Globally, Purina PetCare continued to be one of the driving forces behind Nestle in 2024, continuing a multi-year trend. Nestle’s pet division grew at low single-digits, driven by Purina ProPlan, Purina ONE and Friskies.

However, that growth was not uniform worldwide. In North America, pet care was the largest growth contributor for Nestle, with low single-digit growth driven by premium brands, particularly in the cat and therapeutic diets segments. Similarly, in Europe, pet products increased their market share, and sales grew at low single-digits, led by Purina ONE, Gourmet and ProPlan. In Asia (excluding China), Africa and Oceania, PetCare achieved high single-digit growth, led by key brands Felix and Purina ONE. However, Latin American growth for Nestle’s pet division was flat, supported by Felix and Friskies.

Nestle Purina PetCare in China

However, in response to a question about Purina’s slower performance in China during 2024 than in 2023, Laurente Freixe, Nestle’s chief executive officer, compared China’s pet food market to that of Japan.

“The population is not growing anymore,” he said. “The population is aging and we see that there are significant deflationary pressure. There is a lot of competition. The market is very active, very competitive...

“That should continue. I think the trend is rather a long-term trend. The currency is also pretty solid. That's the environment in which we operate. The good thing is that we are capable of driving volume growth to drive volume mix growth in that kind of environment when it comes to pet care.”

Nevertheless, the long-term outlook for China’s pet food and treat market remains strong.

“All the trends go in the direction of pet care growing in China: more urban population, more aging population, less babies, more pets and more calorific coverage,” he said. “We have identified that this is a priority for us. What you read in the 2024 numbers is more of a short-term dynamic, but the focus on growing pet care in Asia. China is absolutely front and center.”