WIESBADEN, GERMANY — The Pet Supply Industry Association (IVH) and the Central Association of German Zoological Specialists (ZZF) recently released new data detailing pet trends across Germany. The data detailed the growth of the pet care and pet food markets and the change in pet populations throughout 2022.
The survey analyzed responses from 5,000 German households.
The cats are still kings
According to the data, there are 34.4 million pets, excluding fish and reptiles, in German households and 46% of all households have at least one pet. Also, 14% of all households across the country have at least two different types of pets, be it a mix of cats and dogs, rabbits and birds, etc.
The data also shows that larger households are more likely to have a pet, with 36% of households with at least three people reporting having a pet, while only 29% of one-person households had one. pet. Within multi-person households, IVH and ZZF found that more than half (67%) of all German families with children have a pet.
“In an increasingly digitized and restless world, pets are an important anchor and a haven of peace for many people; this is especially true for children, whose development can be promoted in many ways by animals,” said Georg Müller, President of IVH.
Cats make up the majority of the German pet population at 15.2 million, and 24% of German households own at least one cat. Twenty-one percent of households own at least one dog, which adds up to 10.6 million dogs nationwide. Three percent own a bird as a pet, accumulating a population of 3.7 million; 4% own some type of aquarium pet, accumulating a population of 2.3 million; 3% have some type of ornamental fish, totaling a population of 1.4 million; and 2% own a type of terraria pet (such as a turtle), accumulating a population of 1.3 million. Five percent own another type of small pet, accumulating a population of 4.9 million.
“The total number of pets kept in homes in Germany has largely remained stable at a high level over the last few years,” said Norbert Holthenrich, president of the ZZF. “We are very happy about that. Having pets can greatly enrich people’s lives. It is important that the focus is always on the welfare of the animals and their needs.”
Nutrition sales growth
With a large pet population, IVH and ZZF shared significant growth for the German pet nutrition industry. According to the data, sales of prepared pet food in the traditional channel reached 4.03 billion euros (4.44 billion dollars), an increase of 9.5% since 2021.
Note: Currency conversions are based on May 5 conversion rates.
Pet food sales accounted for 78% of all physical pet care sales, which exceeded €5.13 billion ($5.66 billion) in 2022, an increase of 7.1% compared to 2021.
“In the pet food sector, sales increased for the most part,” said Müller. “This is mainly due to current inflation. Like manufacturers of other everyday products, ready-to-eat pet food producers have also had to increase their prices in the face of sometimes huge cost increases in energy, packaging and logistics.”
Unsurprisingly, cat food witnessed the fastest growth in physical sales with an increase of 12.5% from 2021, surpassing €2.01 billion ($2.22 billion) in 2022. Wet cat diets had the highest number of sales with 1.33 billion euros (1.47 billion dollars). USD), an increase of 13.6% compared to 2021. Sales of dry cat food increased 9.4% to 356 million euros (392 million USD); and snacks/milk for cats were the ones that increased the most with 11.8%, accumulating 326 million euros (359 million US dollars) in sales.
Dog food witnessed physical sales growth of 7.8% in 2022, reaching €1.81 billion (almost US$2 billion). Dog treats are kings in this particular category with 2022 sales of €696 million ($767 million), although this category saw the least growth, up 3.6% from 2021. for dogs experienced the highest growth, up 13.4% to Euros. 595 million ($656 million) in sales. Dry dog food increased 7.4%, accumulating 516 million euros (568 million dollars) in physical sales in 2022.
Within the traditional channel, IVH and ZZF detailed two specific channels from which the majority of pet food sales come: food retail, which includes pharmacies, and specialty trade retailers, which include pet, farm, and food stores. of gardening.
More than half (62%) of pet food was purchased from retail food outlets, totaling €2.5 billion ($2.76 billion). Only 38% of pet food products were purchased at specialty retail outlets, racking up €1.52 billion (US$1.68 billion) in sales.
“At retail, pet owners were regularly inquiring about pet food and other everyday items, like kitty litter,” Holthenrich said. “In the case of necessities and accessories such as dog beds or scratching posts, however, purchases were postponed to 2022. The effects of the tense financial situation of many consumers were increasingly being felt here.”
On the e-commerce side, pet care sales for 2022 totaled €1.2 billion (US$1.32 billion), a whopping 14% increase over the previous year. Despite this significant increase, IVH and ZZF shared that “distinct, species-specific data is not available on the online market.”
Read more about pet sales trends.