Good times

It was an incredible event. Interzoo 2026 in Nuremberg broke all records for exhibitors and visitors, and most likely products too. However, I wasn’t surprised by any major innovations this time. In fact, I heard almost exactly the same from several other people in the industry. But maybe that doesn’t matter at all. As Bert Fuhrmann from Marsapet so aptly put it: ‘Perhaps, in the end, the most important innovation a trade fair can offer is getting people to talk to one another again.’

Global pet food production grew again in 2025, albeit at a slower pace. According to the latest Agri-Food Outlook 2026 report by feed manufacturer Alltech, which analysed data from 142 countries and almost 39,000 feed mills, the global volume of pet food rose by 2.4 per cent to reach 39.3 million tonnes. However, this growth is significantly more moderate than in previous years.

According to the 2026 State of the Industry Report of the American Pet Products Association (APPA), U.S. pet industry expenditure reached $158 billion in 2025 and is projected to climb further to $165 billion in 2026.

In 2024, the European pet food industry generated a turnover of around €29.4 billion and produced approximately 8.6 million tonnes of goods. These figures are taken from the latest ‘Facts & Figures’ section of the Fediaf Annual Report 2026. This represents a 4 per cent increase in value and 1 per cent overall growth for the sector.

The Italian market for pet food and pet care products reached a value of €5.3 billion in 2025 – representing an increase of 2.5 per cent compared with 2024, as reported by Assalco, the national association of pet food and pet care companies.

And the latest representative German CouponFollow survey on pet-related expenditure, involving more than 2,000 Germans, shows that people are least likely to cut back on their pets. Just 2.3 per cent of pet owners would make cuts in this area first. More than twice as many – 4.8 per cent – would rather take on debt.

The new CEO of Fressnapf | Maxi Zoo, Matt Simister, reports that the passion of the staff is the biggest unique selling point of Europe’s largest pet shop chain. The quarterly figures once again point to ambitious growth (there are currently 2,919 shops in 15 countries, including Arcaplanet).

Another success story is that of Anthony Gallagher: The managing director founded Petstop Ireland 31 years ago. At one point, during the dot-com boom, he almost became a multimillionaire. However, he then lost everything and…