Market Overview

The total size of the pet business market, measured by retail amount (end-user price), is expected to reach 1.9504 trillion yen in FY2025, which is equivalent to 102.1% of the preceding fiscal year’s size. As more households treat their pets as family members, spending per animal is rising, moderately increasing the market size. Growth in FY2025 is also driven by favorable sales of high-value-added products, particularly pet food, health products for pets, and outdoor supplies that encourage pet owners to be mindful of their pets' behavior in public. The pet services sector, including pet insurance, has surpassed the previous year’s performance.

Noteworthy Topics

Strong Demand for High-Value-Added Products Continues to Boost the Pet Food Market

Despite consumers' savings-oriented trends in FY2025, the pet food market experienced robust sales of high-value-added products, as pet owners were willing to spend more on premium pet food, such as nutritionally balanced products or those made with select ingredients. Conversely, some companies selling pet food at low to medium prices struggled.

The dog food market is seeing an increase in the segmentation and diversification of product categories, such as differentiation by age, dog breed, and health condition. There is strong demand for products that are additive-free, made with natural and/or domestic ingredients, as well as for products with a high meat content. 

There is robust demand for low- and medium-priced dry food in the cat food market. In recent years, however, expensive, high-value-added products have been gaining popularity. These products include those with select ingredients and those that address cats’ healthcare needs, such as maintaining kidney health and supporting immune systems. Product assortments with various flavors are also popular.

Future Outlook

Based on the retail amount (end-user price), the total pet business market is expected to reach 1.9835 trillion yen by FY2026, equivalent to 101.7% of the previous fiscal year’s size.

Although no significant increase in sales volume is anticipated, market participants are expected to maintain or increase their sales by offering high-value products or expanding overseas. The pet food market is predicted to see robust demand for health-conscious pet products and pet food made with high-quality, domestically sourced, additive-free ingredients. There appears to be room for growth in health- and etiquette-related product categories, such as dental care items and diapers, in the pet supplies market.

As more pets are increasingly treated as family members, pet services are expected to become more diverse and advanced. These services include pet insurance, healthcare, and leisure and entertainment activities for pets and their owners to enjoy together.

Research Outline