Wikipedia defines a duopoly as: “where two firms have dominant or exclusive control over a market, and most (if not all) of the competition within that market occurs directly between them.”
The two companies in pet food’s duopoly: Purina with 32% of US market share and Mars with 29%. (According to market analysis from www.thestreet.com.)
Purina pet food products in the US:
Mars pet food products in the US:
Purina puts their company logo on all of their pet food brands, clearly linking the brand to the Purina name. On the other hand, Mars does not. Mars allows products to stand-alone as a brand – not directly linking them to the Mars name.
Wikipedia states a duopoly “is the most basic form of oligopoly.” “An oligopoly is a market in which pricing control lies in the hands of a few sellers.”
We looked at the pricing between these two brands…
In comparing the price of Purina Dog Chow to Pedigree Dog Food (budget pet foods), the Purina price was $0.69 per pound – the Mars dog food was similarly priced at $0.68 per pound.
Looking at wet cat food brands, comparing the price of Purina Fancy Feast to Mars Sheba, the Purina price was $0.44 per ounce – the Mars cat food was similarly priced at $0.37 per ounce.
Purina and Mars Petcare combined – make 61% of the US pet food market.
This means that the market share of hundreds of other pet food brands added together – make up the remaining 39% of US pet food sales.
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
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