Key Trend: Pet Play

As pet parents invest in bonding and enrichment activities for their animals, the play and toy sector is becoming more creative and expressive.
Pet parents are looking to invest in quality time with their animals and to keep them happy and entertained throughout the day, opening up a number of product opportunities.
From physical exercise to mental challenges, there are a host of new focuses and design priorities emerging for play and toy products.

Here are the key trends to track in pet play:
Creative indoor play: social media challenges and extended time at home inspire activities such as obstacle courses.
Playful furniture: products enabling pets to relax alongside their owners fit smoothly into home decor.
Outdoor fun: the outdoors boom increases the importance of active exercise products as well as summer-friendly recreation, such as
paddling pools and bubble blowers.

Pet sensory: hidden food, scented toys and stimulating sounds, textures and bounce cater to animals’ natural curiosity
Sustainable solutions: recycled materials and renewable products rise in importance as consumers look to reduce their environmental
impact.
Interactive challenges: new board games, puzzles and circuits challenge pets mentally, keeping them engaged for longer.
Robot friends: hi-tech playmates dispense treats and offer fun games, with owners able to join in remotely.
Elevated basics: heightened design expectations lead to curated colour, material and pattern for everyday toy.

Creative indoor play
Shelter-in-place orders have encouraged pet parents to get creative with indoor activities for pets, kids and families to enjoy together.
The DIY fun mentality that drove many consumers to jigsaw puzzles and craft during the pandemic has inspired a raft of new ‘pet challenges’, many of which have gone viral on TikTok. These include dog ‘paintings’, made by licking paint into place, high jumps constructed from toilet roll and obstacle courses that pit cats against dogs.
More time spent indoors has driven an increase in indoor-centric pet toys, such as soft balls and play tunnels. Toys that kids and pets can play with together, are also important as parents look to entertain everyone at once.
By GWSN Sarah Housley