Italian pet meals gross sales close to $3 billion

ROME — The Italian Nationwide Affiliation for Pet Meals and Pet Care Corporations (ASSALCO) and Zoomark lately launched the sixteenth version of their collaborative report on the Italian pet business. The report revealed a rising pet inhabitants and numerous shopper developments fueling the nation’s pet meals market.

Pet inhabitants

Based on the report, pet possession in Italy continues to steadily enhance. In 2022, there have been 64.95 million pets in Italian households, that means 42% of Italian households owned a minimum of one pet. Twenty-eight % owned a minimum of one canine, 22% owned a minimum of one cat, 13% owned a minimum of one fish, 8% owned a minimum of one chicken, 8% owned a minimum of one reptile, and eight% owned a minimum of one different small mammal.

An estimated 37.7% of Italians ages 18 and older claimed to have a pet within the household, up from 33.6% in 2019. Based on the report, from 2015 to 2022, the variety of Italians who adopted a couple of pet practically doubled from 9.9% to 17.2%.

In 2022, there have been 10.2 million home cats, 8.8 million canines, 12.9 million decorative birds, 1.8 million small mammals, 1.4 reptiles and 29.9 million fish in Italy.

With a big and constantly rising pet inhabitants, there have additionally been rises in shopper demand for pet merchandise — particularly pet meals.

“As we speak greater than 40% of Italian households have a minimum of one pet,” mentioned Giorgio Massoni, president of the ASSALCO. “The significance of our relationship with our pets is plain: they preserve us energetic, assist alleviate stress and are a worthwhile antidote to loneliness. Pets are bona fide family members, and we are actually devoting extra time to them, and paying extra consideration to their food plan and wellbeing. This elevated consideration is mirrored in a market that, even in a tough yr like 2022, continued to carry out effectively.”

Pet meals

Based on ASSALCO and Zoomark, gross sales of pet meals merchandise are on the rise. In 2022, gross sales of canine and cat meals elevated 11.4% in Italy to €2.76 billion ($2.96 billion USD) with greater than 673,000 tons bought, a rise of 0.8% in comparison with 2021.

Cat meals accounted for a majority (53.8%) of those gross sales, with gross sales topping €1.48 billion ($1.60 billion USD), whereas pet food accounted for 46.2% of the market, reaching €1.28 billion ($1.38 billion USD) in gross sales. Moist pet meals continues to guide this market, boasting the very best share at €1.33 billion ($1.44 billion USD), or about 48.4% of the whole canine and cat meals phase. Dry meals observe shut behind, reaching €1.13 billion ($1.22 billion USD), holding 41.1% of share, of which 23.5% from dry canine meals and 17.6% from dry cat meals.

Relating to species, the canine and cat meals market in Italy consists of 33.3% moist cat meals merchandise, 23.5% dry canine meals, 17.6% dry cat meals, 15.0% moist canine meals, 7.7% canine snacks and a couple of.9% cat snacks.

Pet snacks, significantly useful ones that supply well being advantages, witnessed a 13.3% enhance in worth and a 3.2% enhance in quantity for 2022.

Outdoors of canine and cat meals, the marketplace for different meals for fish, birds, small mammals and reptiles additionally skilled progress, rising 2.3% in quantity and 5.6% in gross sales worth. Chook meals holds the vast majority of this pet meals phase, accounting for 47.6% of quantity and 43.2% of worth, with gross sales rising 6.3% from 2021.

ASSALCO and Zoomark attributed these will increase in pet meals gross sales to evolving shopper calls for for merchandise with specific attributes. In analyzing greater than 4,700 pet meals merchandise, the associations discovered that Italians are extending their private well being beliefs to their pets, buying pet vitamin merchandise just like those they buy for themselves.

Shopper demand is rising for pet meals boasting “wealthy in” attributes, like “wealthy in fiber.” Different well-liked “wealthy in” claims embody nutritional vitamins, Omega fatty acids, protein, minerals, prebiotics, pure components, and recent meat/fish.

Shoppers are additionally searching for merchandise with “free from” claims, like “free from dyes.” This subset of claims additionally extends to merchandise boasting much less or fewer energy, sugars, fat, and so on. Inside these claims, shoppers bought extra merchandise with “low energy,” “grain free/low grains,” and “sugar free” claims in 2022 in comparison with 2021.

Alongside these particular product attributes, Italian pet mother and father are additionally targeted on buying Italian-made pet meals merchandise, boasting claims like “Made in Italy,” “produced in Italy,” “solely Italian components,” and “100% Italian.”

Continued inflation

Simply as in different areas of the world, Italians are additionally going through the pressures of inflation, battling rising costs throughout a wide range of CPG sectors, together with pet meals. Based on ASSALCO and Zoomark, 85% of surveyed Italians claimed they’ve witnessed rising costs, with 23% of cat house owners and 26% of canine house owners claiming they are going to possible spend extra on their pets within the coming months as a consequence of inflation.

Regardless of rising costs, Italian pet house owners are reluctant to alter their pet product buying habits. Solely 6% of cat mother and father and eight% of canine mother and father had been prepared to chop down on their pet spending. Quite than minimize down on their pets, most reported slicing down their spending on meals away from dwelling, holidays, clothes and wonder merchandise.

In addition to fixed inflation, Italian pet house owners are additionally going through a excessive price for value-added tax (VAT) on pet meals and veterinary care. Italy’s present VAT price is 22%, a lot increased than inside different European nations. ASSALCO and Zoomark are petitioning to scale back the nation’s VAT price to 10%.

“It would not appear proper that the 22% price must be utilized to pet meals, as if it was a luxurious good,” Massoni mentioned. “In Germany, in view of the truth that these merchandise are used day by day, and contemplating the position of pets in society, the VAT price on meals for canines and cats is in reality set at 7%.”

Learn extra world pet meals and deal with information from exterior North America.