Pet Fitness Care Market Trends

Growth Drivers

• The growth of pet insurance: The increasing availability of pet insurance programs has a substantial impact on the pet fitness care market. Key players seeking to expand pet fitness care services, from wearables to tailored pet fitness programs, benefit from insurance programs covering the costs benefiting adoption by pet owners. Major players have leveraged pet insurance to expand to emerging markets. For instance, in July 2024, Bajaj Capital Insurance announced the launch of comprehensive pet insurance plans in India, which is traditionally known as a price-sensitive market. Furthermore, multiple studies have indicated that pet insurance facilitates higher spending on health, fitness, and pet care.
  
  Additionally, pet insurance trends in pet fitness care markets with high rates of disposable income in households are beneficial for the pet fitness care industry. In September 2024, the Governor of California signed a bill that reforms pet insurance and can support pet owners better. The growing awareness of pet fitness care and support from insurance programs in markets with high rates of disposable income incentivizes businesses to curate personalized pet fitness care plans such as accompanying pets to gyms. Brands such as BarkFit have leveraged the trends to create fitness experiences for owners and dogs to partake in together.
• Surge of pet fitness programs: The pet fitness care industry is poised to benefit from consumer trends where awareness of the importance of pet fitness care has increased. The growth of structured pet fitness programs, from specialized exercise routines to pet gyms, and wellness centers is indicative of the sector’s robust growth potential. For instance, in January 2022, PetFitness launched more than 50 fitness workout libraries geared towards getting pets in shape.
  
  The humanization of pets has further fueled the rise of pet fitness programs and their profitability. Furthermore, demonstrations of canine fitness programs ensure greater visibility to consumers, and marketing campaigns can further raise awareness of the importance of pet fitness care boosting adoption by pet owners and large animal shelters. For instance, in March 2024, Blue 9 Pet Products showcased canine training programs at the Global Pet Expo, highlighting the benefits of canine fitness and top products used by experts.
• Rising advancements in pet fitness wearables: An emerging segment of the pet fitness care market is the advancements in pet fitness wearables encouraging greater adoption by pet owners. The proliferation of smartphones and the Internet of Things (IoT) has ensured improvements in pet monitoring while advancements in GPS tracking devices for pets ensure safety. Smart pet fitness wearables can provide real-time insights on calories to tailor diet plans and specific training regimens. Brands can expand their revenue share in the sector by providing advanced location and activity tracker solutions for pets. For instance, in April 2024, Pawfit announced the launch of activity and pet-location Pawfit 3 Tracker that leverages 4G technology to deliver heightened coverage.
  
  Furthermore, acquisitions in the pet food market augur well for the pet fitness care industry. For instance, in December 2024, General Mills Inc. announced the acquisition of Whitebridge Pet Brands’ North American premium Cat feeding and Pet treating business from NXMH in a transaction valued at USD 1.45 billion. Such acquisitions are poised to advance improvements in pet food and bolster integration with larger pet fitness programs, offering companies in the sector opportunities to collaborate and provide fitness solutions in a package covering diet and physical training regimens.

Challenges

• Limited availability of facilities and professionals: The pet fitness care market faces challenges due to the limited availability of facilities and trained professionals to provide fitness care. Brands can face challenges in finding facilities that will provide access to animals for fitness care regimens, and investing in the building of in-house facilities can add to operational costs.
• Economic uncertainty in emerging markets: Despite the proliferation of pet insurance programs and cost-effective pet fitness care programs in emerging markets, pet owners can consider pet fitness programs as niche and be hesitant to invest in them. Additionally, pet owners can prioritize basic healthcare over pet fitness care which can affect adoption rates for fitness care regimes and curtail pet fitness care market reach.