How is the pet industry capitalizing on healthcare and vet growth?

Even though an increasing number of surveys around the world show pet owners apprehensive about the costs of veterinary consultations and treatments, revenue data from selected countries shows that the sector continues to expand.

Performance is not uniform across all markets, but nonetheless points to growth in the animal health sector, together with increased sales of healthcare products, from medicines to nutritional supplements.

US

Data from the American Pet Products Association (APPA) shows that veterinary care commanded the second highest revenue in the country’s pet sector last year, at $40 billion (€35B).

Although it grew by only 2.5% year-over-year (YoY) in 2025, the leap over five years is striking: almost 21%.

This shows that in the long term, the sector has been strengthening, even if part of this increase carries the effects of persistent inflation – in July, the accumulated yearly inflationary rate in the US for the vet category was 5.1%.

Compromised access

The organization does not provide disaggregated data for medication sales, but it shows that subscription purchases of these products in the US grew by 14% last year.

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) tracks revenue and visits to vet practices in the US and shows that while sales increased by 3.3% from August 2025 to August 2026, the number of visits decreased by 2.1% during the same period, exposing challenges in access to healthcare – especially among low-income owners.

In clinic revenue, there is another contrast: services are driving the increase in practice income, having grown by 2.8% in the period, but product sales at practices fell by 3.3% compared to the previous year.

Brazil

In Brazil, the veterinary products industry grew 7.9% YoY in 2025, reaching R$12.8 billion ($2.5B/€2.2B). Of this amount, R$3.2 billion ($620M/€540M) corresponds to cat and dog products, representing a quarter of the market, as per data from the National Union of the Animal Health Products Industry (Sindan).

The category experienced a slight decrease in market share compared to 2024, but remains at a high level compared to the past decade. In 2015, companion animals’ participation in the veterinary products market was only 17%.

The reduction in market share is more likely linked to the strengthening of other sectors in the country than the result of a direct fall for the cat and dog segment. “This trend is related to the faster growth of animal production chains, especially cattle and poultry, which gained greater weight in sectoral revenue,” the association explains.

Equine products generated revenue of roughly R$256 million ($50M/€43.5M), comprising a further 2% of animal health revenue.

Projected growth for 2026

Based on first-quarter sales, the Brazilian pet industry association Abempet estimates that sales of veterinary products will grow 5.1% YoY in 2026 to represent 10.6% of the pet market. The category’s annual revenue for the year is estimated at R$8.63 billion ($1.7B/€1.5B).

Veterinary services come next, with projected revenue of R$8.56 billion ($1.67B/€1.44B) and a market share of 10.5%. The category’s growth is estimated at 4.6% YoY. This places them in third and fourth positions among the sector’s largest revenue generators, behind food and sales of live animals.

The expansions of both categories are set to continue outpacing general market growth, projected to be 4.2% at the end of the year. In 2025, while the average rise of the Brazilian market was 3.5%, vet services expanded by 6.7% and vet products by 5.1%.

Australia

The latest report from Animal Medicines Australia (AMA) shows healthcare products as the second highest revenue category in the country’s pet market. From March 2024 to March 2025, it generated AU$2.8 billion ($2B/€1.7B), including medicines, flea, worm and tick treatments, and dietary supplements.

Veterinary services, the third largest category by sales, generated AU$1.9 billion ($1.33B/€1.16B) in revenue. Insurance and alternative health treatments added up to AU$1.6 billion ($1.12B/€0.97B).

Health categories as a whole represent 29.6% of the total revenue of the pet market in the country – a jump of 46.5% from the figure reported in 2016.

Vet visits on the rise

The strong performance is a result of an increase in vet visits compared to previous years, according to the AMA.

The percentage of cats that underwent at least one consultation in the year analyzed rose from 69% in 2022 to 75% in 2025, while visits for dogs increased from 84% to 89% in the same period, mainly for routine check-ups and vaccinations. The rates were based on a survey of 2,450 pet owners in February and March 2025.

Outdated figures

Revenue data for the sector is scarce or outdated in some countries. Arnaud Deleu, Director of Economic Affairs for the French Veterinary Medicines and Diagnostics Industry Association (SIMV), tells GlobalPETS that the Interprofessional Association for the Study of Veterinary Medicines (AIEMV), which published data on veterinary medicine sales by species, “ceased operations in 2023” and “there are no new publications”.

But historical data from the AIEMV shows the revenue breakdown between the equine, pet and livestock segments from 2002 to 2022. Even though it is somewhat outdated, it is possible to track the pet category’s doubling of its sales share across 20 years, going from around 30% to over 55%.

In Germany, statistics for the turnover of the sector are available until 2024. In that year, veterinary revenue was €6.52 billion ($7.5B). Compared to 2023, it represented a 5.7% increase. However, the figure is 76% higher than the revenue of 2018, according to data from the Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis).

According to a study published by the University of Göttingen in 2025, veterinary practices in the country are divided between those that specialize in small animals (more than 55%), those which treat small and large/farm animals (under 28%), and the remainder which specialize in horses and/or farm animals (17%).

How the market is reacting

Robust sales data in these countries shows the strengthening of the healthcare market on the demand side. But the supply side has also been active in 2026 with launches, investments and expansions targeting incremental spending in pet wellbeing, longevity and health across different regions of the world.

In the UK, private equity firms have acquired or invested in at least seven veterinary clinics in recent months. One of the largest deals was Charterhouse Capital Partners’ buyout of Animalcare Group for approximately £235.2 million ($312M/€278M), which was announced in April and completed in July.

Other companies are expanding into adjacent services. In Spain, the multinational financial services company CaixaBank expects to capitalize on the high demand for veterinary services by offering pet insurance in partnership with 650 veterinary centers. The new service was launched in July.

And in the United Arab Emirates, the family-owned holding company Al Khayyat Investments (AKI) launched a veterinary business vertical following an investment of $100 million (€87M).

According to AKI, the new company operates across five divisions, which include pharmaceuticals, biologicals, biosecurity, nutrition and diagnostics. VetHealth will partner closely with regional and global leaders in these disciplines to accelerate its market expansion and long-term business growth.

A taste of things to come

This is just a small selection to illustrate the variety of investments currently underway, but the list of recent transactions is extensive and includes a partnership between insurance companies to expand coverage in the US, an investment by a credit union collective to offer insurance to its members in North America and a partnership between retail and vet services provider to expand telehealth in Canada.

Although strategies differ, they show that both companies in the sector and investors see animal health as an integrated market, where growth is associated with a more mature offering and new ways of serving pet owners.