Pet Food Global Market Opportunities And Strategies To 2034

This report describes and explains the pet food market and covers 2019-2024, termed the historic period, and 2024-2029, 2034F termed the forecast period. The report evaluates the market across each region and for the major economies within each region.

The global pet food market reached a value of nearly $73.56 billion in 2024, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.51% since 2019. The market is expected to grow from $73.56 billion in 2024 to $102.17 billion in 2029 at a rate of 6.79%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.34% from 2029 and reach $145.57 billion in 2034.

Growth in the historic period resulted from influence of celebrity endorsements and social media trends, increase in adoption of pets, increasing spending on animal healthcare and increasing pet food marketing and promotional campaigns. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period were increasing cost of pet food and competition from homemade pet food.

Going forward, increasing adoption of shelter animals, growth of pet insurance, increasing awareness of pet nutrition and health and expansion of the retail and e-commerce industry will drive the growth. Factor that could hinder the growth of the pet food market in the future include concerns over product recalls and safety, stringent and non-uniform regulations and trade war and tariffs.

The pet food market is segmented by type into dog food, cat food and other pet food. The dog food market was the largest segment of the pet food market segmented by type, accounting for 55.86% or $41.09 billion of the total in 2024. Going forward, the dog food segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the pet food market segmented by type, at a CAGR of 7.35% during 2024-2029.

The pet food market is segmented by ingredients into animal derivatives, plant derivatives and synthetic. The animal derivatives market was the largest segment of the pet food market segmented by ingredients, accounting for 61.99% or $45.59 billion of the total in 2024. Going forward, the plant derivatives segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the pet food market segmented by ingredients, at a CAGR of 7.29% during 2024-2029.

The pet food market is segmented by distribution channel into specialized pet shops, internet sales, hypermarkets and other distribution channels. The specialized pet shops market was the largest segment of the pet food market segmented by distribution channel, accounting for 36.05% or $26.51 billion of the total in 2024. Going forward, the other distribution channels segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the pet food market segmented by distribution channel, at a CAGR of 7.49% during 2024-2029.

North America was the largest region in the pet food market, accounting for 46.36% or $34.1 billion of the total in 2024. It was followed by Asia Pacific, Western Europe and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the pet food market will be Middle East and Eastern Europe where growth will be at CAGRs of 15.45% and 10.48% respectively. These will be followed by Asia Pacific and Africa where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 9.07% and 8.96% respectively.

The global pet food market is highly concentrated, with large players dominating in the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up to 78.05% of the total market in 2024. Nestlé Purina Pet Care (Nestlé SA) was the largest competitor with a 31.81% share of the market, followed by Mars Petcare Inc. with 29.91%, Hill's Pet Nutrition Inc. with 6.09%, General Mills Pet with 3.56%, The J.M. Smucker Company with 2.26%, Freshpet, Inc. with 1.33%, Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (United Pet Group) with 1.06%, Affinity Petcare SA with 1.03%, Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc. with 0.83% and Central Garden & Pet Company with 0.37%.

The top opportunities in the pet food market segmented by type will arise in the dog food segment, which will gain $17.48 billion of global annual sales by 2029. The top opportunities in the pet food market segmented by ingredients will arise in the animal derivatives segment, which will gain $16.9 billion of global annual sales by 2029. The top opportunities in the pet food market segmented by distribution channel will arise in the hypermarkets segment, which will gain $9.73 billion of global annual sales by 2029. The pet food market size will gain the most in the USA at $7.55 billion.

Market-trend-based strategies for the pet food market include focus on strategic partnerships and advanced manufacturing capabilities, focus on developing sustainable, alternative protein-based formulations, such as cultured and plant-derived ingredients, focus on introducing cultivated meat-based products that replicate the nutritional profile of traditional meat, focus on launching premium, nutritionally advanced products featuring superfoods, high-quality proteins and specialized formulations and focus on introducing premium, nutrient-rich formulations infused with functional ingredients and super herbs.

Player-adopted strategies in the pet food market include focus on expanding operational capabilities through strategic acquisitions and focus on enhancing business operations through strategic collaborations and partnerships.

To take advantage of the opportunities, the analyst recommends the pet food market companies to focus on sustainable protein innovation, focus on premium and nutritionally advanced pet food, focus on nutritionally advanced and affordable pet food, focus on dog food as the fastest growing segment, focus on plant derivatives for long-term growth, expand in emerging markets, continue to focus on developed markets, focus on strategic partnerships and manufacturing capabilities, focus on cultivated meat innovation, focus on value-based and tiered pricing, focus on digital and social media engagement, focus on experiential and in-store promotions, focus on internet sales for sustainable growth.

This product will be delivered within 3-5 business days.