As much as pet food start-ups, niche brands and mom-and-pop producers have proliferated, the corporate big dogs still dominate the pet food industry. Not surprisingly, those same large pet food makers are also the ones leading the human food markets. Nestlé, Mars, General Mills and Colgate-Palmolive have captured significant market share in nearly every category of the pet food sector, from economy kibble to premium wet formats, according to Cascadia Capital’s Summer 2025 Pet Industry Overview.
Those four massive companies outperform across all price points in the pet food market. Mars PetCare and Nestle Purina stand furthest above the competition in market share.
Cat food market share and overall size
Nestlé holds a particularly strong position in cat food with Friskies, Fancy Feast and Purina Pro Plan, especially in economy and premium wet segments. In the cat food category, Nestlé commands 56.9% of the economy dry segment, rising to 76.4% in economy wet. In the mid-priced wet segment, Purina holds 23.1% of the market, but is edged out by Mars’ 30.1%. In premium dry cat food Colgate-Palmolive makes an appearance with 28.4%, above Purina’s 17.3% and Mars’ 19.7%.
Cat food market size by category
- Economy dry – US$2.8 billion
- Economy wet – US$2.0 billion
- Mid-priced dry – US$1.7 billion
- Mid-priced wet – US$0.3 billion
- Premium dry – US$3.1 billion
- Premium wet – US$4.9 billion
Major producers in the dog food market
In the dog food segment, Nestlé and Mars are market leaders across the economy and mid-priced tiers. However, other brands have a 40.6% share of the premium dry segment.
In the economy dry dog food segment, Nestlé and Mars combined account for over 60% of market share, with Mars alone controlling 38.9% and Nestle Purina holding 33.2%. Similarly, in economy wet dog food, Mars dominates with 64.7%. In mid-priced dry dog food, Nestlé captures 48.2% of the market. However, in premium dry, Mars has only a 19.2% market share, and Purina didn’t appear in the rankings.
Dog food market sizes by category
- Economy dry – US$4.9 billion
- Economy wet – US$1.2 billion
- Mid-priced dry – US$5.6 billion
- Mid-priced wet – US$1.1 billion
- Premium dry – US$12.3 billion
- Premium wet – US$4.6 billion
Opportunities for smaller pet food companies
While big food companies dominate mass-market and mid-tier offerings, Cascadia analysts pointed out opportunities for emerging players in the more fragmented premium segments. Freshpet, for instance, has gained traction in the premium wet dog food segment.
However, large CPG firms have seen the opportunities in frozen fresh pet food and have expanded the category. Hill’s Pet Nutrition (Colgate-Palmolive) recently announced plans to acquire Australian fresh dog food company Prime100. Likewise, Mars’ Royal Canin and General Mills’ Blue Buffalo have launched fresh-format offerings.
Cascadia’s analysts concluded that big CPG companies’ competitive advantage lies in brand recognition, scale and distribution strength. However, the continued evolution of pet owner preferences toward premium, science-backed and fresh offerings creates opportunities for emerging brands.
