📈 US pet spending exceeds $100 billion
The American Pet Products Association (APPA), a trade group representing pet product manufacturers, released its annual State of the Industry report this week. The report found that US consumers spent $103.6 billion on their pets in 2020, broken down into the following four categories:
- $42 billion on pet food and treats
- $31.4 billion on vet care
- $22.1 billion on supplies, OTC meds and live animals
- $8.1 billion on services
While the first 3 categories averaged about 10% YOY growth, spending on pet services was down 21% from 2019. This was because of the pandemic's effect on dog walking, boarding and grooming. As the country gets back to normal, revenue for pet services should rise sharply.
The APPA released the report at the Global Pet Expo, a large tradeshow that showcases the latest pet products. Normally held in Orlando each March, this year the event was online.
For a little context, the amount of US spending on pets is about the same as:
However, there is not complete agreement on the amount of annual pet spending. John Gibbons, aka The Pet Business Professor, also tracks this data, and last year he differed from the APPA by about $17 billion. The Professor has not yet released his figures for 2020 spending.
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🎧 Pet tech podcast
Shout out for a great podcast episode about pet technology. Pet Lover Geek interviewed the five startups that won the latest Purina Pet Care Innovation Prize
- Mella Pet Care (Chicago) - non-rectal pet thermometers
- ClueJay (Denver) - at home medical testing for pets
- KittySift (Minnesota) disposable kitty litter boxes
- VetGuardian (Florida) - telemonitor that allows vets to track pet vitals
- A Pup Above (Austin) - dog food that is cooked sous-vide (using vacuum sealed bags)
The host of Pet Lover Geek is Lorien Clemens, the COO of PetHub, a company that makes Pet ID tags with QR codes.
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🐾 UK houses 24 million dogs & cats
The UK Pet Food Manufacturers (PFMA) released their annual pet population report, which reveals there are 34 million pets in the UK, including 12 million dogs and 12 million cats.
The total also included 3.2 million guinea pigs and hamsters, 3 million birds and 5 million fish.
By way of comparison, there are 90 million dogs and 94 million cats in the US.
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📰 Other news
- Investors have pumped $2.05 billion of venture backing into global pet-focused startups since 2017, half of that going to US companies.
- Petriage, a Bellevue, Washington-based vet telehealth startup, expanded its services to include curbside check-in for vet clinics and 24/7 live triage for pet parents.
- In its first earnings report since going public in January, Petco announced that revenue grew 11% to $4.9 billion for 2020. The company also struck a deal with DoorDash that will allow same-day delivery for its online customers.
- BarkBox is using social media to get Domino's to collab on a new toy line.
- Pet feeding and play services, or pet caring, are booming in China's big cities with some service providers earning up to 1,000 yuan ($153 USD) per day.
- A vet explains how to prepare your pets for when you return to the office.
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