People are splurging like never before on their pets

AMONG the products of Dog by Dr Lisa, an Australian pet-care brand, you will find a cleanser for sensitive skin, a soothing balm and a cologne. All are free of genetically modified ingredients – and vegan, which dogs are not, at least by choice. Still, canines craving meat need not eat like animals: Butternut Box, a maker of fresh pet food taste-tested by humans, can offer your furry friend a low-fat chicken dish with peas, lentils and “a whiff of sage”. It is the most popular meal it offers.

There is little, it seems, that people won’t do for their pets. Americans spent US$186 billion on them last year, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, covering everything from food and vet visits to toys and grooming. That is more than they spent on childcare. Catering to pets has become big business. Mars, a company best known for its chocolate bars, made two-thirds of its revenue last year from pet care. Besides owning the Royal Canin pet-food brand, the company also operates thousands of vet clinics. Nestle and Colgate, two other consumer-products giants, also make around a fifth of their revenue from their pet divisions.

Spending on pets rocketed through the Covid-19 pandemic, as lonely people adopted animals and then splurged on them. Between 2019 and 2023, pet spending grew by a compound annual rate of 11 per cent, in nominal terms, compared with 6 per cent for consumer spending overall and 5 per cent for pet spending over the preceding decade. Plenty more growth is yet to come.