A year of highs and lows

High inflation rates and the agonising political discussion on how to combat the challenges currently facing everyone had a negative impact on consumer sentiment in many parts of the world in 2023. What was remarkable was that even online retailing, which was one of the stand-out winners during the coronavirus pandemic, suffered declining sales in many countries.

Compared with many other sectors, the pet sector nevertheless got off relatively lightly during 2023. Many players in the sector had little to show for sales growth, however, on account of the high inflation rate. At the same time, the cost burden on manufacturers and retailers increased sharply, with many companies’ margins generally shrinking as a result. In addition, price once more became a defining purchase criterion in retail, and premiumisation of the market did not advance. After a significant rise in the purchase price of pet products in the last few years, pet supplies retailers are now increasingly demanding price reductions from the industry. While some suppliers have responded sympathetically and reduced the price of some products, others – above all manufacturers of dry food – point to a persistently high cost burden of raw materials in particular and have so far more or less rejected the demands of the big retail groups.  

Against the…