Nutrition and health projects attract R&D investments in the pet industry

Internationally, companies and governments have increased investments in research and development (R&D) projects in recent years. Among companies that are operating in the pet industry, some with significant resource allocation in this area have focused on innovation in treatments and nutrition, but the amount and share of investment have not been uniform.

Pet nutrition in the spotlight 

The German manufacturer Symrise increased its R&D expenses from €254 million ($222M) in 2022 to €276 million ($241M) in 2024, a figure that was maintained in 2025.

This investment accounted for 5.6% of revenue in 2025, a slight increase from 5.5% in 2024. Compared to previous periods, the share of R&D expenses as a percentage of sales shows a slight upward tendency, indicating that the area remains a priority even when sales decline. 

In the Taste, Nutrition & Health segment, which includes Symrise’s Pet Food division, R&D activities are concentrated in Germany, the US, Singapore, China, Japan, France, Brazil and Sweden. But such ventures can also happen via acquisition. For instance, in April the company completed a strategic equity investment in Bond Pet Foods, a US-based biotechnology company producing ingredients via precision fermentation. 

Expanding facilities

More broadly, manufacturers are concentrating resources in areas with long-term growth potential.

A look at the Swiss-based producer Nestlé reinforces the thesis that specific, niche products in pet nutrition are still attracting dollars. Looking at the company as a whole, R&D costs as a percentage of sales were flat in 2025 at 1.8%.

However, therapeutic pet food, classified by the company as a “high-margin, fast-growing area”, has received guaranteed incentives. “We are investing in this space, leveraging our leading R&D capabilities to further develop the portfolio of diets prescribed by veterinarians,” the company says. 

Last year, Nestlé invested in a new R&D center focused on biotechnology and clinical research targeting maternal, early life and medical nutrition – but also pet therapeutics. New capabilities included screening assays (analytical tests) and precision fermentation.

Another giant pet food producer, Mars, has also recently invested in a new facility. In February 2026, it announced a £1.2 million ($1.6M/€1.4M) investment in its UK Birstall Petcare R&D Hub to develop solutions in taste, texture, shape, aroma and nutritional value. 

The health sector

Companies operating in healthcare tend to dedicate more of their budget to research, as the industry relies on new therapies and regulatory approvals. 

The US-based animal health company Zoetis has maintained a stable approach to R&D outlay in the past years, which constantly represents 7% of revenue. This translated into amounts of $614 million (€536M) in 2023, $686 million (€599M) in 2024 and $698 million (€610M) in 2025. 

In companion animals, the company focused its investments on new treatments in areas such as osteoarthritis, antibody therapies, allergies and parasiticides. But over the past years, Zoetis has also looked for R&D externally. During 2023, it acquired PetMedix, a R&D stage animal health biopharmaceutical company based in the UK, for which it was still paying in 2025.

Across all its operations, the German biopharmaceutical Boehringer Ingelheim decreased its R&D expenses in relation to revenue in the last year, but the total amount allocated increased. For instance, it went from €6.2 billion ($7B) in 2024 to €6.4 billion ($7.3B) in 2025, with the ratio to revenue decreasing from 23.2% to 22.9%.

These percentages are significantly higher than those of the companies previously evaluated here, mainly due to the nature of the company, which defines itself as “research-oriented”. Globally, it spreads its research efforts across 16 sites located in the US, France, Netherlands, Germany and China.

In the animal health segment, investments reached €524 million ($599M), corresponding to 10.7% of net sales. The company tells GlobalPETS that its R&D strategy “focuses on understanding disease causes and mechanisms to discover new ways to reduce or interrupt disease processes. Key focus areas include infectious diseases, non-infectious diseases and parasiticides”.

Groundbreaking therapies still attract funds

The year has seen further moves in this area. The biotechnology company Rejuvenate Bio and Merck Animal Health entered into a strategic R&D collaboration to develop a gene therapy program in animal health, including therapies to tackle chronic and age-associated diseases in pets.

To carry the project, Rejuvenate Bio received $6 million (€5.2M) in a financing round in June, led by venture capital and Merck.

A global picture

In March 2026, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published a study on R&D investments including data up to 2024. In that year, funding grew 2.6% year-over-year (YoY) across the 38 member countries, a decrease from 2.8% in 2023. The organization considers this stable, but it’s the lowest level since 2020.

This positive performance was not uniform. While expenditure rose almost 10% in China and over 5% in Japan and Korea, increases were more modest in the US (3.4%) and flattish in the European Union (0.4%). 

Businesses lead the sector: they accounted for 73% of expenditure in 2024, growing 2.7% YoY. The public budget for these projects expanded by 3.1%, but “this has not been sufficient to reverse its long-term decline in relative importance”, the OECD said.

The organization also analyzed the “socioeconomic objectives of government R&D budgets”. The numbers show a shift in priorities on public agendas, moving from environmental preservation to defense concerns.

Projects linked to General University Funds (+2.1%) and defense (+1.2%) gained share in planned expenses, with growth especially noteworthy in the EU (+11.5%) and Japan (+17.9%). On the other hand, the amount put into energy and environment-related projects fell by 8% after significant growth in previous years.

Both pet and global trends suggest that R&D is becoming more targeted, with companies and countries prioritizing promising or deficient segments over broad increases in spending.