Why Premium Pet Food Keeps Growing: Hills Q3

# Why Premium Pet Food Keeps Growing

Hill's Pet Nutrition reported Q3 2026 sales of $1.205 billion, up 5.6% year-over-year — outpacing parent Colgate-Palmolive's 4.6%. Growth came from Prescription Diet, Science Diet, and double-digit growth from acquired fresh food brand Prime100.

Why premium is resilient

1. Pets are family

Owners trade up on pet food even when cutting other spending.

2. Fresh food is booming

Hill's paid up for Australia's Prime100, and it's growing double digits. Fresh food is no longer niche.

3. Prescription diets grow steadily

Aging pets and chronic condition management.

What this means for co-packers

1. Premium is where the growth is

Low-end dry food is in a price war. Fresh and baked categories are growing.

2. Fresh food is a battleground

Big companies are acquiring fresh food brands. Purina is expanding wet food capacity.

3. Small brands still have room

Big companies do standardized premium. Small brands can do niche: specific proteins, specific benefits, DTC.

How to position your brand

1. Do fresh or baked, not commodity extrusion

2. Position mid-to-premium

3. Tell an ingredient story

4. Start small

Key numbers

• Hill's Q3: $1.205B, +5.6%
• Prime100: double-digit growth
• Industry: mid-premium grows 5-8%, low-end in price war

If you want to launch a premium fresh or baked pet food brand and are looking for a co-packer with those production lines, Mixiaoqi pet food OEM/ODM starts at 500kg and can begin with sampling.

FAQ

Is it too late to enter premium pet food?

Fresh food penetration is still low. There's room.

Is premium food expensive to make?

30-50% more than extrusion, but 2-3x retail price.

Can small brands compete?

Yes — in niche segments and DTC, not on shelf scale.