Exclusive: German pet industry hits €7 billion

The German pet industry brought in €7 billion ($7.54B) in 2023, a 9.5% increase from the previous year. Between 2021 and 2023, the sector accounted for an additional €1 billion.

According to a new report from the German Pet Trade and Industry Association (ZZF), the turnover of brick-and-mortar specialists and food retailers in the country accounted for €5.6 billion ($6.03B). This is €500 million ($538.1M) more than in 2022.

Pet food represented most of these sales, with €4.5 billion ($4.84B), followed by accessories (€1.1/$1.18 billion).

The ZZF’s insights, seen by GlobalPETS and officially released during the Interzoo 2024 inaugural press conference in Nuremberg, suggest an increase in online purchases. In 2022, e-commerce represented €1.2 billion ($1.29B) in sales, but in 2023, turnover hit €1.3 billion ($1.4B).

The German E-Commerce and Distance Selling Trade Association (bevh) believes the online growth forecast for the global e-commerce sector in Germany over the next 5 years will positively impact the pet sector.

Multichannel purchasing

The data also suggests that German pet owners use several channels depending on their needs, resulting in shopping behavior being split between physical stores and e-commerce platforms. 

A third (33.3%) of German pet owners bought pet supplies exclusively in shops in 2023. “In specialist pet stores, pet owners can try out products, buy special pet food and use the many services offered, such as pet grooming,” highlights ZZF’s President Norbert Holthenrich.

The report from the trade organization also suggests that pet store chains are gaining ground in Germany. “The retail space of the 20 largest pet store operators grew by a little more than 2 percent,” it reads.

Conversely, 7% of pet parents buy pet food and 11% purchase animal accessories exclusively online.

A country of cats

The ZZF calculates that 15.7 million cats lived in a quarter of German households in 2023. Additionally, more than 4 out of 10 (42%) cat owners in the country own 2 or more felines. 

Dogs were the second most popular pet last year (10.5 million), followed by small animals like rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters and mice (4.6 million) and birds (3.5 million).

There were 2.2 million aquariums for ornamental fish, 1.3 million garden ponds, and 1.2 million terrariums home to various reptiles.