As part of the business program of the ZooIndustry 2026 exhibition, Alexander Kolchin, Content Director at ZooInform Information and Publishing Center and a sales business coach, delivered a presentation titled “Consumer behavior trends and product trends for 2026–2030.”
The pet product market is entering a phase of profound structural transformation. Growth drivers are changing: inflation continues to exert pressure, but qualitative shifts in consumer attitudes are moving to the forefront. The era of the “gold rush” is over, giving way to competition for a share of pet owners’ spending.
Alexander Kolchin identified two key product-development vectors. The first is humanization, evolving into functionalization. Pets are becoming full-fledged family members, and their diets are expected to address specific needs—from dental care to microbiome support. The second, deeper trend is medicalization: a preventive approach to health that takes breed-related risks into account.
“For Maine Coons, which are predisposed to heart and joint problems, there will be demand for foods that do not simply feed the animal, but help prevent these conditions from the outset,” the expert explained.
The speaker cited figures supporting these conclusions: over the past two years, the share of functional diets for cats has increased by 2.5 percentage points, reaching almost 35%. Owners are increasingly choosing not just food, but a health solution. In the treats segment, new formats such as purées, cream soups, and toppers are showing explosive growth. They are no longer merely rewards, but tools for hydration and dietary variety.
However, the main—and perhaps most striking—point of the presentation was not so much the future product range as the market’s enormous growth potential. Despite strong competition in the premium segment, a significant number of owners have still not switched their pets to commercially prepared diets.
“In Russia, a very large number of cats and dogs still eat home-prepared food or table scraps. This means that the commercial pet food market could grow another two to three times simply by converting this audience to ready-made products. By comparison, this potential no longer exists in mature international markets,” Alexander Kolchin emphasized.
At the same time, the purchasing process itself is changing dramatically. Commerce of the future is becoming increasingly algorithm-driven. Artificial intelligence is already taking on the role of a personal assistant: in December 2025, an AI agent independently purchased dog food for the first time. In the coming years, choices will increasingly be made not by people, but by algorithms based on structured product data.
Under these conditions, success will come to companies that can combine two seemingly different directions: creating high-tech, medically oriented diets for pets while also winning over a vast base of first-time consumers with high-quality, affordable products. The industry is entering a period in which the winners will not be the loudest brands, but those that understand the real needs of both pet owners and animals most accurately.