Increasing population of large dogs is good, admits Nestlé executive

Steven Presley, Executive VP and CEO of the North American zone, forecasts that the pet category will slow down but still grow.

In the recent Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference, Presley said that the pet category is “by far” the most resilient compared to other food and beverage departments within the Swiss multinational.

“The main challenge over the past few years for the pet segment has been capacity. We have supply to catch up on,” he says.

Nestlé’s CEO agreed that the pet category will soften but forecasts “it will continue with a high single-digit growth.”

Change in pet preferences

Purina PetCare was the largest contributor to Nestlé’s financials in the first 6 months of 2023. Presley notes that premium pet food is “performing well.”

In reply to a question about the slowing trends in the pet population, Nestlé’s executive highlighted that the pet population has averaged 1% growth for the last 3 years.

Presley noted a change in consumer preferences in North America toward big dogs, which he admitted was a positive trend for Nestlé. “Bigger dogs eat more food, so we like seeing more of that in the market,” he says.