According to the report "Pet Food in the US, 9th Edition," released by Packaged Facts, US retail sales of petfood reached US$18.4 billion in 2010, up 2.8% over 2009 sales, but the growth was the slowest the market has seen since 1999.
Mass-market outlets led in petfood sales: dog food, the largest petfood category, grew 1.5% in 2010 to reach $3.7 billion, according to the report. However, pound volume was down 1% at 3.7 billion pounds. Biscuits and treats grew nearly 8% over 2009, and the smallest segment, frozen/refrigerated dog food, jumped 10%. Mass-market sales of cat food declined 0.2% in 2010 to US$2.4 billion, but cat treats performed well, and the frozen/refrigerated segment rose from virtually nothing in 2009 to US$600,000 in 2010, according to the report.
Looking ahead to the next five years, the Packaged Facts report indicated that petfood sales returning to their pre-recession annual growth rate of 5% to 6% is unlikely, but a gradual improvement is possible. For 2011 to 2015, the report gave an annual growth rate of 3.5%, with US retail pet food sales reaching US$21.8 billion in 2015.