A growing market

Dog food is a growth driver in the global pet supplies sector. As appreciation of their four-legged companions has increased, the readiness of dog owners in many countries to spend on their health and welfare has grown too. It therefore comes as no surprise that so-called premium products are in particular demand. PET worldwide sheds a light on the situation in selected countries below and highlights the special features of each market.

The volume of dog food sales in the German market in 2019 amounted to 1.5 bn euros in bricks-and-mortar stores, equa­ting to growth of 4.2 per cent compared with the previous year. Dog food was the merchandise category exhibiting the highest growth in the pet food market in 2019. The highest growth rates were for treats. These maintained their position as the bestselling sub-category, with an increase in sales of 5.6 per cent and a volume of 586 mio euros. Sales of moist food rose by 2.9 per cent to 487 mio euros in 2019. The market for dry dog food also recorded a positive trend, growing by 3.9 per cent to 452 mio euros.

While cat food is on an upward trend in Japan, the dog food market has been stagnating for some time and is likely to record only low growth rates in the next few years. Experts expect the market to attain a sales volume of 1.856 bn dollars (approx. 1.62 bn euros) by 2022. This equates to annual growth of 0.5 per cent on average. The biggest sub-category is dry food, accounting for a volume of sales of around 1.18 bn dollars (1.03 bn euros). The second-biggest sub-segment is treats, which currently generate sales worth approx. 450 mio dollars (393 mio euros). Here the average sales increase is higher than in the other sub-segments at 0.8 per cent. Moist dog food accounts for a comparatively small share of sales of around 200 mio dollars (174.8 mio euros) and exhibits a downward trend.
The dog population in Japan was surpassed by the cat population in 2017, impacting product development. This is mainly due to the increasing ageing population and single-person households in Japan, as dogs require more care than cats, such as daily walks and healthcare. Although dog food overall is expected to stagnate, the premium dog food segment will see the best performance over the forecast period due to the ongoing pet humanisation trend.

Pet food manufacturers based in Spain have succeeded in increasing their overall sales by 3.7 per cent to over 1.2 bn euros in the last year compared with 2018 (1.17 mio…