Exceeding wet pet food expectations with smarter processing

How people relate to their animals has changed. Pets today have transitioned from a traditional working role into full family members, and owner expectations on pet food are shifting to match.

The opportunities for wet pet food processors have never been greater. From the well-documented COVID-19 pet adoption wave to the emerging middle-class economies of Latin America, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, and Eastern Europe; the pet food market has seen consistent growth. The 2026 market value exceeds US$1.61 billion and has a projected growth rate of 5% through to 2030.

Market growth also drives market competition and success in this booming area demands more than a good recipe. It requires the right production infrastructure, from raw material receiving to the dispatch of consistent quality end products.

Pet owners have changed

Today's pet owner has changed and processors who want to take advantage of this market need to change with them. Pet owners are informed, intentional, and increasingly apply the same values to their pet's food as they do to their own. Owners today want to know what is in the product, where it came from, and what it does for their animal. Functional health claims such as-digestive health, skin and coat condition, joint support-are driving purchasing decisions in ways that would have seemed marginal a decade ago.

Premium and super-premium segments and single-serve pouches are two pet food trends seeing growth.

Opportunities for processors

The pressure on pet food processors to innovate is constant. As they respond to demand for personalized, functional formulas, processors require more from wet food production lines than ever before.

To diversify products, processing lines need to be able to handle complexity, be flexible enough to accommodate product variation, consistent enough to ensure quality across end products, and robust enough to sustain throughput at scale. Managing all of this while protecting margins, maintaining high throughput, and scaling to meet growing demand is an endless operational challenge.

While the recipes for wet pet food are obviously crucial for market success, without the right production line, even the finest ingredients won't result in a premium end product. To ensure your product lines reach their market potential, every stage of the process from raw material intake through to the sealed, sterilized packaging at the end of line must contribute to the outgoing quality.

Processing for consistent quality

Quality is determined across every stage of production, from meat preparation through cooking, canning, and sterilization, to the moment a finished; shelf-stable unit leaves the facility. The finest ingredients and the most precise recipe deliver a premium product only if the production system can reliably repeat the formula batch after batch, day after day.

JBT Marel brings more than 50 years of experience in wet pet food technology to processors who are building brands that last. Our integrated solutions cover the complete production journey, ensuring every stage of production is making the highest quality product from your raw material.

Solutions to integrate

Repeatable recipes are the first step to a consistent end product. Meat preparation is where raw materials, fresh or frozen, come together. Meat is analyzed, inspected, and loaded into a COMBIGrind for coarse grinding, or a TREIF Dicer for dicing. Other ingredients are added for mixing before the product is emulsified, rolled, and roped, ready for cooking.

The natural looking chunks that communicate quality to a pet owner are a direct output of how the cooking process is managed. Steam technology is the most effective way of cooking and the most economical. Gentle cooking through a FTNON Steam tunnel, such as the DCC Steamer, ensures emulsified food retains texture, structure, and nutritional integrity.

Increasing food safety and meeting compliance requirements is an exercise in risk management. Our Static Retort- Steam Water Spray™ (SWS) gives processors the ability to run validated, automated thermal cycles with complete data capture and full batch traceability. In a market where transparency is becoming a baseline consumer expectation, a sterilization process that enables transparency is a tool for consumer trust building.

Packaging is what consumers are first attracted to. To get your product in shopping baskets, putting your premium pet food in the right pack is an important step. Trends for single-serve pouches and cans, plus labels that provide accurate data on ingredients, sourcing, and compliance, are becoming the main stay of today's pet food supermarket aisle. The Unifiller ensures fill accuracy, product presentation and weight consistency reducing giveaway.

The production line as a single solution

In a growing and demanding market, a production system built to perform as a whole is a significant advantage.

JBT Marel provides integrated hardware, software, and service, that supports our customers and ensures they have the adaptability systems that can keep them leading in the competitive pet food market.

Consumers focus on the product

Consumers see the ingredients on your packaging, the end products in a bowl, and the reaction of their pets. Filling those packages with consistent, quality products will ensure what they see brings them back to your brand and helps increase your market share of this growing industry.

Having the equipment that keeps your product consistent and reliable, and your lines flexible to meet the next pet food trend, helps ensure your pet food brand is ready for the future of this growing market.

Are you ready to explore more? JBT Marel and Wenger will be at Interzoo 2026

For the first time at Interzoo, JBT Marel and Wenger technology will be on the same stand. Join us to dive into the possibilities of two experts in the industry.

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