Two-thirds of European DTC pet food brands now sell through retail channels

Two-thirds of European pet food brands that launched direct-to-consumer now sell through channels beyond their own webshop, according to the second edition of The D2C Pet Food Landscape, a survey of 202 brands produced by Polish ingredient supplier Proteine Resources.

Only 34% of the brands surveyed sell exclusively through their own webshop. The rest have added other channels: 20% are now stocked by national chains or grocery supermarkets, 29% sit in independent pet shops or veterinary clinics, and 14% list on marketplaces.

The subscription model no longer defines the category

Subscriptions are now optional for most. The survey found 69% of DTC brands offer a subscription, but only 26% require one. The webshop remains the brand's home base, but a lot of the food is sold through other channels, according to Bart Roszkowski, co-CEO of Proteine Resources. "We called it a direct-to-consumer report and then found that two thirds of the brands in it do not sell only direct," Roszkowski said. "The webshop is where the brand lives, the independent pet shop, the chain shelf and the marketplace are where a lot of the food is sold."

The pricing analysis found brands selling through chains or supermarkets charge roughly the same prices as brands selling only through their webshops, the report said.

What the category split looks like by format

Kibble leads by product count, with 73 brands selling dry food in Europe. Raw follows at 63 brands, fresh at 48, and wet at 18. The format distribution suggests kibble's shelf stability makes it easier to support a hybrid model than fresh or raw.

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Our read and what this means for the negotiation

The two-thirds figure is a negotiating data point. If most DTC brands that started online-only now sell through retail, the buyer has leverage on terms, co-op spend, exclusivity windows, and return policies. A brand that built its pitch around owning the customer relationship is now asking for shelf space. That conversation is different from the one a brand that planned for retail from launch would have.

For the store owner, the shift creates a discovery advantage. Customers who prefer subscriptions can stay online. Walk-in traffic wants to see the bag, read the panel, and ask a question. A DTC brand moving to shelf has to prove it can drive foot traffic, not just occupy space, and the ones that can't will rotate out. Stock them on trial terms and watch the velocity before you commit to a reorder.

For the brand operator still online-only, the market is showing you the webshop alone is not enough. Retail is where a lot of the volume moves.

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