Pet world: consumers control quality. The offering is renewed

Pet owners’ focus on quality is driving a renewal of the offering in the pet market and strong segmentation based on specific functional needs. The cat segment is driving the sector.

In the year ending in June 2026, the sector dedicated to pets in modern retail shows an overall trend of resilience in value, supported by inflationary pressure, against a physiological contraction in volumes. According to Circana’s analysis, the market is divided into two main macro-areas: pet food and pet care. Pet food reaches a total turnover of almost 1,96 billion euros, with very slight value growth of 0,4% compared with the previous year. Total volumes stand at 510,1 million kilograms, recording a decline of 1,9%. Pet care, on the other hand, generates a value of just over 303,3 million euros, showing a contraction of 1,3% in value and a limited decline in units sold (-0,6%), totalling almost 89,7 million units (Circana data, Total Italy, Hypermarkets+Supermarkets+Free-service stores+Discount stores+Drugstores).

Geographical areas and distribution channels

In both pet food and pet care, Area 10,4% remains the main consumption area, accounting for 13% of food sales by value and 8,3% of care sales. It is followed by Area 5,2%, with 27,1% of pet food and 27,4% of pet care. Area 2 generates approximately 21% of sales in both sectors (pet food 21,1% and pet care 21,5%), while Area 4 accounts for 20,6% of pet food (but as much as 27,3% of volumes in kg) and 17,7% of pet care. Analysing the sales network, supermarkets confirm their position as the leading channel in modern retail, accounting on their own for 51,1% of pet food turnover (exceeding one billion euros) and 44,6% of the pet care market (135,22 million euros). Discount stores play a very prominent role, accounting for 23,2% of food sales by value (454,9 million euros), reaching as much as 36,2% of total volumes in kilograms, and covering 21,8% of sales for animal care (32,4% by volume). Drugstores play a significant role in pet care, where they capture 15,4% of the market (46,6 million euros), compared with a share of 6,9% in food. Completing the picture are hypermarkets, which account by value for the corresponding shares in food and care, and free-service stores, which account for the respective shares in pet food and pet care.

Focus on pet food segments

Segmentation by animal type reveals marked polarisation within pet food, with cat products continuing to gain ground over those intended for dogs. Cat food accounts for 63,8% of total pet food turnover, reaching a value of almost 1,25 billion euros (+1,7% by value), and shows substantial resilience also in volume (-0,1%, with 263 million kg). Cat wet food reaches a value of 797,2 million euros (+1,7%) and records the only positive result also in volumes (+0,6%), at 154,8 million kilograms. Cat dry food generates 359,2 million euros (+1% by value and -1,3% by volume). Cat snack food shows the strongest percentage performance in the entire market, recording a jump of 5,3% in value (91,5 million euros) and 7,6% in volume (4 million kg), demonstrating the growing space devoted to treats and between-meal occasions. The dog segment accounts for 36,2% of pet food sales, with 708,9 million euros, but closes the period with a decline of 1,8% in value and 3,7% in volume (247,1 million kg):
Dog wet food reaches 309,4 million euros and 116,3 kg (-0,4% by value and -3,2% by volume). Dog dry food shows the sharpest decline in the category, at 242,5 million euros and 115,6 kilograms (-4% by value and -4,6% by volume). Finally, dog snack food declines slightly, settling at 156,9 million euros (-1% by value and -1,4% by volume), for 15,1 million kilograms.

Focus on pet care segments

The pet care sector, which is worth 303,3 million euros overall, sees sales strongly concentrated around daily cat care. Cat litter accounts for more than half of the entire pet care market (51,9% share by value), approaching 157,4 million euros. The segment shows positive value growth (+1,7%) and resilience in units sold (+0,2%), at 49,5 million packs. The second-largest subsegment is dog hygiene, at 90,3 million euros (29,8% of the sector), despite recording a contraction of 4,4% in value and 0,9% in units (24,7 million units). Dog accessories generate 27,7 million euros (-7,5% by value and -3,1% by units), while pet care for other animals stands at 18,2 million euros (-1,6% by value and -2,3% by units). Cat hygiene and accessories are smaller niches, worth 5,5 million and 4 million euros respectively, but cat accessories show very strong value growth (+5,5%).

Private label and competitive dynamics

Market data highlights the central and steadily strengthening role of private label, which in pet food alone reaches a value share of 32,1%, while the top three players (Nppi, Mars and Monge) collectively account for 48,6% of total value. In pet care, private-label penetration is even more pronounced, reaching 41,7% of total turnover. Among industry players, the top 3 is led by Vitakraft, Tolsa Italia and Mars, which together account for 27,4% of the market by value.

Read more in DM Magazine September 2026.

This article was translated from the original Italian version with the assistance of artificial intelligence. In case of discrepancies, please refer to the original Italian version.