Pet food and cat litter sales trends softened slightly for private labels in the latest four-week period even as overall category growth accelerated marginally, according to Morgan Stanley’s analysis of NielsenIQ All Measured Outlets data.
The dataset now includes Costco, xAOC+C, pet retail stores, Amazon 1P and Chewy.com, providing broader coverage of the U.S. pet care market. Within pet food, branded manufacturers posted mixed results year-over-year, with several gaining market share compared with the prior 12-week period.
Colgate-Palmolive’s pet food sales rose 7.8% year-over-year, up from 7.0% in the prior 12 weeks. Freshpet’s growth accelerated to 13.3% from 12.5%, while General Mills reported a 2.3% increase compared with 0.8% previously. Mars returned to growth with a 0.6% year-over-year rise after a 0.5% decline in the prior period. Nestlé’s pet food sales grew 6.0% versus 5.1% earlier.
Not all companies fared as well. J.M. Smucker’s pet food sales fell 2.7% year-over-year, a steeper decline than the 1.5% drop recorded previously. Post Holdings’ pet food segment posted the largest decline at 13.2%, unchanged from the prior 12-week period. Private label pet food sales grew 1.7% year-over-year, down from 3.1% growth in the prior period.
In cat litter, Church & Dwight’s sales rose 8.2% year-over-year, an acceleration from 7.1% growth in the prior 12 weeks. Clorox reported a 5.4% year-over-year increase, up from 2.7% previously.
