Cat food packaging: why aroma matters

When a cat approaches its bowl, its sense of smell plays a role before taste comes into play. Olfaction is therefore an important factor in how cats perceive and select food.Research shows that aroma can influence not only a cat’s preference between different products, but also its motivation to eat. For pet food manufacturers, this means that preserving the food’s sensory properties is an essential part of maintaining product quality.

Cats choose their food by smell

Back in 2001, researchers from the Institute for Animal Breeding, Nutrition and Laboratory Animal Science in Budapest investigated the factors influencing cats’ food preferences (Hullár et al., 2001).

The conclusion was clear: the animals relied primarily on smell. When one food had a noticeably more appealing aroma than another, cats preferred it without tasting the alternative. Only when the difference in aroma was negligible did taste become a relevant factor.

In other words, smell is not a secondary characteristic. It can influence a cat’s interest in a particular food even before the first bite.

What influences the aroma of pet food

In 2024, the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry published a study (Wei et al., 2024) in which researchers analysed 50 volatile aromatic compounds in four pet food samples treated with different attractant formulations and compared their aroma profiles with palatability — the product’s appeal to the animal. The results revealed distinct differences in the pet food’s aroma profiles, as well as varying effects of individual aromatic compounds on their palatability.

This leads to a practical conclusion for production: formulation and processing technology determine the pet food’s aroma, while packaging plays a critical role in preserving these volatile compounds and delivering the intended sensory profile to the bowl with minimal loss.

Can packaging alter the smell of a product?

There is a nuance here that is often overlooked. A 2019 study of food packaging materials (Vera, Canellas & Nerín, 2020) showed that the materials themselves — polypropylene, polyethylene, paper and multilayer cardboard — may contain volatile compounds capable of contributing their own characteristic odours. Using the GC-O-MS analysis, the researchers identified 46 such compounds in seven commercial samples intended for food contact. The study’s main conclusion was that, despite the presence of these compounds, none of the detected migration levels exceeded the established specific migration limits (SMLs) or recommended thresholds. In other words, the volatile substances identified remained within the applicable limits for food contact materials.

This means that the choice of packaging material is not simply a matter of barrier performance and design, but also of the material’s compatibility with a specific formulation. Packaging that is not sufficiently compatible with the product can affect its sensory profile and, ultimately, compromise the results achieved through careful formulation.

Cat food packaging must preserve the product’s properties

For pet food manufacturers, it is essential that packaging performs its primary function throughout the entire shelf life — protecting the food from external influences while helping to preserve its quality, nutritional value and sensory characteristics.

Today, there is no one-size-fits-all packaging solution for every type of pet food. The structure and format must be selected according to the product’s specific characteristics, required barrier performance and processing technology.

Safety and quality control in packaging production

The quality of packaging depends not only on the polymers selected or the multilayer structure. Robust production controls and compliance with recognized international standards are equally important.

Gualapack Ukraine is certified to BRCGS Packaging Materials Issue 7 and ISO 9001:2015. BRCGS Packaging Materials addresses, among other areas, the safety and quality of packaging materials, compliance with applicable legal requirements and risk management throughout production. ISO 9001 defines requirements for an effective quality management system.

For pet food manufacturers, this means the opportunity to work with a packaging partner operating under established quality and safety management systems.

Do cats really choose their food by smell?

Yes. A 2001 study showed that when one type of food had a noticeably more appealing aroma, cats preferred it without tasting the alternative. Taste became relevant only when the difference in aroma was negligible.

What sort of packaging is suitable for wet food?

A retort pouch designed to withstand high-temperature sterilisation. A standard pouch is not suitable for retort processing because its structure may not withstand the required temperature and pressure.

How does packaging for dry food differ from that for wet food?

The key difference lies in the processing technology. Dry food is not sterilised, so effective moisture protection and resealability are critical for maintaining product quality. Wet food undergoes retort processing, so the packaging structure must withstand high temperatures and pressure.

The aroma of cat food is determined by its formulation and production process. The packaging’s role is to preserve and deliver that aroma to the bowl with minimal loss. Gualapack Ukraine develops packaging for dry and wet cat food in formats and structures tailored to the specific requirements of each product – please get in touch!