Article Summary
The US human and pet food markets are remarkably similar, both experiencing 3% annual growth through 2030, prioritizing health and wellness, and seeing consumers shift toward cheaper products (including private label) due to persistent inflation concerns.
- Both markets project 3% compound annual growth through 2030, with pet food reaching US$70.45 billion and human food reaching US$432 billion in sales in 2026.
- Inflation drives private label adoption: 43% of pet owners switched to less expensive brands in the past year, while private label store brands grew 3.3% versus 1.2% for national brands (all categories).
- Health and wellness remain top priorities: 79% of dog owners and 82% of cat owners view pet food as important for health, while 95% of consumers see human food choices as essential to overall wellness.
- Rising prices in all areas concern consumers: Pet owners worry about rising prices with food (84%), beverages (67%) and pet food (66%).
- Food-as-medicine concept drives both markets: 70% of pet owners will pay more for health-focused pet foods, paralleling 88% of adults who view human food and beverages as medicine.
A focus on health and wellness. Continued growth, but at a lower rate, partially due to slowing inflation. Rising prices sparking interest in private label brands and products. These are commonalities between the U.S. human food and pet food markets, putting yet another spotlight on how similar they are.
This struck me as I read the summary for Packaged Facts’ new report, “Food Market Outlook 2026”; I recognized many of the same themes from the research firm’s “Pet Food in the US, 19th Edition” report, released in December 2025. Consider:
“Sales of the top 14 packaged food categories are forecast to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3% from 2025 to 2030, reaching sales of US$432 billion,” said a summary of the new human food market report. “Dollar growth will be slower through 2030 compared to 2019 to 2025 as inflation, which significantly propped up dollars over the last couple of years, continues to moderate. Dollar sales should outpace volume demand as higher prices continue for at least the next year or so.”
“Pet food sales growth slows along with inflation,” read a subtitle in the pet food market report summary. “Packaged Facts projects that U.S. retail sales of dog and cat food will top US$55 billion in 2025, up 2.8% over 2024, a continuation of the slow-down from the previous year.”
I realize that reflects older data and analysis. David Sprinkle, director of pet market research for Packaged Facts, provided an update in his June 2026 Market Report column: The company projects pet food and treats sales in the U.S. will rise 2.1% in 2026, reaching US$70.45 billion (meaning the 2025 total ended up higher than the end-of-year projection). That’s part of a 3.2% CAGR expected by Packaged Facts through 2030, essentially the same as the 2025-2030 CAGR for human food.
Rising prices affecting food and pet food purchases
While inflation in the U.S. has slowed, geopolitical factors such as tariffs and wars, along with other drivers, mean consumers are still feeling the hit of higher prices for many consumer goods, including the food they and their furry family members eat. “Packaged Facts’ September 2025 Survey of Pet Owners indicates that pet owners were most concerned about rising prices for food (at 84%), beverages (67%) and pet food (66%),” read the December 2025 pet food report. That demonstrates the over-arching effect of higher prices and how it permeates multiple areas of people’s lives.
For human food, the concern translates into buying less, downsizing, waiting for promotions or buying more private label products, Packaged Facts said. “In 2025, dollar sales of private label store brands (across all categories, not just food) increased 3.3%, higher than the 1.2% growth of national brands, according to the Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA).
For pet food, “Packaged Facts September 2025 survey data showed that 43% of dog and cat owners had changed pet food in the preceding 12 months, with 34% of those respondents switching to less expensive national or store brands,” Sprinkle wrote, echoing comments in the December 2025 pet food report, which also said that pet food and treat products were in the top 20 “non-edible” categories for both store brand dollar sales and unit sales in 2024, according to PLMA’s 2025 Private Label Report. (Apparently, PLMA considers pet food and treats non-edible! At least for humans.)
Despite watching costs, consumers still see food as medicine
Yet, even if some consumers are trading down for their own food and pet food purchases, they still want to feed all their family members the best they can afford. That means an ongoing focus on health and wellness. “Despite the interest in more value-priced pet foods, pet owners are still demanding products that help make their pets healthier and happier,” said the 2025 pet food report.
For five years, Packaged Facts has included a question in its pet owner surveys about how they rank various pet products for their health and wellness benefits; every year, “the greatest share of pet owners consistently rank pet food as an important pet health and wellness product,” read the report.
“In Packaged Facts’ January 2025 survey, pet food was cited as an important pet health and wellness product by 79% of dog owners and 82% of cat owners,” it continued. “So, it’s not surprising that our September 2025 survey shows that 70% of dog and cat owners are willing to pay more for pet foods with health and wellness benefits. Interest in pet health and wellness has long been building among pet owners, driven to the forefront by the pandemic. These sentiments remain, and pet owners are still prioritizing their pets’ wellbeing.”
And of course, the sentiments carry over directly from a focus on health and wellness for themselves and their human family members. “Many consumers see food and beverage choices as a path to health and wellness,” said the summary for the new human food report. “In fact, 88% of U.S. adults agree that food and beverages can function as ‘medicine,’ playing a role in preventing poor health or improving health. Agreement is even higher with the more general concept that food and beverage choices are a path to overall health and wellness, with 95% of total consumers.”
Though Packaged Facts hasn’t necessarily used the phrase “food as medicine” in regard to pet food, other market research firms have. For example, NielsenIQ regularly reports data on related claims made on pet food labels, in the areas of physical health (immune system, inflammation, heart, muscle, urinary tract, kidney, gum, skin and coat), gut health (digestive health, the microbiome, metabolism support) and performance support (mood and stress, balanced nutrition, hydration, cellular function, brain health).
