Country report: Turkey – Future looks promising for Turkish pet food manufacturers
Pet ownership is on the up, consumers are increasingly opting for higher quality and the export business is booming. Let’s take a closer look at the dynamics of the Turkish pet care market.
In 2023, Turkey had a population of more than 85 million people, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute, and around 20.9 million pets. This number is expected to rise as owning a pet continues to become increasingly popular in the country, meaning there is plenty to analyze in the pet industry sector.
Pets gaining prominence
The profile of pets and their owners has significantly grown in Turkey over the past few years. “The pandemic period accelerated this process. The cat and dog food industry is growing rapidly both in the domestic market and in exports thanks to this favorable ground,” says the Aegean Cereals, Pulses, Oil Seeds and Products Exporters’ Association.
Petlebi.com, an online pet shop and pet rehoming platform, has rehomed approximately 150,000 cats and dogs so far. Co-founder and CEO Atay Algeç agrees that the interest in pet adoption among Turkish people has increased more strongly since the COVID-19 outbreak.
There are no official figures on the value of the domestic pet care market in Turkey, but Algeç believes that it has approximately doubled since the pandemic. “It is not possible to share a clear rate, but I can use petlebi.com’s growth figures as a basic indication. We grew threefold during the pandemic period,” he says.
More discerning customers
Other industry insiders believe that pet parents are more critical and investigative than in previous years. “They want food brands that meet cat and dog needs. Products that are rich in ingredients and produced with high quality are increasingly preferred,” states Oktay Diker, Corporate Communications Manager at pet food manufacturer Lider Group.
This Izmir-based company also says that dog ownership is becoming more popular in Turkey, especially of small and mini-breed types.
In-store versus online
The country’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry recently reported that 2,365 stores received licenses to sell pets in 2023. The majority of these stores are located in developed metropolitan areas – such as the capital Ankara and Istanbul – where the cat and dog adoption rate is high. Algeç estimates that Istanbul alone, which is the largest city in Turkey with more than 15 million inhabitants, accounts for approximately 35% of the nation’s pet market.
Although the exact online penetration rate in the pet industry is unclear, e-commerce seems to be gaining popularity among Turkish pet parents. “People used online channels more during the pandemic and got used to its convenience,” says Algeç from petlebi.com, which claims to have 1.5 million visitors per month.
Algeç also points out that the small size of most pet shops in Turkey limits the product assortment, which is why consumers prefer online shopping for pet products. For example, it is believed that most pet shops in Istanbul are around 35 sq m. Therefore, pet stores tend to only carry the best-known brands or the brands with the highest profit margins, leading to a lack of brand diversity.
Stores are also lacking a wide range of accessories and toys. Even though pet shop owners are financially solid, they cannot purchase large amounts of goods at once. This means they often cannot offer attractive promotions and discounts to their customers.
Impact of inflation
With the inflation rate exceeding 60% in the last 2 years, Turkish citizens are experiencing a decrease in purchasing power. According to price comparison websites, cat and dog food prices increased by between 35% and 55% compared to 2023.
“Despite the high cost of living, we think that the pet sector is the industry that is least affected by the high inflation because pet owners are seeing their pets as their children,” comments Algeç.
Nevertheless, Lider Group observed that some customers are looking for cheaper alternatives in the pet food space, signaling a transition from the premium to the mainstream segment. Algeç adds that this trend occurred mostly in food for large-breed dogs due to the high monthly consumption amounts.
Thriving export market
Turkey has a strong pet food manufacturing industry serving both the domestic and international market. It is believed that 60% of the cat and dog food is produced in the Aegean region of the country.
The country exported pet food to 96 countries last year. The top 10 markets were Malaysia, Israel, Iraq, US, UK, Greece, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Georgia and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
The value of these exports totaled $122 million ($133M) in 2023. “In 2014, Turkey exported only $4.5 million (€4.1M) worth of pet food. The sector’s exports gradually increased and reached $8 million (€7.35M) in 2018. In 2019, the sector started to grow exponentially,” says Muhammet Öztürk, Chairman of the Aegean Cereals, Pulses, Oil Seeds and Products Exporters’ Association.
In other words, pet food exports have increased 27 times over the last decade. The sector aims to hit $150 million (€138M) in pet food exports by the end of 2024.
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