Financial snapshot: Growth slows in pet food, but premium shows resilience

Pet food producers tracked by GlobalPETS mixed varied performance in the second quarter of 2025. While some reported strong results, ahead of market expectations and analysts’ forecasts, others saw some of their financial indicators decline year-over-year (YoY).

Big players with businesses across different categories, such as Nestlé and Colgate-Palmolive, posted better results in their pet segments (Purina and Hill’s Pet Nutrition, respectively) than in their overall operations. 

The reasons behind the positive results are varied, stemming from a combination of increased sales volume, a favorable price mix and the strengthening of premium categories, in addition to specific factors such as the acquisition of a new brand.

Like big pet retailers, manufacturers also expressed concerns about the macroeconomic environment, uncertainty and a potential US tariff shock, but say they are well-positioned to deal with it – or at least are preparing for it. Firms also addressed cautious consumers across markets as a concerning point. 

Colgate-Palmolive

The American multinational saw its net sales increase 1% YoY in Q2 2025 to $5.11 billion (€4.3B). The company’s sales increased by 1.8%, including a 0.6% negative impact from lower volumes of private-label pet sales. 

The negative impact was “even greater” than in the first quarter, when they announced their intention to exit it. 

Hill’s Pet Nutrition, which makes up 23% of the company’s sales, on the other hand, remains strong: its net sales grew 3.8% in the quarter (stronger than the 1.5% rise in Q1) and organic sales increased by 2% YoY.

According to the company, the acquisition of Australian fresh pet food brand Prime100 earlier in the year increased Hill’s reported volume sales by about 1%.

When we examine the H1, however, Colgate’s net sales were slightly weaker than in 2024 (-1%), while the overall pet nutrition sector rose 2.6% for the period. 

According to Colgate-Palmolive, their “focus on innovation and the strength of our global portfolio” helped get around “volatility in category growth and uncertainty in global markets”. 

The company is focused on increasing productivity over the next few years to reduce costs, primarily by optimizing its supply chain and streamlining its organizational structure. 

Freshpet

The New Jersey-based company reported solid net income in Q2: $16.4 million (€14.2M) compared to a net loss of $1.7 million (€1.5M) during the same period in 2024. 

This increase was driven by higher sales, improved gross profit as a percentage of net sales and decreased selling and general and administrative expenses.

Net sales increased by 12.5% YoY to $264.7 million (€228.6M), primarily driven by volume gains of more than 10% and a favorable price/mix of 1.7%.

“Against a more challenging consumer sentiment backdrop, we continue to significantly outperform the dog food category, delivering both category-leading sales growth and strong improvements in operations,” says Freshpet’s CEO, Billy Cyr.

i-Tail Corporation

The Thai pet food manufacturer reported sales growth of 8.1% YoY for the first half of the year. However, in Q2, net sales decreased by 2%.

The result was fueled by a 6.9% increase in sales volume and “robust demand from key customers and world pet food companies in both the US and EU markets”, the company says. It launched new projects in the US valued at $56 million (€52M) and the first shipments to new importer brands in the UK and Europe. 

The Bangkok-headquartered company attributes a limit in revenue growth in local currency to the appreciation of the Thai Baht. 

i-Tail also reported a decline in gross profit margin, which went from 27.7% in 2024 to 24.6% in H1, and a 25% YoY decrease in net profit. According to the company, it is a “result of a lower proportion of premium products”. 

The company says it is following a potential fallout from US tariff policies, and it is currently working with customers on cost-sharing plans while expanding its operations in low-tariff markets.

Nestlé

The Swiss multinational had a hard time in the first 6 months of 2025: it reported a 1.8% decrease in sales, going from CHF 45 billion ($56.4B/€48.4B) in the first half of 2024 to CHF 44.2 billion ($55.4B/€47.5B) in the same period of 2025.

Pet care brand Purina was the second strongest category in sales, reporting CHF 9.2 billion ($11.5B/€9.9B) (20.8% of total results). But its organic growth of 1.3% was smaller than the 2.9% reported by the total group. 

According to the company, its “super-premium science brands continue to show strong momentum,” while the entire pet category experienced a “general slowdown in growth.”

Nestlé highlighted that the petcare segment performed differently across regions. In Europe, it “delivered low single-digit growth, led by Felix, Purina ProPlan and Purina ONE, growth was RIG driven.” 

In the Americas, “growth was positive, with solid performance in cat, offset by weaker category dynamics impacting sales in mainstream dog brands and snacks”. 

And in Asia, Oceania and Africa, the category actually “posted negative growth, with strong growth in emerging markets, more than offset by category softness in developed markets.”

Symrise

The German chemicals company’s sales fell 2.9% YoY from $1.27 billion (€1.08B) to $1.23 billion (€1.04B) in Q2. In H1, the decrease was smoother (-0.5%).

Overall, in the first half of 2025, the Holzminden-based company registered an organic growth of 3.1% and a gross profit increase of 6%, due to “recurring cost savings”: through efficiency improvements of €40 million this year. 

The pet food division maintained “flat organic sales despite continued cautious consumer sentiment across key markets,” the company says. Pet palatability recorded “solid” growth, largely from the European-African-Middle Eastern and Latin American regions. 

Full-year outlook

Colgate-Palmolive updated its guidance for full-year 2025, now expecting net sales to rise in the low single digits. The company projects organic sales growth at the low end of 2% to 4%, reflecting the planned exit from private-label pet sales over the course of the year. 

Freshpet also revised its full-year guidance downward. Net sales are now expected to increase 13% to 16% compared to 2024, down from the previous range of 15% to 18%. 

Symrise similarly lowered its organic growth forecast to 3%-5% from the prior 5%-7%, citing the current global demand environment as a key factor. 

Nestlé, in contrast, maintained its 2025 guidance, forecasting higher organic sales despite “increased headwinds,” including the negative impact of existing tariffs and current foreign exchange rates.