Understanding your industry isn’t just about where it stands today – it’s about knowing where it’s been and where it’s headed. What does the future of your market look like? And what innovations are driving those trends? Find out with Mintel’s 360° bundle deal, including:
Mintel’s report bundle ensures the best value for you, providing an extensive overview of your market at an exclusive price. Purchase two reports to save 20% or three to save 30% on your total order.
Reports can also be purchased individually, simply make your selection before you add to basket.
Mintel’s UK pet food market analysis shows that UK pet owners have made cutbacks across pet food due to a challenging economy. Concerns over ultra-processed foods has also had an impact on the UK Pet food market. Brands that can assuage these concerns will benefit.
The cost-of-living crisis and rapid inflation in pet food saw volume sales in the cat and dog food market drop significantly over 2022-24, as owners made cutbacks across all segments, with wet meals faring the worst. Volumes are expected to return to slow growth from 2026, as strengthening real incomes will see some economising habits reverse. Improving household finances will also give more momentum to the premiumisation and humanisation trends, and create more added value opportunities around health, convenience and sustainability, the meat reduction trend offering especially ripe potential.
Challengingly, concerns over the healthiness of ultra-processed food have made manufactured pet food less appealing for half of pet owners. Brands that tap into and assuage these concerns, for example through greater transparency about how the meals are made and what goes into them, will benefit. There will be growing opportunities for fresh pet food (either chilled or frozen), as well as products/services that make homemade pet meals more convenient, such as meal kits and subscription recipe boxes.
The impact of pet food on stool quality is currently largely overlooked in pet food marketing. However, almost two-thirds of pet food buyers in the UK think about this when choosing what pet food to buy, signalling that more brands should focus on this sought-after benefit.
The market size in this Report comprises UK retail sales of pet food for cats and dogs through all retail channels, including direct to consumer. Food is categorised as dry, wet, snacks and treats. Cat drinks are also included.
Excluded are healthcare and accessories such as items for home grooming, collars, leashes, toys, chews, bedding, feeding equipment and litter, and over-the-counter flea/tick treatments and prescription medicines. Pets themselves, as well as services for pets, such as boarding, grooming, training and veterinary services, and pet insurance are also excluded from the market size and from this Report.
This report was written by Emma Clifford. Emma joined the Food and Drink team in June 2012 and is responsible for researching and writing food reports. Before joining Mintel, Emma worked as a marketing information analyst at Marketforce and gained retail experience from her time working as a fashion distributor at Debenhams head office.
The cost-of-living crisis saw volume decline accelerate in 2023. Concerns over UPFs must be addressed amid the growing threat from homemade pet food.
Emma Clifford
Associate Director – Food and Drink
Mintel is the world’s leading market intelligence agency. We show you how consumers think today and tomorrow. As a trusted partner to industry leaders, we deliver game-changing insights to businesses across the globe, fuelling their marketing and innovation strategies that will shape the future.
Access high-quality market research with every purchase of Mintel’s consumer reports. Here’s what else is included in your report purchase:
From consumer reports to customised growth strategies. We have an option to suit your business requirements.
Find out more$ 695
Pet Food in UK by Mintel Market Sizes provides you with annual year-end market size data, most recently updated in 2023. This market covers packaged, prepared dry and...
Find out more$ 695
Pet Food - UK by Mintel Market Sizes provides you with annual year-end market size data, most recently updated in 2024. This market covers packaged, prepared dry and...
Find out more$ 695
Pet Food - UK by Mintel Market Sizes provides you with annual year-end market size data, most recently updated in 2024. This market covers packaged, prepared dry and...
Find out more$ 695
Pet Food in UK by Mintel Market Sizes provides you with annual year-end market size data, most recently updated in 2023. This market covers packaged, prepared dry and...
Find out more$ 2,995
Pet insurance remains resilient despite rising premiums Rising veterinary costs, along with broader inflationary trends, have forced insurers to increase premiums. Despite this, and the wider effects of the...
Find out more$ 2,995
"Interest in pet-friendly products aligned with wellness trends and created to address pet owners’ unique cleaning needs creates new opportunities for brands to explore. While heritage market players...
Find out more
Working in a customer-obsessed organization means that data and insights have to be at our fingertips. Mintel’s reports help us support anecdotes with real quantifiable insights. The summary sections (which I really like) helps save time by giving a birds eye view of the content before spending time combing through the pages.
Our business review discussions are strengthened by the relevancy of the reports to help us better understand our customers. In addition, the customer service received from the team (especially in crunch periods) makes the process of understanding customer behavior even better.
We use Mintel to inform our thinking and reinforce strategy. If you’re presenting new ideas, it’s essential they are underpinned by robust data and evidence, and clearly rooted in fact.
Mintel gives us all that. It’s a great brand and one that is trusted by clients.
There is no question that Mintel is the go-to resource for the best quality market research, but I did not think it was an affordable option for Abacus Marketing to consider. As a small marketing agency, we only work with a few new clients each year.
However, we have a very high-end consultative approach to our work, so we really do need a partner like Mintel to provide the big agency experience we are always aiming to deliver. Our clients come from an incredibly diverse range of industry sectors, so we obviously need access to market research reports from a very wide spectrum of marketplaces – and that is precisely what we got.
At Jackman, we believe that powerful strategies are based on human insight. Mintel’s leading-edge reports and insights into consumer attitudes and behaviors are an important input as we develop and execute strategy.
We utilize Mintel Reports, Trends and Comperemedia to mine for insights across the numerous business verticals that Epsilon serves, such as CPG, automotive, telecom, healthcare/pharma, retail and financial services.
By integrating Mintel insight into new business opportunities, we have been able to gain the competitive edge necessary to advance partnerships with global brands and key business players.
For our organization, it’s about depth and breadth. Having one without the other doesn’t enable success in our business.
From consumer reports to customised growth strategies. We have an option to suit your business requirements.
Find out more
