The pet industry in Italy

Italy is one of the biggest pet markets in Europe.

In this article, you’ll discover all the most important details to better understand the Italian pet population, how big the pet industry actually is, and more.

Italian pet population

According to the most recent data (from 2022), Italian pet parents owned a total of 65 million pets. This number is around 200,000 higher than in 2021.

Which are the most popular pets?

The Italian Association for Pet Feeding and Care (ASSALCO) has compiled a list of the most popular pets:

1. Fish: 29.9 million
2. Birds: 12.9 million
3. Cats: 10.2 million
4. Dogs: 8.8 million
5. Small animals: 1.8 million
6. Reptiles: 1.4 million

More than 4 out of 10 households owned a pet. This is in line with the European pet population average, as published by FEDIAF. 

Pre-COVID, slightly less than 4 out of 10 households owned a pet, showing a slight boost in the Italian pet population during the pandemic.

28% of families own at least 1 dog, while 22% of families own at least 1 cat.

Pet industry size in Italy

Data from ASSALCO shows that the Italian pet industry is approaching €3 billion ($3.22B) in yearly sales.

The biggest contributors to this number are cat and dog food and snack products, with a total of €2.76 billion ($2.96B) in sales, a 15% increase compared to 2021. 

Cat food leads the pack with €1.48 billion ($1.59B) in sales, with dog food closely following at €1.27 billion ($1.36M) in food sales.

Wet food is the dominant product category for cats, with 61.2% of all cat food sold being wet. Dry cat food represents 32.7%, and cat treats/snacks 5.4%.

For dogs, the balance is the opposite. Wet dog food represents 32.5% of sales, and dry food reached 50.8%. Dogs also get treated much more often: snacks represent 16.7% of sales.

The total volume of pet food produced in the country rose slightly (by 0.8%) in 2022, reaching 673,400 tons.

On the other hand, €87.7 million ($94.11M) worth of cat litter was sold in 2022. According to ASSALCO, the sale of toys, accessories and other hygiene products reached €80 million ($85.84M) in 2022.

Other Italian pet industry stats 

Here are some other interesting facts and statistics about the pet industry in Italy:

• Veterinary spending: In 2021, Italian pet parents spent €693.16 million ($743.79M) in veterinary clinics.

• Veterinary influence: 

• • • 94% of pet owners indicate they follow a vet’s recommendations around their pet’s health care.
    • More than 80% of owners ask vets for pet diet advice.
  • Supplements: 
    • According to Mediatic’s Permanent Pet Watch survey, 32% of Italian pet parents buy supplements for their pets.
    • Where do Italians buy pet supplements?
      • Online (37%)
      • Pharmacies (36%)
      • Pet stores (17%) 
      • The manufacturer’s website (7%)
    • For a full overview of pet parents’ behavior around pet supplements, read more here.

• Geographical spread:

• • According to ASSALCO, 54% of pet products are sold in Northern Italy.
  • The center of the country + Sardinia represents 27.9% of pet product sales.
  • And the Southern part represents 18.2%.

The Italian pet retail landscape

Like most countries, the supermarket is the most dominant sales channel in Italy. 59% of all pet food was bought in a supermarket, representing 76.9% of the total volume.  

But Italy is a country with lots of smaller, mom-and-pop type of pet shops. These stores represented 24.4% of all sales (and 13.6% of all volume).

On the other hand, the bigger pet chains represent 14% of total sales and 7.8% of all volume. The top three pet retailers in this category include Arcaplanet (500 stores), L’isola dei Tesori (210 stores) and PetMark (79 stores).

The European pet retail giant Maxi Zoo was also a big player in the Italian market. However, after the merger of their Italian business with Arcaplanet, they continue to operate under the Arcaplanet umbrella. The company aims to reach 1,000 stores within the next few years.

Finally, a number of supermarkets have also created special stores for pet products (including Conad, Coop, Selex, Vegè). These are often next to the supermarket and are comparable to the bigger pet chain stores. These stores sold about 2.6% of all pet products in Italy.

Leading Italian pet supply e-commerce players

According to data from consulting firm Casaleggio (March 2024), the German e-commerce pet retailer Zooplus is the leading company of choice for Italian pet parents. 

Italian pet retailers Arcaplanet and Isola dei Tesori also have popular websites. Arcaplanet is second on the list, and Isola dei Tesori is third, which is 1 place higher than last year.