Italian growth market

2023 was a difficult year for consumer goods in Italy. Supply prices rose by 9.7 per cent, undermining the purchasing power of Italian households. Nevertheless, the market for dog and cat food in grocery stores and pet shops recorded a turnover of more than 3 bn euros and 673 153 tonnes sold.

The wet food segment was the most important at 1.467 bn euros (market share: 54.4 per cent). Turnover rose by 13.4 per cent and volume by 1.1 per cent. The pet shop chains and large retail pet stores recorded strong growth in this segment with double-digit increases (wet dog food: 18.8 per cent; wet cat food: 18 per cent).

The dry food segment generated 1.227 bn euros and achieved a share of 40.8 per cent. Of this, 22.9 per cent was accounted for by dry dog food and 17.9 per cent by dry cat food. Traditional pet shops recorded growth of 6.1 per cent in both segments, albeit with different volume dynamics. While dry cat food declined in terms of volume, sales of dry dog food remained the same.