The Latin American pet food market is often quoted at around US$10–11 billion. It is a figure widely used in reports and presentations, and it has become a common reference across the industry. However, it does not fully reflect the reality of the region.
The limitation is not technical — it is practical. Few players invest the time and resources needed to measure this market properly. As a result, many estimates rely on partial data and simplified assumptions.
Over the past decade, Latin America has grown steadily, driven by urbanization, smaller households and the humanization of pets. Yet its structure is more complex than what is typically captured.
What is being left out
Most estimates rely heavily on modern retail data, even though supermarkets represent only part of the market. A significant share of sales flows through wholesalers, veterinarians, agricultural stores, pet shops and independent distributors.
The distortion also comes from how value is calculated. Product mix is often oversimplified, despite large price differences between economy and premium segments. At the same time, confusion between producer prices and final consumer prices further skews the numbers.
The result is a consistent underestimation of the market.
Reality check: Mexico and Brazil
Mexico highlights this gap clearly. Some estimates place its market at around US$3.5 billion, yet one major retail chain alone represents close to a third of that value. When all channels are considered, the real size is evidently much larger.
On the supply side, Brazil stands out with one of the largest pet food production bases in the world, with companies such as PremieR Pet, Adimax, BRF Pet and Special Dog operating at scale.
The number that changes the narrative
Research by Triplethree International, based on primary data, consumption modeling and industrial capacity, estimates the Latin American pet food market at approximately 9.75 million tons in 2025. At an average blended retail price close to US$4.5 per kilogram — reflecting category mix, local pricing and currency effects — this implies a market size of roughly US$40 billion.
A market still underestimated
This is not a minor adjustment — it is a fundamentally different scale. For companies looking at Latin America, the real risk is not overestimating the opportunity. It is continuing to size the region with incomplete assumptions and, in doing so, missing the true magnitude of what is already happening on the ground.
Iván Franco is the founder of Triplethree International and has collaborated on hundreds of research projects for several consumer goods industries.
