SAN DIEGO — Following the launch of its same-day delivery service pilot, established in partnership with DoorDash in December 2020, Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc. announced May 24 it has successfully expanded same-day fresh pet food delivery to “most markets” across the United States.

The pet retail giant now offers same-day delivery across its assortment of fresh and frozen dog and cat foods, including JustFoodForDogs meals. Pet owners can place same-day delivery orders before 2 p.m. through the company’s e-commerce platform of mobile app. Delivery service is free on orders over $35.

"With 83% of our digital orders being fulfilled though our nearly 1,453 pet care centers nationwide,   we're uniquely positioned to meet the increasing demand from pet parents for fresh pet food," said Darren MacDonald, chief digital and innovation officer at Petco. "This expansion builds on our successful same-day delivery program and gives us a distinct competitive advantage over retailers who ship these products more slowly and with greater environmental impact from distribution centers using more packaging and dry ice."

According to Chicago-based market research firm IRI, sales of refrigerated and frozen dog foods grew 30.8% to $389 million from August 2019 to August 2020, but refrigerated and frozen cat food sales declined 12.6% to $7.7 million over the same period.

In the pet specialty space, NielsenIQ reported sales of refrigerated and fresh pet food products grew 20.7% overall in 2020, but still only make up 1% of the market in this channel. The market research company also reported frozen pet foods grew to $236.1 million in sales in 2020, making up 2.8% of pet food sales in the pet specialty channel.

To accommodate growth in this segment, JustFoodForDogs expects to triple its availability in 2021 with locations at 560 pet care centers nationwide.

"The fresh pet food category has seen tremendous growth and we expect it to become a multi-billion-dollar category in the coming years as pet parents seek new ways to provide their pets with the healthiest nutrition options available," said Julian Mack, chief executive officer of JustFoodForDogs. "As the recognized number one vet-recommended brand in fresh pet food, we're thrilled to continue partnering with Petco to bring our products to more pets and pet parents in new and more convenient ways than ever."

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