During a recent Innova Market Insights webinar, Ekaterina Tretyakova, market insights consultant at Innova, outlined five trends reshaping global pet food development: layered wellness, evolving protein, humanization, occasion-based feeding and transparency.
Trend 1: Wellness claims leave gaps
According to Tretyakova, gut health leads all pet food health positioning, appearing on 31% of global new product launches, followed by immune health and skin health at 22% each. Oral health claims trail at 12%.
But consumer demand tells a different story, she noted. Among the top four health benefit areas pet owners are seeking, weight management and oral health both rank highly — yet only 5% of new launches carry a weight management claim.
"Weight management and oral health are really under-represented among innovations," Tretyakova said. "We see a high consumer demand for such positionings. It means this area highlights untapped potential for innovations."
Interest in gut-related ingredients is also climbing, said Tretyakova. Thirty-two percent of pet owners actively seek fiber in pet food and 23% seek probiotics.
"The microbiome claim is emerging as the fastest-growing positioning in the category," said Tretyakova. "It really represents how trends are evolving and spreading from human food and beverages to the pet food market."
On clean-label expectations, 42% of consumers say they avoid artificial colorants in pet food, 39% avoid artificial flavors and 37% avoid preservatives.
Trend 2: Protein goes multifunctional
Protein remains the category's dominant purchase driver: 49% of global pet owners say it most influences their pet food choices. But its positioning has expanded well beyond muscle support. Among new product launches in 2025 carrying a high-protein claim, 71% also featured at least one additional health claim, and 64% added a digestive health claim. Nearly half paired protein with a skin health claim.
"Protein is no longer only about muscle development," Tretyakova said. "It is increasingly connected to digestive health, immunity, skin health and overall wellness."
Hypoallergenic and easy-to-digest formats are gaining ground alongside conventional protein. Allergen-free claims grew from 8% to 13% of new launches between 2024 and 2025, with 23% of pet owners citing free-from-allergen claims among their top purchase influences.
Novel protein sources remain early-stage but show consumer openness that outpaces awareness, said Tretyakova. Thirty-six percent of pet owners said they would consider feeding their pets cultivated meat, and 43% said they would consider microbially fermented protein.
"Education will be extremely important for brands entering this space, because consumers are eager to experiment," she said. "Their knowledge, however, is still limited."
Omega-3 ingredients appeared in 18% of new launches in 2025. Among those, 49% also carried a skin health claim and 42% an immune health claim. Twenty-six percent of pet owners say they are actively trying to include more fish oil and omega-3/6/9 in their pets' diets.
Trend 3: Humanization reshapes formats
Twenty-three percent of global pet owners say human-grade ingredients rank among the top claims influencing their purchases, explained Tretyakova. Air-dried, freeze-dried and baked formats are growing, particularly in North America, where 15% of 2025 new launches carried one of those claims.
"Consumers associate freshness and minimal processing with higher quality," Tretyakova said. "That's why formats such as crispy, air-dried and baked are growing strongly, especially in North America."
Personalization is also advancing beyond species and life stage to include breed, size, lifestyle and sensitivity.
"Thirty-five percent of pet owners say tailored formulas represent the most important food attribute, and 20% say lifestyle formulas — for active pets or indoor cats, for example — are among the innovations they are most interested in," said Tretyakova. "This mirrors exactly what we are already witnessing in human nutrition."
Trend 4: Occasion-based feeding expands touchpoints
Nearly 40% of new pet food launches in 2025 carried resealable or reclosable packaging, reflecting demand from the 36% of global pet owners who report traveling with their pets, said Tretyakova.
Products positioned around specific daily moments — breakfast, post-activity snacks, dinner — are also proliferating.
"This is a very interesting shift, because it increases the number of daily interaction points between brands, pets and owners," Tretyakova said. "Seventy-four percent of pet owners globally say they enjoy shopping for different types of pet treats."
Seasonal and limited-edition products remain a small but growing niche. In North America, 6% of new launches fall into that category, with major brands beginning to test the format.
"Consumers already enjoy buying seasonal products for themselves, and brands can extend this emotional experience to pets as well," Tretyakova said.
Trend 5: Transparency as a trust signal
Sixty-two percent of global pet owners say they prefer to know the country where their pet's food was made, and 14% say sustainable sourcing is among the pet food innovations they are most interested in.
"Consumers want to know where ingredients come from, as well as where and how products are made, but importantly, sourcing needs to feel tangible and believable," Tretyakova said.
Recyclable claims now appear on 26% of new pet food launches. Biodegradable packaging and upcycled ingredients are growing from a smaller base, particularly in North America and Europe.
Tretyakova noted that brands are under increasing pressure to move from broad sustainability language to concrete, measurable claims.
"This is becoming especially important as regulations around green claims continue to tighten globally, and especially in the European Union," she said.
