North African pet industry: A fast-growing region with untapped potential

Population trends in North Africa have created a demographic of young, urban consumers who are increasingly aware of modern pet care practices. And despite many logistical and regulatory obstacles, the emerging markets on the continent are working hard to meet the demands of pet parents.

Egypt: corner shops and economy brands

Egypt is emerging as one of North Africa’s fastest- growing pet care markets. According to Euromonitor, retail sales rose sharply from €10.5 million ($12.2M) in 2021 to an estimated €23 million ($26.8M) in 2025.

The 2026 forecast is for this to hit €27.4 million ($31.9M). With an increasing pet population, over 4.2 million in 2025, this reflects a gradual shift from informal pet ownership towards more commercialized care.

Despite the growth of the retail market, Egypt’s pet supplies sales remain predominantly offline. Most pet food and basic accessories are still purchased from independent neighborhood pet shops, veterinary clinics and supermarkets. It is believed that small local grocers represent more than 50% of sales by value. These outlets typically focus on mass-market and economy brands and offer limited product varieties.

Payment in cash preferred

According to online pet retailer Pawsket, certain structural characteristics of the market continue to reinforce offline purchasing. Cash on delivery remains the dominant payment method, reflecting limited card penetration and consumer preference for in-person or pay-on-arrival transactions.

This payment behavior, combined with high price sensitivity and delivery issues in congested areas, slows the transition to e-commerce and keeps traditional retail channels central to the market.

Founded in 2019, Pawsket claims to be Egypt’s first and largest dedicated online platform for pet supplies. It offers more than 2,000 items across roughly 100 brands, spanning dry and wet food, treats, accessories, grooming and healthcare supplies.

A feline-centered market

Cats dominate Egypt’s pet landscape – both demographically and commercially. Euromonitor data shows that, by 2025, they represented over 60% of the national pet population, a trend clearly reflected in purchasing behavior. Amir Elshazly, co-founder and CMO at Pawsket, tells PETS International that around 70% of the orders received in 2025 were cat related. Average basket value across the platform typically ranges between €19 ($22) and €25 ($29).

Cat parents usually purchase two to four items per order, with strong repeat behavior on a monthly or bimonthly cycle. These orders are driven by frequent purchases of essentials such as dry food, wet food and litter. Dog orders, while lower in volume, tend to include higher-value items such as larger food packs, accessories, supplements and grooming products.

Shifts in consumer behavior

According to Elshazly, the growth in purchases on the platform is mainly driven by urban middle-class households in Greater Cairo – home to more than 23 million people – as well as younger owners (22-35 years old), dual-income professionals and expats who, he says, tend to purchase higher quality imported brands.

Wider adoption appears to be the main driver of Egypt’s strong year-on-year growth, even as consumers adjust spending behavior in response to a succession of economic shocks over the past few years. These include multiple currency devaluations, inflation rates that peaked above 30% in 2023, and recurrent foreign exchange shortages. All of these have limited purchasing power and reshaped consumption patterns across non-essential sectors, including pet care.

The search for better value

“Customers are shifting from premium to mid-range and economy brands,” says Elshazly. Imported premium brands such as Royal Canin and Hill’s remain popular, but buyers are increasingly substituting them with more affordable alternatives. Some of these brands come from Turkey, due to geographic proximity and lower price.

Elshazly also points to growing interest in local value brands such as Alpha, Happy Tails and Aleef, which have expanded rapidly on the back of affordability and stronger availability compared with imported products. Alpha, produced by domestic manufacturer ABA Pet Food, is one of the most widely distributed local brands and focuses on entry-level dry food for cats and dogs.

Aleef similarly targets price-sensitive consumers, with larger pack sizes designed to appeal to multi-pet households. Happy Tails sits slightly higher on the value spectrum, combining accessible pricing with a stronger focus on nutrition and ingredient quality for urban consumers.

There are structural challenges that limit these brands’ growth. According to Elshazly, local producers continue to have problems accessing high-quality raw materials – particularly protein inputs, which are largely imported. Manufacturing and packaging standards also vary widely, so it’s hard for a brand to deliver the consistency required for premium positioning.

As a result, most domestic brands remain focused on volume-driven, entry-level products rather than functional or veterinary diets.

Morocco: steady consumer evolutions

Pet retail sales in Morocco were estimated at €62.5 million ($72.8M) in 2025 and projected to grow steadily at around 4-6% in 2026. This moderate expansion reflects a market where commercial pet food is already widely adopted, particularly through mass retail channels. Supermarket chains such as Marjane and Carrefour (operated by Groupe Label’Vie) dominate the retail landscape in the country – and that includes pet supplies.

According to the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service’s 2025 Retail Foods Annual report, Marjane Holding is still Morocco’s leading modern food retailer, followed by Groupe Label’Vie with its Carrefour stores. The Conseil de la Concurrence, the country’s competition authority, estimates that these supermarket chains covered a total of about 60-70% of the retail market in 2024.

Online purchasing gains

Within this established retail landscape, consumer behavior is gradually evolving. According to online pet retailer Wigglie, more engaged pet owners – especially in major urban centers such as Casablanca, Rabat, Tangier and Marrakech – are increasingly turning to specialized pet stores and e-commerce platforms.

Wigglie launched in Morocco in 2023. It offers a wide range of products – from branded dry and wet food plus treats, to grooming and healthcare items and accessories such as bedding, toys, collars and harnesses. The platform’s founders say that the channel caters to consumers seeking greater variety, personalized guidance and access to international brands that are not always available in supermarkets.

Cat vs dog spending

As in Egypt, cats make up the majority of Morocco’s pet population – approximately two-thirds of all pets, according to Euromonitor. This demographic balance translates directly into consumption patterns, with cat owners generating the highest volumes and the most repeat purchases while dog parents tend to drive higher spending per pet.

According to Wigglie, a single dog-related order often consists of food plus several complementary products, such as supplements, hygiene products, training accessories and essentials like leashes and beds. Cat-related orders are more often focused on core essentials, such as food, litter and basic accessories.

“In terms of trends, we are seeing a gradual but clear interest in more specialized products, including formulas positioned as natural, functional or adapted to specific needs like digestive sensitivity, indoor cats and sterilized pets,” Wigglie’s representatives explain.

They add that many customers tend to purchase the same brand of pet food when it’s available. “Well- established international brands such as Royal Canin, Ownat and Hill’s perform consistently on the platform, particularly within their core nutrition ranges for cats and dogs.”

Issues affecting imports

Wigglie’s founders point to several structural factors that limit the number of new international pet food brands allowed to enter Morocco. Regulatory requirements from the National Office of Food Safety (ONSSA), such as the health certificates and traceability documentation required for importing pet food ingredients, add complexity and cost to bringing products into the country.

Another problem that smaller e-commerce platforms and importers encounter is the minimum order quantities demanded by overseas manufacturers. This makes it harder for them to bring in a broader range of SKUs to sell at the competitive prices offered through larger distributors.

The income from the import charges themselves, which include freight, tariffs and clearance at major ports such as Casablanca and Tangier, explains why Morocco remains heavily reliant on imported pet food, with the country bringing in roughly €101.4 million ($118.4M) worth of pet food in 2022.

Emergence of local brands

Because of all these constraints, there is now growing interest in expanding local pet food production, both to improve price accessibility and to enhance supply stability. However, the number of local producers is still small compared to imported products, and local brands often compete on price rather than with premium positioning.

A few enterprising Moroccan players have already emerged. An example is the agricultural cooperative COPAG investing in a local line of dog food under the Jaouda/Aydi brand. And the Aliments et Proteines du Nord group near Tangier produces dog and cat croquettes marketed through specialized channels.

Wider North Africa: seeking out opportunity

While Egypt and Morocco serve as the primary anchors for the North African pet industry, the surrounding region – particularly Algeria, which has one of the highest GDPs on the continent – offers a landscape of untapped potential and represents a regional shift that is finally rebounding after years of trade restrictions.

However, many of the North African countries remain a statistical ‘black box’. The lack of centralized data for these emerging markets is a significant hurdle that first needs to be tackled to understand the scale and nature of the pet market.

Libya’s persistent institutional fragmentation, and its lack of coherent governance and regulatory frameworks, have long restricted the country’s ability to engage efficiently with broader supply chains beyond the oil sector.

This situation would also shape the development of niche markets such as pet care. In Mauritania, the agro-pastoral sector – particularly livestock – dominates economic activity, while the private sector beyond traditional farming and herding remains limited.

Structural constraints on competition, plus small and micro business sectors that are not formally organized, suggest that any expansion of specialized consumer markets to interact with global supply chains will face significant hurdles across the region. But despite logistical and regulatory obstacles, plus a lack of detailed market research, North Africa does have some of the most resilient emerging economies in the world.

Youthful and forward-looking

The region now has a median age of approximately 25, and a population growth rate of more than 1.5%. Among the young, urban consumers, you find pet owners who are increasingly aware of modern pet care practice. Insights from industry players such as Pawsket in Egypt and Wigglie in Morocco show that this consumer transition is also marked by a shift into specialized pet ecosystems.

That is particularly visible on online platforms that provide door-to-door delivery to regions where access to large physical retailers remains limited.

And as these companies say, future success in the market will depend very much on adaptive retail, where digital platforms satisfy the growing demand for high-quality nutrition while simultaneously mitigating the risks of import dependency by promoting reliable, locally produced alternatives.