Interzoo country spotlight: Italy

With 64.8 million pets – 29.9 million fish, 12.9 million birds, 10.1 million cats and 8.7 million dogs – Italy is among the most pet-loving countries in Europe, according to the latest Euromonitor survey. More than one in three households has a pet, and the trend is rising. According to the "Ufficio Studi Coop" report, the number of pets increased significantly during the COVID pandemic, with 3.5 million new pets in 2021 alone. The social data of the "2022 Asalco-Zoomark Report" show how much Italian pet owners have taken their pets to their hearts. According to the report, 96 percent of owners see their pets as a real member of the family. 85 percent of respondents said they include pets in all family activities and 89 percent spend more time with their pets than before the pandemic.

The pandemic has also had a lasting impact on the buying habits of Italian pet owners: according to the market research institute IRI, the total turnover of the pet food industry in Italy in 2021 was 2.5 billion euros – an increase in revenue of 7.1 percent with 5 percent more sales compared to the previous year. By way of comparison, sales in the pet food sector in Germany amounted to 4 billion in 2022.

The largest items besides pet food in the Italian market were cat litter with 79.9 million in sales and accessories with 77.2 million euros in sales. Remarkable: The rather small sub-segment of snacks, with 10.5 percent of all pet food sales, achieved the largest increase in turnover, namely 13.4 percent.  Accordingly, it is not surprising that the pet food segment is one of the five focus themes of Zoomark 2023. The largest international trade fair for the pet industry in Italy celebrates its twentieth edition this year in Bologna (14 to 17 May 2023).

Interzoo stand at Zoomark 2023

The Interzoo team will be present at Zoomark in Hall 29, Stand F07. Our exhibition team will be personally available to answer any questions you may have about your participation in the fair and will be happy to help you plan your appearance at Interzoo 2024. At the upcoming Interzoo, we can once again expect a strong presence from the Italian market on both the exhibitor and visitor side. In 2022, Italy represented one of the largest groups of exhibitors from abroad with 119 exhibitors, including 19 exhibitors in the Italian Country Pavilion. Interzoo also recorded a strong demand from Italy in terms of trade visitors, with more than 1,600 visitors – accounting for almost 6 per cent of the total number of visitors. Interzoo is looking forward to welcoming the Italian pet industry back to the Nuremberg exhibition grounds in 2024 and to once again representing the diversity of various national markets as the world's leading trade fair for the sector!

Note: Market data from Italy for the 2022 financial year was not yet available at the time of research.