Spain's Cat Food Sales Jumped 12% While France's Pet Market Stalled. The Split Tells You Which European Partners Are Actually Growing.

Spain's pet food market grew 6.1% in 2025, hitting €2.2 billion, while France's entire pet sector, food, supplies, everything, posted 1% growth and the UK landed at 4.9%. The gap isn't a rounding error; it's a signal about which European markets are actually expanding and which ones are running out of room.

Cat food is the whole story in Spain

Cat food revenue in Spain jumped 12.2% to €1 billion, according to ANFAAC, the country's pet food manufacturers association. Dog food, the larger category at €1.1 billion, grew just 1.1%. Wet cat food led the charge at +17.3%, followed by cat treats at +26.7%. Dry dog food, the single largest segment, declined 2.1%.

The volume figures back it up: cat food production rose 14.4% year-over-year, while dog food inched up 0.2%. Spain's growth is real, not just price inflation dressed up as momentum.

France, by contrast, is decelerating. The country's pet sector hit €6.7 billion in 2025, up 1% from 2024, down from 2.7% growth the year before. Promojardin-Promanimal, the trade association that tracks the market, said volume grew faster than revenue, meaning price cuts are eating into top-line growth. Terrariums dropped 9%, aquariums fell 7%, and small mammals declined 6%. Dogs and cats grew modestly, 1% and 2%, respectively, but they're holding up a market where everything else is contracting.

The UK sits in the middle: £4.3 billion in pet food sales, up 4.9% year-over-year. Dog food carried most of that, growing from £2.1 billion to £2.2 billion, while cat food stagnated at £1.6 billion. It's steady, not stalled, but it's not Spain.

Who this squeezes and who it helps

If you're a U.S. brand evaluating European distribution partners or considering export, the country your distributor operates in now matters more than it did two years ago. A French distributor with strong retail relationships is still working a market that's barely growing and cutting prices to move volume. A Spanish partner is working a market where cat food specifically is expanding fast enough to justify new SKUs and higher price points.

For distributors sourcing European brands to bring stateside, Spain's momentum suggests Spanish manufacturers have capital to invest in export infrastructure and product development. France's near-stagnation means French brands may be more willing to negotiate favorable terms to access a growing U.S. market, but they're also operating with tighter margins at home.

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Our read: the cat-food angle is the durable part

Spain's 12% cat food growth in 2025 outpaced dog food significantly. The UK and France both show cats growing or holding steady while other categories contract, which suggests the European cat owner is a more reliable buyer than the European dog owner right now. That's the opposite of the U.S. dynamic, where dog treats and premium dog food have been the velocity drivers.

The risk in reading too much into this: Spain is a smaller market than France or the UK, so 6% growth on a €2.2 billion base is easier to post than 6% growth on €6.7 billion. But the category-level detail, wet cat food up 17%, cat treats up 27%, points to real consumer behavior, not just favorable comps.

France's deceleration is the harder story to dismiss. A market that size doesn't go from 2.7% growth to 1% without something structural changing. The price-cut dynamic Promojardin-Promanimal flagged suggests French retailers are fighting for share in a market where the customer base isn't expanding. That's a tough environment for a new brand to break into, and it's a tougher one for an existing brand to justify R&D spend.

What changes if you're evaluating European partners

If you're in conversations with a European distributor, ask where their volume is actually coming from. A distributor with strong Spanish retail relationships and a cat-focused book of business is working a tailwind. A distributor whose revenue is concentrated in France and weighted toward dog food or small-animal categories is working a headwind, and their ability to invest in your brand's launch reflects that.

For brands already working with European partners, the data suggests reallocating marketing spend toward Spain and the UK, and pulling back on France unless you've got an established position worth defending. The growth isn't evenly distributed, and treating Europe as a single market leaves money on the table.

Spain's cat food grew 12% while France's entire pet sector grew 1%. The distributor you pick determines which market you're actually in.

If you're a U.S. independent stocking European brands, this doesn't change your shelf Monday, but it does tell you which brands are operating from a position of strength at home and which ones are looking for export revenue to offset stagnant domestic sales. The latter will negotiate harder on terms, but they're also more likely to pull support if the U.S. launch doesn't hit fast.

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