Getting closer to €3B: Italian pet food turnover spurt in 2022

In 2022, dog and cat food turnover in Italy was €2.75 billion ($2.99B). This is an increase of nearly 15% against 2021, where the sales hit €2.41 billion ($2.63B).

Volume rose by 0.8% to 673,000 tons, according to the new data released by Zoomark and the Italian Association for Pet Feeding and Care (ASSALCO).

“Pets are bona fide members of the family, and we are now devoting more time to them and paying more attention to their diet and well-being. This increased attention is reflected in a market that, even in a difficult year like 2022, continued to perform well,” said Giorgio Massoni, President of ASSALCO.

The report, presented during the trade fair in Bologna this week, concluded that trends driving pet food purchases among Italian owners were label oriented, much as the influencers of human food, like “rich in,” “free from,” and products made in Italy.

Cat and dog pet food on the lead

In 2022 there were 65 million pets across Italian households, 200,000 more than in 2021. Fish are the most common, with 30 million (in 2021, they accounted for 29.9%). It is believed there are 13 million birds (12.9 million in 2021).

Cat food made over €1.48 billion ($1.61B) or 53.8% of total value in 2022, while dog food sales accounted for €1.27 billion ($1.38B). This is 46.2% of the total value.

The cat population slightly increased, from 10.1 million in 2021 to 10.3 million in 2022. The dog population also rose by 100,000, from 8.7 million in 2021 to 8.8 million in 2022.

Small animals accounted for 1.8 million, the same amount as in 2021. The report highlighted that the turnover of pet food for small animals hit €13.2 million ($14.3M), an increase of 5.6%.

Pet care

Hygiene products, toys, and accessories pushed sales in Italy to €80 million ($87M), marking a 3.2% growth against 2021. In terms of growth, hygiene led the segment in value (+11.7%) and volume (+6.9%).

Cat litter continued to dominate and became the top non-food sales category with a total turnover of €87 million ($94.8M) from €79.8 million ($87M) in 2021. The category experienced an increase both in value (9.7%) and volume (1.9%).

Retailing channels

ASSALCO highlighted that the grocery channel, which accounted for nearly 6 out of 10 pet product sales last year, was hit the hardest by inflation. It is believed that Italy experienced a 12% pet product inflation in 2022.

Nevertheless, the report concluded that the channel hit €1.62 billion ($1.76B) last year, sales value increased by 14%, and volume saw a small growth of 0.4%.

Traditional pet shops accounted for 24.4% of the market and €673.8 million ($735M), followed by pet store chains with 14% of the market and a turnover of €385.1 million ($422.2M).

Supermarkets pet stores, a new format recently established in the country, represented 2.6% of the total sales. The estimated turnover of this channel was €72.2 million ($78.7M) in 2022.