Summary

The global pet food market has been exhibiting robust growth, with a valuation estimated at $119.6 billion by MordorIntelligence and an anticipated CAGR of +5.10% from 2023 to 2028, aiming to reach around $155 billion by 2028. In the French market, there has been continuous growth in value, reaching €3.6 billion in 2021, representing a 7% increase from 2020, despite a slight decline in volume by -2.7% in P9 2023. Key trends include premiumization, with owners increasingly treating pets as family members and demanding high-quality foods. The premium segment saw a 3.6% growth in supermarket sales in 2021, while the natural and organic pet food segments, albeit still a small part of the market (0.3% in 2021), are expanding. Online sales are soaring, contributing significantly to market expansion.

Two giants, Mars Petcare and Nestlé Purina Petcare, dominate the market, accounting for 67.3% of the market share in France.

The pet food market has also been resilient during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a marked increase in sales during confinement periods in 2020..

Evolving Appetites: The French Affection for Pet Nutrition

In France, a nation of pet aficionados, around half of the households embrace the presence of a furry companion. The bond between the French and their pets, notably cats and dogs, is reflected in the country's pet food market. The appetite for pet food has shown a steady climb in monetary terms, though recent times have indicated a slight dip in volume, possibly due to wider economic circumstances. The French marketplace has been under the influence of changing consumer priorities with an increase in spend on pet food. A significant segment of pet owners allocates between €20 and €70 monthly on pet food, leading to an average monthly expenditure of approximately €59. This focus on expenditure dovetails with the humanization of pets—a trend where owners regard their furry friends as integral family members. As such, pet food quality has become paramount, mirroring the standards expected in human consumption.

France's love affair with pets, especially the feline kind, is evident in the numbers, with the populace boasting of having between 14 and 15 million cats and between 7 and 8 million dogs. The regional distribution highlights that while the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and Centre-Val de Loire regions show higher pet ownership, Ile-de-France and other urban areas like Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and Corsica, present lower figures. As pet parents lean towards the premiumization of pet diets, the market witnesses the development of specialized segments like organic and natural offerings. Moreover, the growth of e-commerce has played a substantial role, claiming significant chunks of the market, though this growth's sustainability remains in question.

In addition, the arena reflects France's global stance with considerable exports. The surplus from foreign trade in animal feed, a category encompassing pet food, is notable, with exports outstripping imports even as both trends ascend.

In conclusion, the French pet food market is a vivid illustration of consumer devotion to pet well-being. Trends like anthropomorphism have catalyzed higher spending on diets deemed healthier and more 'natural,' which in turn is reflected in the evolving market landscape. This growth trajectory reflects an endearing national temperament, translating France's affection for pets into a thriving industry catering to their dietary needs.

Leading Contenders in the Thriving Pet Food Arena

The pet food market is a bustling industry teeming with innovation, premium products, and a focus on the health and well-being of pets. Major players in this domain have established themselves as household names, while emerging entities are carving out niches with unique offerings that cater to the evolving demands of pet owners. Here is a glimpse into the key companies making waves in this dynamic marketplace:

  • Mars Petcare: As a titan in the pet food industry, Mars Petcare boasts a diverse array of well-known brands, including Royal Canin, Pedigree, and Whiskas. Recognized for their extensive research and development, Mars has a dominant presence, particularly in the dog food segment, with tailor-made diets that support the specific needs of our canine companions.

  • Nestlé Purina PetCare: A formidable competitor, Nestlé Purina is revered for its influence in the cat food market. With eminent brands such as Purina One and Friskies under its wing, Nestlé Purina prides itself on delivering high-quality nutrition that ensures the longevity and vitality of pets of all kinds.

  • Chewy: This online retail giant has transformed how pet owners shop for their furry friends. Chewy provides a vast selection of pet food, accessories, and pharmacy items, all delivered with the convenience and personalized service of online shopping.

  • Affinity Petcare: Known for their premium brands like Ultima and Advance, Affinity Petcare has established itself as a prominent player in the pet food market, actively pursuing innovation and nutritional developments to meet the diverse dietary needs of pets.

  • Deuerer: Operating mainly in the private label segment, Deuerer is recognized for its robust capabilities in manufacturing and supply, providing consumers with a variety of choices to cater to different pet food preferences.

  • United Petfood: With its commitment to high-quality production and nutritional excellence, United Petfood offers a range of pet food options from dry and wet foods to snacks, serving numerous markets across Europe.

  • Sauvale Production: As a niche player, Sauvale Production has made a mark with its focus on gourmet and high-quality food for pets, often emphasizing freshness and artisanal quality in their offerings.

  • Yarrah: As an advocate for organic pet food, Yarrah positions itself at the intersection of pet nutrition and environmental consciousness. With a strong foundation in sustainability, Yarrah caters to pet owners seeking organic and eco-friendly options for their companions.

  • La Normandise: Onother french actor.
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  • Last update : 31/01/2024
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Summary and extracts

1 Market overview

1.1 Presentation and definition of the pet food market

The pet food market includes food for dogs, cats, birds, fish, small reptiles and mammals, but excludes food for farm animals. The pet food market is a segment of the pet market, which also includes accessories, hygiene and care products, and pet insurance.

The pet food market is mainly made up of segments for dogs and cats. There are several types of food:

  • dry foods (kibbles)
  • wet foods (pet food)
  • snacks (treats, for example)

The pet market in France has been growing for the past ten years, with sales in value terms rising steadily. However, by 2023, sales volumes will have fallen slightly, by -2.7% in P9 2023. Widespread inflation explains the increase in sales value despite slightly lower volumes.

The market was not impacted by the health crisis, as feed production in France accelerated sharply in 2020 and 2021. Since then, the market has continued to gain momentum, driven in particular by the ongoing renewal of product ranges and the diversification of the offer: Made in France, grain-free, organic, etc. Despite the meteoric rise of the organic food market in recent years, the organic petfood segment remains anecdotal. In 2021, it will still account for just 0.3% of the petfood market, compared with 5.1% for all FMCG products.

The market is also showing a certain dynamism in the high-end and premium segments. Numerous dry, wet and snack foods promise to treat a wide variety of health problems encountered by pets, with increasingly innovative and complex recipes, and most often offered by leading brands.

Growth in the French market is also being driven by theboom in online sales, although pet food distribution is still largely organized around specialist stores, which do not offer the same level of service as the French market.this is in contrast to supermarkets and garden centers, which are posting declining results.

1.2 A steadily growing global market

The global market

The global pet food market is valued at $***.* billion by MordorIntelligence. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of +*.**% over the period ****-****, approaching $*** billion in ****.

Using Mordor Intelligence's estimates, we have the following forecasts for the coming years:

Global pet food market World, ****-****, in billions ...

1.3 A French market that is growing in terms of value but will decline slightly in terms of volume by 2023

The French pet food market is following the global trend, with similar growth to the national level.

Sales of cat and dog food in supermarkets France, **** - ****, in billions of euros Source: ****

The French cat and dog food market in supermarkets and hypermarkets thus grew by +*.*% in ****, driven by premiumization and ...

1.4 Dynamic foreign trade with a large surplus

For the animal feed category (***).

French imports have been growing since **** and exports since ****, but imports have been growing faster than exports, as shown by the deterioration in the coverage rate (***). Nevertheless, France will still have a large surplus at the end of ****, and both imports and exports will continue to ...

1.5 The impact of Covid-19 on the sector

Covid-** has had a positive impact on the pet food market. There was a peak in March ****, when manufacturers' sales were **.*% higher than in March ****. This then remained well ahead of the previous year, although the gap narrowed as the French became more accustomed to confinement.

The March peak can be ...

2 Demand analysis

2.1 The French, big fans of pets

The French are great fans of pets: **% of households had a pet in ****, and **% at least one dog or cat. [***] Between **** and ****, there will be a negative trend of -*.*% for cats, but a slight increase of *.*% for dogs. In France, the dog population has thus stabilized over the last ten ...

2.2 An increase in expenditure

Unsurprisingly, the most expensive pets are cats and dogs. According to Ifop, **% of dog and cat owners spend more than €*** a year on food.

Average annual expenditure by dog and cat owners France, ****, in percent Source: ****

In total, according to Ifop, they spend an average of €*** a year on food for ...

2.3 Premiumization of pet food

The humanization of pets...

The new demand trends are driven by a common phenomenon: owners are placing ever greater importance on their pets. According to an Ipsos study, **% of dog and cat owners in **** consider their pet to be a fully-fledged member of the family. This figure rises to **% for dog ...

2.4 Geographical distribution of demand

Although INSEE does not provide us with specific information on the geographical distribution of pet food sales, we do have the geographical distribution of pet owners, as well as the number of veterinarians. This gives us an overall view of the regional distribution of the animals themselves, and thus of the ...

3 Market structure

3.1 A market dominated by a few major players

The dog and cat food market is dominated by two giants, Nestlé Purina Petcare and Mars Petcare, which together will account for **.*% of the market by ****. The *rd main player is private label.

Dog and cat food market share by value France, ****, in Source: ****

Each of these two giants has its ...

3.2 Sector value chain

By ****, the pet food sector in France will represent *,*** direct jobs and over **,*** indirect jobs. [***] Here's an overview of the pet food value chain in France:

Source: ****

3.3 Distribution channels

Breakdown of petfood distribution channels France, ****, in Source: ****

The dominant distribution channel remains supermarkets, with **% of sales for cats and **% for dogs. E-commerce is a popular distribution channel for dog and cat owners, accounting for **.*% and **% of sales respectively.

The growth of future e-commerce sales is, however, open to question, since ...

3.4 A dynamic market

The "petfood" market, like the "petcare" market, has seen strong growth in recent years, driven by the demand for higher-quality products and by owners who pay more attention to their pets. It's also a dynamic market which, despite being dominated by a few major players, is attracting new players and investors. ...

4 Offer analysis

4.1 A range driven by the popularity of dry foods and new wet formats

In the dog and cat segment, there are different types of food, as mentioned in the introduction:

Dry foods: mainly croquettes. Dry foods enjoyed positive growth for feline nutrition (***). Wet foods: pâtés in particular, canned foods. Wet foods have captured the lion's share of growth in ****, with sales growth ...

4.2 The rise of the premium segment

Growth in recent years has been driven more by premiumization. In ****, the market grew by *.*% in value in supermarkets, while volumes rose by only *.*% that same year. [***]

Industry players are also highlighting the trend, since according to Simon Lesage (***) "**% of the category's growth is in valued segments: health & well-being and moments ...

4.3 Organic and natural products: segments with potential

Natural and organic products are on the rise in the pet food market. Increasingly concerned about the health and well-being of their pets, owners are also aware of theecological impact of pet food. The number of organic and natural pet food products on offer is exploding, and this is helping to ...

4.4 Inflation-sensitive products

The rise in raw material prices that has affected all (***) sectors in **** has not bypassed the pet food sector - quite the contrary. Pet food is mainly made up of cereals and animal proteins.Grain inflation has had a major impact on the market. What's more, bird flu and swine fever ...

4.5 Price analysis of online distributors

In this market, production is highly concentrated, and all online distributors offer similar or very similar products. To explain the differences in performance, we looked at the prices offered on several petfood distributor websites. To do this, we used a reference product present on almost all the sites: Royal Canin **k ...

5 Rules and regulations

5.1 European legislation on the marketing of pet food

Directive ****/**/CEhttps://www.businesscoot.com/backend/study/***/**/edit#study_component_form_translations_de_fields

European Directive ****/**/EC defines animal feed as "products of plant or animal origin in their natural state, fresh or preserved, and products derived from their industrial processing, as well as organic or inorganic substances, alone or in ...

5.2 The European Federation of the Pet Food Industry (FEDIAF)

This federation, which operates at European level, has also drawn up a set of standards for its members, grouped into two main texts:

Code of Good Labeling Practice, available here Code of good practice on product safety, consultable here

The Federation has also compiled an exhaustive list of all reference texts ...

List of charts

  • Revenues of leading companies in the pet food market
  • Annual sales of pet food products
  • Pet populations
  • Global pet food market
  • Country rankings by dog population
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Latest news

Organic makes its mark on pet food - 13/03/2019
  • Market growth in 2018
  • Affinity Petcaret third largest petfood player in supermarkets with its Ultima and Brekkies brands
  • Over 1.8 billion in sales
  • Beyond bio is a brand of Nestlé Purina, which has a contract with the Fédération des Eleveurs Indépendants to distribute its products
  • 13.5 million cats, 7.3 million dogs in France
  • La Normandise is a leader in private-label, white-label and subcontracted pouches and trays for national brands, with four of its own brands, including Équilibre & Instinct, a top-of-the-range brand
Kibbles and pâtés for animals go natural - 09/08/2020
  • Annual French production: 1.2 million tons of products to feed over 13.5 million cats and 7.3 million dogs
  • Spanish group Affinity's La Chapelle-Vendômoise site employs 95 people
  • First company to enter the premium market in 2016 with its Ultima Nature brand (no preservatives, no colorants, less cereals and more proteins)
  • Spanish group ranks third among pet food producers in France
  • The brand has a 14.2% market share, behind Nestlé Purina's Purina One and Mars.
Affinity adds a line of cat food to the French market. - 09/10/2018
  • 7 plants and 1,800 employees in Europe, Brazil and the United States
  • Consolidated sales of 610 million euros

Companies quoted in this study

This study contains a complete overview of the companies in the market, with the latest figures and news for each company. :

C&D Foods France
Affinity Petcare France
United Petfood Producers
Pepette
Ultra Premium Direct
Botanic
Nestor Bio
Mars Petcare
Royal Canin (Mars Petcare)
Maxi Zoo France (groupe Fressnapf)
Mondou
Tom&co

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