Nestlé pet care slows in Q1, emerging markets poised for growth

Nestlé’s pet care portfolio hit sales of CHF 4.7 billion ($5.7B/€5B) in the first 3 months of 2025, an increase of 2.5% against the same period of 2024. Then, sales accounted for CHF 4.59 billion ($5B/€4.7B).

Pricing of Purina products eased by -0.9%, reflecting input costs and “a return to a more normal promotional environment.”

Nestlé sales for all the businesses remained flat at CHF 22.6 billion ($27.3B/€24B), 0.7% more than in Q1 2024. Pricing in all segments increased by an average of 2.1% between January and March 2025.

CEO Laurent Freixe notes an “environment of heightened macroeconomic and consumer uncertainty” across its business lines.

Pet care growth is slowing

Purina achieved organic growth of 1.6% year-over-year (YoY) from January to March 2023, a sharp slowdown from the 4.3% growth of Q1 2024. In Q2 2024, the growth was 3.3%.

The numbers are more in line with the portfolio’s performance in the second half of the year, when organic growth increased by 1.3% in Q3 and 1.9% in Q4.

Last summer, Chief Financial Officer Anna Manz said Nestlé’s pet care business witnessed “some deceleration after exceptional growth over the last 4 years.”

Market breakdown

The company says the growth figure “reflects some market softness, especially in the US, but with continued market share gains in most markets.”

The division posted “solid growth for science-based premium brands [led by Purina ProPlan and Purina ONE] partially offset by weaker category growth impacting sales in mainstream dog brands and in snacks.”

Purina achieved low-single-digit growth and market share gains in Europe and the Americas.  Asia, Oceania and Africa (AOA) posted double-digit growth along with market share gains, according to the earnings results.

Emerging markets

Emerging markets are poised to continue their key role in PetCare’s growth, with AOA noted as one of the ‘expand winners’ for the pet products division and PetCare therapeutics across regions.

Among the AOA markets expected to grow market share is South Korea, where the company says it is “positioned to accelerate” its pet care business, integrating it into Nestlé after exiting a joint venture structure.

The end of a 12-year partnership with Lotte Wellfood was announced last month, and the new Nestlé Purina PetCare business launched at the beginning of April.

Full-year guidance

“Performance in the first quarter was in line with our expectations, and our 2025 guidance remains unchanged,” Freixe says.

“This is based on our assessment of the direct impact of current tariffs and our ability to adapt. The indirect impacts – on consumers and customers, as well as currencies and commodity prices – remain unclear at this stage.”