Retail, e-commerce reshape veterinary pet food sales

A degree of decentering of pet healthcare from traditional veterinary practices is fueled and facilitated by the fact that pet owners are food-oriented, not drug-oriented, in their pet healthcare priorities. Packaged Facts’ January 2026 Survey of Pet Owners shows that the pet nutrition combination of pet food, treats and supplements are in aggregate ranked as the most important health products by 86% of pet owners, compared with 68% for flea/tick/heartworm and other types of Rx medications (see Table 1).

FIGURE 1: A significant majority of pet owners consider food and treats to be the most important types of health and wellness products for their animals.Istoma | iStock.com