Italy Pet Market 2026: 2,748 Companies

Executive Summary: Italy’s pet market reached EUR 5.4 billion in the 12 months to July 2026, up 3.8% on Circana data, with pet shop chains growing 9.0% in value and online 8.5% while supermarkets and discounters fell 0.9%. Pet food volume grew just 0.1% to 469 million kg, so value growth came from price and mix rather than consumption.

Key Facts

Data source: Circana Liquid Data, reported by GlobalPETS
Country: Italy
Industry: Pet food and pet care retail
Category: Channel performance, market size
Event: Twelve-month market data to July 2026
Date: 10 November 2026
Market size: EUR 5.4 billion, up 3.8% year on year
Pet food: EUR 4.3 billion, up 3.5%; volume 469 million kg, up 0.1%
Fastest channel: Pet shop chains, +9.0% value and +7.4% volume
GPI data: The pet market italy profile at globalpetindex.com tracks these channel figures by category
Source: GlobalPETS, citing Circana

What Happened

Italy’s pet market reached EUR 5.4 billion in the 12 months to July 2026, up 3.8% year on year, according to Circana data reported by GlobalPETS on 10 November. Pet care is now the second-largest category by value across grocery, online and pet shop channels combined, behind packaged foods at EUR 5.9 billion. Measured through the grocery channel alone, it ranks 16th.

The split inside the total says more than the headline. Pet food grew 3.5% to EUR 4.3 billion. Pet care excluding food — accessories, litter, hygiene and the rest — grew 5% to EUR 1.156 billion, faster than food.

Channel performance diverged sharply. Pet shop chains grew 9.0% in value and 7.4% in volume. Online grew 8.5% in value and 7.2% in volume. Drugstores grew 5.8% in value but 9.7% in volume, the fastest volume growth of any channel. Traditional pet shops grew 4.5% in value and 3.9% in volume. Supermarkets, hypermarkets and discount stores were the only channel to fall: down 0.9% in value and 3.0% in volume.

Background

Italy’s pet market has slowed in value terms for three years. Annual value growth fell from 12.1% in 2023 to 5.4% in 2024 and 2.6% in 2025, while the market expanded from EUR 4.9 billion in 2023 to EUR 5.3 billion in 2025. Pet food followed the same curve: 13.3% growth in 2023, 4.9% in 2024, 2.7% in 2025, with sales value rising from EUR 3.5 billion in 2022 to EUR 4.2 billion in 2025.

For January to July 2026, total pet care sales across all channels reached EUR 3.158 billion, up 4.2%. Pet food sales value was EUR 2.5 billion, up 3.6%, on volume of 469 million kg, up 0.1% after 1.3% growth in 2025. Volume has stalled while value grows, which means price and mix are carrying the market rather than more kilos leaving the shelf.

Channel shares explain why format experiments elsewhere in Europe matter. Large-scale retail and discount stores account for 42.2% of Italian pet food sales, pet shop chains and retailers for 24.3%, traditional pet shops for 18.2%, online for 12.1% and drugstores for 3.2%.

Industry Context

Italy is the clearest European example of a market where the specialist channel gains while grocery loses. Chains growing 9% in value against a 0.9% decline in supermarkets and discounters reverses the pattern of the previous decade, when grocery used scale and price to take share in dry food and litter.

Two forces sit behind the reversal. The first is assortment: chains have moved into fresh, raw, grain-free, functional and prescription-adjacent ranges a supermarket will not stock in depth. The second is advice: chains have trained staff in a way grocery has not, and the Italian shopper still asks questions at the counter.

Drugstores are the quiet story. Volume growth of 9.7% on value growth of 5.8% means more units at lower average prices — a mix effect that usually signals a value-oriented shopper using whichever channel is on the walk home. That is the same shopper a discount pet format would target.

Private label lost ground, holding 24.7% of total pet care sales, down 0.7 percentage points, and 29.4% of pet care excluding food, down 0.2 points. Own-brand ranges are strongest in the channels that are losing share.

Market & Business Impact

For the pet product distributor that supplies independent shops, the numbers cut both ways. The 18.2% slice held by traditional pet shops still grew 4.5% in value, but slower than chains and online, and its volume growth of 3.9% was the weakest outside grocery. A wholesale layer built on many small accounts is watching its customer base grow more slowly than the market.

For brands, channel strategy in Italy now has a ranking. A listing in pet shop chains or a relationship with their buying groups delivers more growth per point of distribution than a grocery listing, and online grows almost as fast with lower shelf costs. Grocery still matters for dry food and litter bought on price — exactly where private label is retreating.

For exporters, the constraint is route to market. Chains buy centrally and increasingly through buying groups; independents buy through distributors. GPI’s Cat Food distributor directory tracks the companies serving that second layer across Europe, which is where most first-time exporters to Italy start.

Companies & Brands Involved

Circana compiles the retail measurement behind the figures, covering hypermarkets, supermarkets, small supermarkets, discount stores, drugstores, traditional stores, pet shop chains, independent pet shops and online. GlobalPETS reported the Italian data on 10 November 2026. Italy’s pet shop chains, led by the large national groups, are the fastest-growing channel by value; independent pet shops, at 18.2% of pet food sales, remain the largest specialist block after grocery.

Data & Evidence

The breakdown is one of the few granular views of the european pet food market published this autumn, down to channel-level volume. Market: EUR 5.4 billion in the 12 months to July 2026, up 3.8%. Pet food: EUR 4.3 billion, up 3.5%. Pet care excluding food: EUR 1.156 billion, up 5%. January to July 2026: EUR 3.158 billion, up 4.2%; pet food EUR 2.5 billion, up 3.6%; volume 469 million kg, up 0.1%. Channels, value and volume: pet shop chains +9.0%/+7.4%, online +8.5%/+7.2%, drugstores +5.8%/+9.7%, traditional pet shops +4.5%/+3.9%, supermarkets and discounters -0.9%/-3.0%. Pet food shares: large-scale retail 42.2%, chains 24.3%, traditional 18.2%, online 12.1%, drugstores 3.2%. Private label: 24.7% of pet care, down 0.7 points.

What This Means for the Pet Industry

Italy shows what a mature pet market looks like when volume stops growing: 3.8% value growth on 0.1% volume is price and mix, not consumption. Every channel strategy in the country is now a fight for share of a flat basket.

In that fight, specialist retail is winning on assortment and advice, grocery is losing on both, and online is taking the routine reorder. The channel that has not found its role is the discount pet format, which is being tested in the Netherlands rather than in Italy.

The number to watch next year is drugstore volume. If it keeps growing at 9.7% while average price falls, Italy will have created a value channel outside grocery, and the pet shop chains will have to decide where they stand.

Key Takeaways

Italy’s pet market reached EUR 5.4 billion in the 12 months to July 2026, up 3.8% year on year on Circana data.
Pet food grew 3.5% to EUR 4.3 billion while pet care excluding food grew 5% to EUR 1.156 billion.
Pet shop chains grew 9.0% in value and online 8.5%, while supermarkets and discount stores fell 0.9% in value and 3.0% in volume.
Drugstores posted the fastest volume growth at 9.7% on value growth of 5.8%, indicating a shift toward lower-priced purchases.
Private label fell 0.7 percentage points to 24.7% of pet care sales, the category most exposed to grocery’s decline.
Pet food volume grew just 0.1% to 469 million kg, so value growth came from price and mix rather than consumption.

Frequently Asked Questions

How large is the Italian pet market?

EUR 5.4 billion in the 12 months to July 2026, according to Circana data reported by GlobalPETS. That was 3.8% higher than the same period a year earlier.

Why are supermarkets and discounters losing pet food share in Italy?

Large-scale retail and discount stores fell 0.9% in value and 3.0% in volume in the period. Chains have taken share through deeper specialist ranges, fresh and functional food, and staff advice grocery does not provide.

What share of Italian pet food does online hold?

Online accounted for 12.1% of Italian pet food sales, against 42.2% for large-scale retail and discounters, 24.3% for pet shop chains, 18.2% for traditional pet shops and 3.2% for drugstores.

Is private label gaining in Italy?

No. Private label held 24.7% of total pet care sales, down 0.7 percentage points, and 29.4% of pet care excluding food, down 0.2 points. Own-brand ranges are strongest in the grocery channels losing share.

How do exporters reach Italian pet shops?

Chains buy centrally, often through buying groups, while independent shops buy through distributors. For a first entry, the distributor route covers more outlets with a single relationship.

Sources

Primary — GlobalPETS, Pet supplements surge in Italy as specialist retail gains ground, 10 November 2026, https://globalpetindustry.com/news/pet-supplements-surge-in-italy-as-specialist-retail-gains-ground/
Secondary — Circana Liquid Data, 12-month and January-July 2026 retail measurement across grocery, drugstore, pet shop and online channels.
Reference — GlobalPetIndex pet market and distributor directories.

Italy’s Pet Market Reaches EUR 5.4 Billion as Pet Shop Chains Outgrow Supermarkets

Key figures

Leading pet-industry companies in Italy