It’s become almost an axiom in the pet food and pet care markets: Today’s pet owners overwhelmingly consider their pets full-fledged family members. In the U.S., that’s at a 93% rate, according to Packaged Facts survey; 86% of the respondents also said their pets are central to their lives.
In another survey of more than 1,000 U.S. pet owners conducted by Lonnie Hobbs Jr., Ph.D., assistant professor of agricultural economics at Kansas State University, the rates were a little lower: 86% of dog owners and 75% of cat owners described their relationships as, “My pet is like a child or close family member to me.” Interestingly, 11% of dog owners and 20% of cat owners considered their pets as close companions but not quite like family, while 2% and 3%, respectively, said, “My pet is a pet; I care for them but don’t see them as family.”
That mix of perspectives and experiences with pet ownership aligns with a comment from Kevin Ryan, Ph.D., CEO of Malachite Strategy and Research, and keynote speaker for Petfood Forum 2026: The human-pet relationship isn’t one-size-fits-all. “The relationship could also be that of a friend, a companion, a helper, someone seen as a life partner,” he said during an episode of the Trending: Pet Food podcast with Lindsay Beaton.
That, in turn, influences how human food trends do or don’t transfer to pet food and how pet owners feed their pets.
Pets and people living healthier for longer
A key area of overlap — and an emerging growth category for both people and pets, according to Ryan — is longevity. MRI-Simmons data provided by Packaged Facts showed that, between 2019 and 2025, the share of U.S. dog owners with senior dogs (age 7 years or higher) reached 51%, representing 26 million households with one or more senior dogs, while senior cats were present in 51% of cat households, representing 16 million cat owners.
Thus, pet food and ingredient attributes targeted toward senior and aging pets rank among the leading condition-specific subcategories, on top of other wellness features and subcategories that contribute to longer, healthier lives for pets. The “healthier” part of that is important; experts such as Emma Bermingham, Ph.D., founder and head consultant with Ember Pet Nutrition, argue that lifespan and “health span” should go hand in hand. (She will present at Petfood Forum 2026 on nutrition for senior pets.)
Not surprisingly, given the majority of owners’ strong bond with their pets, 84% globally seek products that increase the pets’ lifespans, according to a survey from ADM. I’ll bet most of those owners want as many years of those longer lifespans to feature good health and quality of life for their furry family members.
Humanization and human-pet food links: Here to stay
During the podcast, Ryan offered several other trends from human food transferring over to pet food: categories such as raw, gently cooked and ancestral diets; convenience; the existence of consumer “tribes” (archetypes based on their lifestyles and how they shop). No matter the specific areas, he sees no end to the intertwining of human and pet food innovation. “The closer our pets are to us, and the more they are part of our daily lives — especially for people who work from home — the more impossible it becomes not to feel empathetically connected to them,” he said.
Yet another description of that overarching foundation of humanization; it’s definitely not going anywhere either.
