U.S. retail sales of pet food rose 16% in 2020, 14% in 2021 and 12% in 2022. For a mature category approaching US$60 billion in annual sales, three years of growth in the double digits might seem to be cause for celebration, but the numbers are deceiving. During 2022, almost all the dollar growth stemmed from price inflation, with the pet food consumer price index increasing 10% year over year, compared with virtually no increase in 2020 and a less than 1% increase in 2021. Pet food sales growth is dancing to the beat of price inflation, even if the usual duet of pet humanization and pet product premiumization continue as a potent force.
TABLE 1: Pet food beats other, more overt pet health products as being most important in pet owners’ eyes.
