen and can help reduce pain without causing unsafe side effects. [4]

That explanation also contains some of the marketing for this supplement. Hip and joint issues are common across all breeds of dogs making the potential target market for this supplement huge. Also, there is much evidence that this is a product that works well for cats too. 

2. Creatine - A Muscle Energy Source

Some dogs have a hard time building muscle or face disease or syndromes that cause muscles to waste away. Creatine is a highly sought after supplement within the bodybuilding community because it helps store energy for muscle use. What that means is that your muscles can work longer before they tire and that is a process used by bodybuilders to grow larger muscles in a shorter amount of time. For dogs with wasting disease, creatine helps them do more before their muscles tire. This is an excellent supplement for anyone who wants to help their dog or pet reap the benefit of exercise. It is the combination of activity and creatine that helps produce bigger muscles in humans and pets. [3]

For pet supplement manufacturers this means that the target market for this type of supplement is anyone with a dog over the age of five and for most pet owners with aging pets. Creatine is found in higher doses when dogs are still puppies, and that makes total sense because puppies are still growing and need the added energy to exercise their muscles. Aging dogs slow down, and the ability of creatine to provide muscular energy means that even older dogs can exercise and enjoy life. That aspect of what creatine does is a perfect approach to the marketing of this product. Your buyer persona becomes people who want to energize their aging pets so that the quality of the pet's life also increases. 

As you consider the opportunities that the pet supplement market offers also consider the many potential benefits of other supplements that cross over into pet health. Those include:

• Perna Mussel or the green-lipped mussel as a natural source of glucosamine. 
• CBD - Cannabidiol is a hot supplement for pets. There is little research out there to suggest that there is a pet benefit, but the demand is growing. 

Pet supplements represent a major set of opportunities, even for those entrepreneurs who are just getting started as supplement distributors. 

Can pets take your supplement brand to another level?

Citations and Additional Research

[1] Pet Supplement Trends 2017 and Beyond - Watson

[2] Glucosamine and Chondroitin use in Canines for Osteoarthritis : A Review - US National Library of Medicine

[3] Efficacy of a novel formulation of L-Carnitine, creatine, and leucine on lean body mass and functional muscle strength in healthy older adults: a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study - US National Library of Medicine

[4] Efficacy of methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) in osteoarthritis pain of the knee: a pilot clinical trial - US National Library of Health.