Not so bad at all

The headlines in this issue all point to one thing: things really can’t be that bad for the pet industry, with phrases such as “all-time high”, “steadily growing”, “evolving pet ecosystem”, “evolving rapidly”, “record sales” and “sold-out show floor”. Admittedly, sales figures are still not spectacular everywhere after the Coronavirus pandemic and the outbreak of war, with the resulting rise in energy prices, inflation and consumer reluctance to spend.

However, no one in the industry is doing badly. In fact, there are many indications that the pet industry is quite resilient. Surprisingly, most people are optimistic despite the less-than-impressive figures. “That said, it is an extremely positive industry with lots of growth potential,” says Wayne Kemp, group managing director of the UK manufacturer Casco Pet, in our interview on page 50. Read it to find out more about the current challenges and future prospects in the European pet trade.

According to Bloomberg Intelligence, the growing health segment could boost the global pet industry by 5–6%, enabling the sector to achieve sales of 380bn dollars this year and 500bn dollars by 2030. Meanwhile, the American Pet Products Association (APPA) is celebrating an all-time high in cat ownership; trade fairs in Shanghai and Las Vegas are reporting record visitor numbers; and the European association Fediaf is reporting annual growth of 9% and a total of 299m pets in Europe alone. Even India and Argentina are included in this edition’s success figures, so perhaps things are not looking so bad for the global pet industry after all!

Of course, there are regional differences and various challenges in individual countries or areas. However, the increasing humanisation of our pets, the premiumisation of products, the growing pet health sector, the development of new product categories and the growth of pet ownership in an increasing number of countries, including those in South America, Asia, Africa and the Arab world, all promise continued opportunities for healthy growth in the coming years.

Oliver Mengedoht