Hill’s Pet Nutrition is gaining market share in key segments despite what Colgate-Palmolive Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Noel Wallace characterized as a flat pet food category during the 2026 Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference.
Wallace participated in a fireside chat Sept. 9, according to Colgate-Palmolive’s conference announcement. During the discussion, he said Hill’s was growing share in areas where the company has concentrated its investments, including cat food, wet food and products for smaller dogs.
The comments followed Hill’s second-quarter results showing continued sales growth despite the company’s ongoing exit from private label pet food.
According to Colgate-Palmolive’s second-quarter 2026 results, Hill’s Pet Nutrition generated $1.195 billion in net sales, up 3.4% from the prior-year quarter. Organic sales increased 2.1%, including a negative 2 percentage point impact from the private label exit.
Pricing increased 3.9%, while organic volume declined 1.8%. The acquisition of Australian fresh pet food company Prime100 contributed 0.6 percentage points to reported volume growth.
Hill’s operating profit increased 2% to $269 million, with an operating margin of 22.5%. The pet nutrition business represented 22% of Colgate-Palmolive’s second-quarter sales.
Hill’s focuses on changing pet demographics
At Barclays, Wallace pointed to changing pet ownership patterns as an important factor shaping Hill’s portfolio.
He discussed the shift toward smaller dogs and cats as well as increased consumption of wet pet food. Those trends align with areas where Hill’s has been directing product and marketing investments.
The company’s second-quarter results also showed Prescription Diet continuing to contribute to Hill’s growth. Colgate-Palmolive has long positioned veterinary recommendations and therapeutic nutrition as central to the Hill’s business model.
Wallace said at Barclays that Hill’s was gaining share in the segments where it is placing its investments, even as the broader pet food category remained relatively flat.
That performance helps explain why Colgate-Palmolive continues to invest in expanding Hill’s beyond its established dry and therapeutic pet food businesses.
Fresh pet food rollout begins
One of those expansion areas is fresh pet food. Colgate-Palmolive said in its second-quarter prepared remarks that Hill’s began a phased rollout in July of Hill’s Science Diet Single Protein dog food, which the company described as a new offering in the fresh segment.
The launch follows Colgate-Palmolive’s acquisition of Prime100, which provided Hill’s with an established fresh pet food business and experience with refrigerated products. Colgate-Palmolive announced its agreement to acquire Prime100 in February 2025. The Melbourne, Australia-based company produces refrigerated and shelf-stable pet food.
PetfoodIndustry.com reported on the acquisition in “Colgate-Palmolive acquires Australia's Prime100.”
Prime100 also gives Colgate-Palmolive operational experience with refrigerated pet food, an area that differs from Hill’s traditional shelf-stable business because it requires cold-chain distribution and different manufacturing processes.
Wallace discussed those capabilities during the Barclays session as Colgate-Palmolive develops its fresh pet food strategy.
Private label exit affects reported growth
Hill’s reported growth also continues to reflect Colgate-Palmolive’s decision to exit private label pet food.
The company said the private label withdrawal reduced second-quarter Hill’s organic sales growth by approximately 2 percentage points. Excluding that impact, underlying growth was approximately 4%.
That distinction is important when evaluating Hill’s performance against the broader market. Wallace characterized the overall pet food category as flat at Barclays while saying Hill’s continued to gain share in targeted areas.
The company is therefore managing two transitions simultaneously: reducing lower-priority private label business while investing in segments it considers more attractive for long-term growth.
