Italy is one of Europe’s most resilient pet markets. In 2023, dog and cat food sales alone broke the €3 billion barrier, with the modern pet-store channel growing almost twice as fast as traditional independents. This report extracts the latest data from the Assalco–Zoomark 2024 industry study and translates it into actionable intelligence for pet-industry professionals, investors, and brands targeting Italy.
1. Market size and growth (2023)
Italian dog and cat food sales reached €3,008.1 million in the 52 weeks ending 31 December 2023, a year-over-year increase of +13.4%. Volume was essentially flat at 673,153 tonnes, confirming that value growth was largely price-driven by the post-inflationary environment.
| Segment | Value (€M) | Share | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total dog + cat food | 3,008.1 | 100% | +13.4% |
| Cat food | 1,663.4 | 55.3% | +15.7% |
| — Wet cat food | 1,029.7 | 34.2% | +15.3% |
| — Dry cat food | 539.6 | 17.9% | +15.0% |
| — Cat snacks | 94.0 | 3.2% | +23.5% |
| Dog food | 1,344.7 | 44.7% | +10.7% |
| — Dry dog food | 687.5 | 22.9% | +12.1% |
| — Wet dog food | 437.3 | 14.5% | +9.4% |
| — Dog snacks | 220.0 | 7.3% | +8.9% |
Cat snacks were the fastest-growing segment (+23.5%), followed by cat food overall. Dog food, while smaller, still posted a robust +10.7%.
2. Pet population: 65 million animals
According to Euromonitor, Italian households hosted an estimated 65 million pets in 2023, stable versus the prior year.
| Species | Population (millions) |
|---|---|
| Fish | 29.9 |
| Birds | 12.9 |
| Cats | 10.2 |
| Dogs | 8.8 |
| Small mammals & reptiles | 3.2 |
| Total | 65.0 |
Cats outnumber dogs, which helps explain the stronger growth in cat food. The national pet registry (SINAC) is gradually rolling out region by region and may eventually provide official population figures.
3. Channel structure: grocery dominates, chains grow fastest
Circana’s retail audit splits the market into grocery and specialist channels. Grocery still accounts for nearly two-thirds of value, but pet-store chains are the growth engine.
| Channel | Value (€M) | Share | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grocery (GDO + discount + traditional) | 1,917.8 | 64.0% | +16.3% |
| Traditional pet shops | 700.6 | 23.3% | +3.2% |
| Pet-shop chains + GDO pet formats | 389.7 | 13.0% | +19.7% |
Store productivity gap
| Channel | Stores | Avg sales/store |
|---|---|---|
| Pet-shop chains + GDO pet formats | 478 | €815,300 |
| Traditional pet shops | 4,796–4,918 | €142,300 |
| Supermarkets | 9,246 | €103,000 |
| Hypermarkets | 393 | €546,400 |
A chain or GDO pet-format store generates roughly 5.7× the revenue of a traditional independent pet shop. Chains also carry deeper assortments (average 2,626 SKUs vs. 2,066 for traditional shops), blending specialist advice with grocery-style shelf management.
4. The Italian pet-store chain landscape
Assalco–Zoomark 2024 identifies the following national pet-retail networks tracked by Circana:
- Specialty chains: L’Isola dei Tesori, Croce Azzurra, Arca di Noè, Italpet, Zoo Megastore, Agrizoo2, Arcaplanet, Fauna Food, Petmark, Zoomarket
- GDO-owned pet formats: Petstore Conad, Amici di Casa Coop, Ayoka, Animali che Passione
Note: Arcaplanet, Fauna Food, Petmark and Zoomarket are excluded from Circana’s pet-food channel statistics because they sit within GDO groups, but they remain independent chain brands for industry-mapping purposes.
On GlobalPetIndex, 13 of these national names are already profiled as indexable Italian pet-chain entities, including Arcaplanet (610 stores), L’Isola dei Tesori, Petstore Conad and Petmark.
5. E-commerce
Italy’s online pet sector is gaining momentum. In Casaleggio Associati’s March 2024 ranking:
- Zooplus is the only pure-play pet portal in the Italian top tier, with over 1.1 million unique visitors per month and an average visit duration close to 10 minutes.
- Among Italian “Animali” sites, the e-commerce stores of Arcaplanet and L’Isola dei Tesori both appear in the top 10, confirming that leading bricks-and-mortar chains are also winning online.
6. Private label (MDD)
Private label gained share as consumers traded down amid inflation:
- All pet food: 23.6% value share (+0.8 pp)
- GDO: 22.5% value share; 37.3% volume share
- Pet-shop chains + GDO formats: 11.2% value share (+1.3 pp)
7. Accessories, litter and other species
Beyond dog and cat food, the GDO channel reported:
- Cat litter: €100M (+14%)
- Pet accessories: €85.1M (+6%)
- Small-animal food: €14M (+5.8%)
Within accessories, hygiene products account for 51.1% of value, followed by other accessories (16.0%), anti-parasitics (14.6%), chews (10.7%) and toys (7.6%).
8. Geography
Northern Italy remains the commercial core, but the South and Centre are growing at similar rates.
| Region | Value share | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| North-West | 28.5% | +11.8% |
| North-East | 18.6% | +14.2% |
| Centre + Sardinia | 27.6% | +12.1% |
| South | 25.3% | +12.2% |
GDO is more concentrated in the North (North-West 36.4%), while traditional pet shops have stronger relative presence in the Centre, South and Sardinia.
9. Consumer behaviour (BVA Doxa)
A survey of 800 Italian dog and cat owners found:
- Pet acquisition: dogs mainly come from shelters; cats are often rescued as strays; friends and family are the second source for both.
- Food choice drivers: ingredient quality (74%) is the top factor, followed by vet advice (64%) and brand trust (62%). Price ranks only sixth, confirming premiumisation is real.
- Vet visits: dog owners visit more than three times a year; roughly one in four receives feeding advice from their vet.
- Pet-friendly cities: Milan (79%), Rome (75%) and Naples (52%) lead the Quattrozampeinfiera ranking.
10. Regulatory and policy signals
- VAT: dog and cat food and veterinary services are taxed at 22%, three times Germany’s 7% rate. Industry and animal-welfare groups are lobbying to cut it to 10%.
- Organic pet food labelling: Italy adopted specific national rules in 2015 and updated the labelling regulation in autumn 2023.
- SINAC: the national pet registry is expanding region by region.
- DDL Anziani: a €750k veterinary-expense fund (2024–2026) supports low-income owners over 65, plus animal-assisted interventions in care homes.
- EU dog and cat welfare regulation: the first EU-wide welfare framework for commercially bred dogs and cats is under negotiation.
- Raw diets (BARF/RMBD): flagged by EFSA/FVE as an emerging public-health risk.
Bottom line for industry players
Italy’s pet market is a €3B+ opportunity where modern chains, e-commerce and premium nutrition are winning share from independents and traditional grocery. Brands and investors should prioritise the national chain networks, the Zooplus/Arcaplanet/L’Isola digital shelf, and the still-underdeveloped South and Centre retail footprint.
Sources: Assalco–Zoomark 2024 (Circana 52 weeks to 31 Dec 2023; Euromonitor; Casaleggio Associati E-commerce Italia, 13 Mar 2024; BVA Doxa). Compiled for GlobalPetIndex by Scott Zhu.
