The pet food industry in Mexico has continued to grow, totaling MX$145,000 million (US$7.7 billion) in 2023, according to a new report, “La Industria de Alimento Para Mascotas (The Pet Food industry),” from Amexfal, a company offering consulting and other services to the food and feed industries in Mexico.
While the country has been hit with inflation, as has nearly every other one around the world, not all sales growth for pet food has happened due to higher prices; the volume of pet food produced has also increased for several years. After a slight dip in production in 2023, pet food volume is projected to reach 1.85 million tons in 2024, a 2.5% growth rate that’s expected to continue annually through 2030. In that year, projections call for 2.2 million tons of pet food to be produced.
Dogs and dog food dominate the market
The bulk of pet food produced and sold in Mexico is for dogs, as they are by far the pet most often owned. The Amexfal report says of the 35.8 million households in the country, nearly 70% own pets: a total of 80 million, or an average of 2.3 pets per household. The majority are dogs, at 43.8 million, followed by cats at 16.2 million and other pets (fish, small mammals, reptiles and birds) at 20 million.
Dog and cat food dominate the pet food market, especially the former; and in terms of types of foods, dry dog food accounts for 62% of pet food products available (and 50.4% at supermarkets, the largest retail channel in Mexico for pet food). Wet dog food comprises 9% of the pet food products available in all retail channels, with dog treats coming in at 4%. For cats, 18% of the pet food products available are dry cat food, followed by 6% for wet cat food and 1% for cat treats.
Not surprisingly then, dry dog food also accounts for the highest volume of pet food produced, at 55% or 987,166 tons in 2023, followed by dry cat food at 24% or 435, 247 tons. For all types of pet food, dog food totaled 1.375 million tons in 2023 and cat food, 414,076 tons.
A few large manufacturers make 80% of pet foods
In 2023, the number of pet food products regulated by the Mexican government totaled 3,139, and 80% of those were produced by only 50 of the 203 regulated pet food manufacturers. Those 203 companies are dominated by ones that manufacture products under their own brands in addition to making pet foods for other brands: Only 14 of the companies fall into this category yet produced 1.65 million tons of pet food in 2023, or 80% of the total.
Other types of pet food businesses in Mexico include 39 that manufacture and sell only their own brands, accounting for 9% of production (179,000 tons); 57 “maquilados” that market their own brands made by third-party manufacturers, at 6% and 122,000 tons; and importers/distributors of foreign grands, at 5% and 113,000 tons.