Europe Pet Food Market - Growth, Trends, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

Europe Pet Food Market - Growth, Trends, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

Key Highlights

• The Europe Pet food market is projected to witness a CAGR of 4.9% during the forecast period.
• Pet humanization involves owners trying to incorporate pets into more aspects of their human lives, like holidays, nutrition, healthcare, and more, which is acting as a significant driver behind the growth of this market. There is an increase in the humanization of pets across Europe, as pet owners are treating pets like their own family members. According to the European Pet Food Federation (FEDIAF), around 46% of all European Union households possess at least a single pet. Cats continue to dominate the European pet market with Russia being the country having the largest cat population in the region. The popularity of cats continued to increase during the last century in the region, according to various studies. The number of cat owners increased more than dog owners, due to the relative ease of having a cat as a pet in the modern lifestyle. Dry food, wet food, and semi-moist food are the major types of commercial cat food.
• In recent years, consumers are looking to plug the familial gap with a pet companion, which has resulted in a pet marketplace led by small animals, such as cats and dogs. The rising consumer awareness on the pet food types and ingredients used is driving the demand for premium pet food products in recent years across the region. Furthermore, due to high disposable incomes, the indulgent pet owners in the European countries are happy to spend heavily on ensuring the best quality of food for their pets, which has driven the demand for pet food products in Europe and is anticipated to continue in the coming years.

The population of elderly people living alone, having reduced interaction with family, along with financial stability, are factors that are responsible for increasing pet adoption and the growing interest in proper pet nutrition among the elderly population. The twin factors of increased pet ownership among young millennials and those from the baby boomer generation are contributing to the growth of pet ownership across the region, especially for cats and dogs. According to the European Pet Food Federation (FEDIAF), the population of Cats and Dogs has increased from 188.9 million in 2018 to 206.4 million in 2021. Across the European region, cats and dogs are owned by 26% and 25% of households respectively. Hence, due to the increased parenting of pets, pet food manufacturers are offering premium products targeted toward pet owners, which is expected to contribute to significant market growth during the forecast period. The rapid pace of economic and societal changes can be linked to the trends in pet ownership. The market for pet food closely shadows the market for pets. Increasing urbanization leads to the breaking up of large households and separation from nature. These are often linked to the desire for pets. Therefore, the increasing trend of pet humanization in European countries fueled by rising per capita spending on pets is anticipated to drive the pet food market in the region.

Cats continue to dominate the European market as highly owned pets compared to other pet animals. The popularity of cats has continued to increase during the last century in the region, according to various studies. The number of cat owners has increased more than that of dog owners, which reflects the relative ease of having a cat as a pet in the current modern lifestyle. As of 2021, As reported by the European pet food industry federation (FEDIAF), the pet cat population outnumbers the pet dog population by over 20 million in the region with Russia accounting for the highest pet cat population, followed by Germany and France, the increasing pet humanization in these regions is anticipated to drive the pet food industry in the European market. With the increased ownership of cats in the region, cat food continues to be the most popular pet food.

Companies are offering an increasing number of premium products and launching new products as consumers are prepared to spend more on pet food that is healthy, nutritious, and improves their living conditions. For instance, in April 2021, Mars and Futerra launched an insect-based sustainable dry food for cats called Lovebug in which most of the protein comes from Black soldier fly larvae to increase their sustainable product portfolio. Therefore, the consumer trend toward cat adoption has driven cat food premiumization, which is anticipated to create an expansion of the cat food market over the forecast period.

The European pet food market is fairly consolidated, with significant players such as Mars Inc., Nestlé SA(Purina), Colgate Palmolive (Hill's Pet Nutrition), Archer Daniels Midland (Neovia), and Heristo AG. The players are investing heavily in R&D to launch new products to cater to the changing consumer patterns in the market to expand their market share.

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