Pet food, a €4.2 billion market opening up new opportunities for vending

In Europe, almost one in two households has at least one pet. This represents a huge consumer base, driving a pet food market worth close to €30 billion and continuing to push the industry towards increasingly specialised, functional and personalised products. Despite its size, automatic retail still plays only a marginal role: there are individual installations and some self-service shops, but no established model capable of turning pet food into a structured new vending category.

According to FEDIAF’s Facts & Figures 2026 report, the European pet population totals 306 million, while 140 million households – 49% of the total – own at least one pet. Dogs and cats alone account for more than 200 million. This huge consumer base supports an industry generating €29.4 billion in annual sales and selling around 8.6 million tonnes of pet food, with value growth of 4%.

Pet food and new trends: functional and personalised products

Pet food is also following some of the trends already seen in human nutrition. Consumers are paying increasing attention to ingredient quality, functional products, formulations tailored to different stages of an animal’s life, sustainability and personalisation. Emerging trends include “longevity feeding”, microbiome-focused foods, clean label products and functional snacks. This evolution is multiplying both product ranges and consumption occasions, potentially opening up new opportunities for distribution.

Italy's pet food market reaches €4.2 billion

Italy confirms this trend. The Assalco-Zoomark Report 2026 estimates that omnichannel sales of dog and cat food reached €4.2 billion in 2025, up 2.7% in value and 1.3% in volume, for a total of 811,000 tonnes. Including accessories, hygiene products and food for other animals, Italy’s pet economy reaches €5.3 billion.

Within the Italian pet food market, cat food accounts for 56% of sales, while dog food represents the remaining 44%. Particularly interesting from a vending perspective is the snack segment, already worth around €409 million and, despite accounting for only a small share of overall volumes, one of the market’s most dynamic categories.

Snacks and single portions: opportunities for pet food in vending

Snacks, single portions and service products could provide the first area of development for automatic retail. A vending machine is unlikely to compete with supermarkets and pet shops when it comes to planned purchases of large bags of pet food. It can, however, meet immediate needs: a pack that runs out over the weekend, a snack, a single portion, a foldable bowl, waste bags, wipes or small accessories.

The evolution of distribution channels also suggests that consumers are open to trying different purchasing formats. In Italy, specialised retail accounts for 40.9% of pet food sales, while e-commerce has reached 11.5% of the market, worth €483 million. More than half of purchases therefore already take place through channels other than traditional grocery retail.

The first European experiments point to several possible directions. In the UK, Bark ’N’ Vend installs vending machines dispensing snacks, toys and essential products in locations frequented by dog owners. In the Czech Republic, the Super zoo chain has experimented with shops that can continue operating on a self-service basis outside staffed hours. In Italy, vending machines specifically configured for pet shops are already available, with digital payments, telemetry and compartments designed for products of different sizes.

The key step is to turn these isolated experiences into an economically sustainable model. The vending machine could become the 24/7 extension of a pet shop, veterinary clinic, grooming salon or dog wash, or be installed in campsites and pet-friendly facilities, service areas, parks, stations and tourist destinations. In these settings, immediate availability may matter more than the breadth of the range.

A further development could come from integrating vending with lockers and digital services: vending machines for snacks, single portions and emergency products, combined with 24/7 collection of orders placed online. The technology required is already available. The real step forward is to build a supply chain in which pet food manufacturers, specialist retailers, vending operators and locations work together on product ranges, logistics and service management.

Pet food and automated retail: a new vertical market for vending

Pet food is unlikely to become a mainstream category found in every vending machine. It could, however, develop into one of the new vertical markets within automated retail. The European and Italian figures show that demand is there: the next step is to identify the models, product ranges and locations capable of making it attractive to vending operators as well.

Venditalia 2028 is the ideal place to take this a step further, bringing together pet food manufacturers, technology providers, vending operators and specialist retail professionals, showcasing new formats and exploring their development potential in practical terms. It is precisely through the meeting of established markets and new automated solutions that the next frontiers of vending can emerge.

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