Although, the German pet industry could celebrate an increase in income by 10% last year, the population of pets still decreased in the country. Last year’s turnover almost reached €6.5 billion ($7B) compared to €6 billion ($6.5B) in 2021.
With an increase of 7.1%, offline channel sales accounted for accounted for €5.1 billion ($5.59B), as to the German Pet Trade & Industry Association (ZZF) and the Industrial Association of Pet Care Producers (IVH). In comparison, e-commerc accounted for €1.2 billion ($1.3B).
Reaching €4 billion ($4.4B) in turnover, pet food recorded the strongest growth. According to Georg Müller, chairman of IVH, the food sales remained more or less the same and explained the growth in turnover “is largely due to the current inflation.”
Overall, sales of accessories decreased by 0.9% (€1 billion ($1.28B)) while dog accessories purchases fell by 4.6%, followed by cats (-2.5%) and ornamental fish (-2.1%). In contrast, cat litter sales grew by 6.1% (€324 million ($353M)).
The figures show a clear dominance of cat food sales in the sector, marking a 12.5% increase in turnover (€2 billion ($2.1B)). Wet food was more popular than snacks for the first time after years (+13.6%).
Dog food recorded an offline sales increase of 7.8% (€1.8 billion ($1.9B)) and also experienced a higher interest in wet food (€595 million ($647.8M)) than snacks.
Offline sales of ornamental fish food witnessed a 5.2% growth at €59 million ($64M), according to IVH and ZZF. Ornamental bird feed remained stable with a €67 million ($73M) turnover. Small animal and wild bird feed sustained a loss of 7.1% and 2.5%, respectively.
Furthermore, the research shows a decline in pet food population. Last year, 34.4 million pets lived in Germany: 15.2 million cats, 10.6 million dogs, 4.9 million small animals and 3.7 million ornamental birds. The number has declined by 300,000 while the number of small animals and birds increased.
46% of German households owned at least one pet in 2022. Most of pet owners (26%) are aged over 60 while 21% of pet owners are 50 to 59 years old and 19% are aged 30 to 39.
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