Billions of dollars are spent annually in the U.S. pet industry and one sector - pet food - is particularly significant. According to the American Pet Products Association, spending toward pet food and treats is estimated to reach over $69 billion this year (2026) - or nearly 42% of the projected $165 billion dollars in total sales.1
Globally, as it relates to pet food, one segment is growing noticeably faster than others in the category. According to Professor Andrew Knight - a veterinarian, Diplomate of the American College of Animal Welfare, and Director of the Sustainable Pet Food Foundation - the valuation of the vegan pet food sector (globally) tripled in value over a 14-year period; In 2010 the valuation was estimated to be $10 billion [USD] and reached $27 billion in 2024, with annual compounded growth of 8%. In contrast, the annual compounded growth for pet food overall is approximately 6%. Global vegan pet food sales are forecast to reach $57 billion [USD] by 2034. Professor Knight has also indicated that this growth in the vegan pet food sector has occurred even though, by his estimate, 99% of the pet-owning public is unaware that these alternative or modern diets exist.
The interest in these alternative diets isn’t necessarily limited to people who are already vegan. When Prof. Knight’s research team asked owners feeding conventional or raw meat diets whether they would realistically consider a more sustainable alternative, while 54% said no, nearly half said yes to at least one option. The most popular was cultivated meat, which nearly 30% of pet carers said they’d be interested in, followed by vegetarian (15.5%) and vegan (15.2%) diets. So, what is driving this interest in alternative or plant-based diets? Professor Knight explained in his recent webinar:
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