Does your dog read labels better than you do?

Have you ever read the label on your dog’s food as carefully as you read the label on your protein yogurt? If the answer is yes, you’re not alone. And if you’re a brand owner looking at the Pet Food market, that question is worth millions — literally.

The Italian Pet Food market closed the moving year to June 2025 with more than 1.2 billion euros in sell-out, out of 3,913 products monitored by the 18th edition of GS1 Italy’s Immagino Observatory. It is a market that is slightly cooling compared to the previous year — -0.6 percent in value and -1.4 percent in volume — but far from static. Because moving decisively beneath the surface of aggregate numbers are product trends. And those trends tell a story very familiar to anyone involved in nutraceuticals for humans.

The cat read the same study as its master

The first thing that is striking in the GS1 data is the symmetry between the nutritional preferences of Italians and those that Italians project onto their pets. The same claims that drive growth in the human food cart — sugar-free, grain-free, low-calorie, probiotic-enriched — are exactly the claims that pull in Pet Food.

The 541 products labeled as “sugar free” grow +4.0% in volume, approaching 211 million euros in sales. The 467 “grain free” or “low grain” products mark +6.0%. “Low calories” products-only 76 references, but with a +7.4% growth profile — indicate that calorie control in pet diets is no longer a veterinarian niche, but a structured market demand.

This is not a fad. It is the direct consequence of a profound cultural change: the pet has become a member of the family, and the care of its diet follows the same logic — and the same attention to labels — that guides the food choices of its owners.

The decline of Vitamins and the rise of Prebiotics

There is another data point worth noting, because it speaks directly to the world of formulation. Among Pet Food products classified as Rich-in — enriched with functional components — the “vitamins” claim is the most popular in terms of references (1,226 products, more than 435 million euros in turnover) but it is also the one that loses: -2.0% in volume over twelve months, with a drop in demand of -4.0 percentage points.

While Vitamins are marking time, Prebiotics are advancing. The 247 products declaring the presence of prebiotics on the label are growing +6.1% by volume, with sales of nearly 117 million euros. Omega 3 and Omega 6 are holding up well, +1.2% by volume. The message is clear: the consumer — the one shopping for themselves and their dog — has shifted from a logic of generic supplementation to one of specific functionality. Not “with vitamins” as basic reassurance, but “with prebiotics” as active support for the gut microbiome.

It is the same transition seen in the human dietary supplement market: from mass supplementation to targeted formulation. And those who know how to formulate on that logic — with selected functional ingredients, consistent dosages, appropriate galenic forms — have a real advantage in a segment that continues to grow.

Snacks drive growth, dry trudges along

Within this framework, it is the cat nutrition segment that has contributed positively to the overall performance of Pet Food (+0.2% in volume), driven mainly by snacks: +7.7% in value, +5.3% in volume. This dynamic is not surprising considering that snacks are the format in which product innovation is moving the fastest — shorter development cycles, smaller formats, more visible claims.

In dog nutrition, snacks were also the most dynamic (+1.0 percent in value, +2.2 percent in volume), while the dry sector suffered: -2.8 percent in value and -2.4 percent in volume. This is not a sign of a crisis, but a shift: consumers are looking for variety and functionality, and they are more likely to find them in innovative formats than in the classic bag of kibble.

Italianity no longer convinces the bowl

There is news that deserves attention, especially for those developing products in the Italian market. Italian origin — which in FMCG continues to be one of the strongest drivers — in pet food is losing appeal. The 521 products that recall the Italian origin on the label closed the twelve months with declining sales in both value and volume, stopping below 121 million euros in sell-out. The Italian flag, the “100% Italian” claim, the “Italian quality” claim: all in negative ground.

The only exception is “made in Italy/made in Italy,” supported mainly by the expansion of shelf supply, up 0.6 percent in both value and volume. A weak resistance, not a turnaround.

Pet food consumers seem to look less at origin and more at function. Not “made in Italy” but “good for my dog’s gut.” A paradigm shift that shifts the weight of the argument from territory to nutritional profile — ground on which nutraceuticals has much to say.

What does this mean for those who formula

The data from the Imagine Observatory don’t just photograph what is selling today: they anticipate where it will sell tomorrow. And the direction is quite sharp. Pet food is moving closer and closer to the logic of functional food supplements: ingredients selected for a specific purpose, verifiable claims, formats that facilitate administration and compliance (yes, there is compliance logic for dogs, too).

Prebiotics for the Microbiome, Omega 3s for cardiovascular and joint health, Carbohydrate control for fitness weight-these are exactly the areas on which nutraceutical research has produced the most robust body of evidence over the past decade. Transposition to the animal world is not a stretch — it is a natural evolution of a market that has learned to think in terms of systemic wellness.

For those involved in product development, this means that the formulation skills built in the dietary supplement industry — active ingredient management, release forms, ingredient compatibility, product stability — are directly transferable to an adjacent market that is clearly expanding in quality.

A market that changes its skin

The slowdown in Pet Food volumes as a whole is not necessarily a bad sign for those working on innovation. In many mature sectors, volumetric growth is shifting from quantity to quality: fewer standard products, more functional products, at higher average prices. This is what has already happened in the human supplement market, and it is what is emerging in pet food.

The Italian consumer who spends 1.2 billion euros on food for their pets is not just buying calories. He is buying a promise of well-being. And those who can formulate, produce and package that promise in a credible and scalable way have a real opportunity ahead of them.

If you are working on a project in this segment and looking for a packaging partner, we are available for a conversation.