Total turnover: 6.5 bn euros

With a total turnover of 5.126 bn euros, the German pet sector recorded an increase in turnover of 7.1 per cent in the stationary specialised and food retail trade in 2022. In addition, 1.203 bn euros in revenue came from online trade and 158 mio euros for wild bird food. The total turnover of the German pet product industry was thus just under 6.5 bn euros. Sales of pet food exceeded the previous year's total by 9.5 per cent, amounting to 4.035 bn euros. In the segment of consumer goods and accessories, on the other hand, sales in 2022 fell slightly by 0.9 per cent to 1.091 bn euros. These are the current figures of the Industrieverband Heimtierbedarf (IVH) and the Zentralverband Zoologischer Fachbetriebe (ZZF), which were released on 5 April.

With total sales of 2.011 bn euros (+12.5 per cent on the previous year), the cat food market remained the largest food segment in 2022. The wet food segment overtook the treat segment including cat milk (+11.8 per cent or 326 mio euros) as the strongest growth driver with an increase of 13.6 per cent (1.329 bn euros). The dry food segment also recorded significant growth of 9.4 per cent to 356 mio euros.

The market for dog food grew by 7.8 per cent to 1.807 bn euros. Wet food grew the most at 595 mio euros, up by 13.4 per cent, followed by dry food (516 mio euros; +7.4 per cent) and treats (696 mio euros; plus 3.6 per cent).

Sales of ornamental fish food also developed positively and achieved a plus of 5.2 per cent with 59 mio euros. Food for small animals remained the third-strongest segment in the food category after ready-made food for cats and dogs, but with sales of 91 mio euros it experienced a significant decline of 7.1 per cent. The pet bird food segment remained stable with turnover of 67 mio euros compared with the previous year. The wild bird food segment also suffered a slight setback after a strong increase in the previous year and achieved sales of 158 mio euros in 2022 (-2.5 per cent).

In sales of commodities and accessories, only cat litter continued to grow: 324 mio euros, 6.1 per cent. All other areas declined: dog accessories yielded 229 mio euros (-4.6 per cent), accessories for cats 224 mio euros (-2.5 per cent), supplies and accessories for ornamental fish recorded 191 mio euros (-2.1 per cent), 93 mio euros (-5.5 per cent) were spent on small animals and sales of accessories for ornamental birds were down by as much as 9.1 per cent (30 mio euros) in the stationary trade.