Continuing growth

According to the Global Pet Economy 2024 report by Bloomberg Intelligence’s (BI), strengthening smaller markets and a growing healthcare segment could boost the global pet economy by 5-6% reaching over 380bn dollars (352bn euros) in 2025. Diana Rosero-Pena, Bloomberg Intelligence Lead Analyst, told the audience at the Petfood Forum in Kansas City, that a bigger pet population and continued humanisation could even push this by more than 45% up to over 500bn dollars (463bn euros) by 2030.

The US remains the largest region in that global pet economy, accounting for 40% of in-dustry sales or over 150bn dollars (139bn euros) in 2025 and closer to 200bn dollars (185bn euros) by 2030. Europe is expected to remain the second largest region until 2030, ac-counting for around a third of the market, reaching 131.3bn dollars (121.6bn euros) by 2025 and 164.7bn dollars (152.5bn euros) by 2030. These figures are likely to be driven by global trends, although the population mix (cats vs dogs) may differ.

China could, by the way, grow by more than 50%, catching up with 49bn dollars, the BI predicts. There, pets are increasingly seen as substitutes for children, fuelled by an age-ing population and declining marriage rates.

Pet food remains central to the expansion of the pet economy. Bloomberg Intelligence predicts that global pet food sales will increase by 36% to reach 145bn dollars by 2030, with the US accounting for 68bn dollars of this figure. Premium pet food is expected to grow even faster at 40%, and account for almost 60% of the US market by the end of the decade.

BI estimates that, in 2025, 54% of the European pet population will be cats, compared to 49% in the US. Having a pet in Europe is cheaper than in the US, with the annual cost of owning a dog calculated at 739 euros (798 dollars). 89,7m dogs live in 59,8m US house-holds regarding to Pet Ownership and Demographic Sourcebook by the AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association).

The American Pet Products Association (APPA) named the number of households in the US owning at least one pet with 94m in 2024, compared to 82m in 2023 (see page 15). “Our latest Dog & Cat Report confirms what many in the industry have sensed – pet own-ership continues to evolve in…