#483
A Growing Paw-ty
Published:
Apr 10, 2023
Author:
Cindy Grazer
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Would you consider your pet to be a family member? More than 70% of Americans say yes! But what does that mean for the pet industry - healthcare, food, day care, training etc.? According to Bloomberg, the animal companion industry is set to reach half a trillion dollars by 2030 globally, with the US set to account for ~$200b of that market.
During the pandemic, the rise of the pet adoption and care industry came hand in hand with flexibility to work from home and proliferation of eCommerce services like Chewy. Pet (and human) snack manufacturers like Mars (who makes Snickers bars and M&Ms) and Nestle invested heavily into pet health, including acquiring animal hospitals. Lots have been done on the drug discovery side for pet medication too, with big pharma names developing new drugs to extend pets’ expected life span.
While all this investment can certainly help owners take better care of their pets, it can also incur hefty expenses. It is not uncommon anymore for pet medical bills to be upwards of $10,000, especially for severe health issues like cancer. Yet the insurance market for pets is still vastly underpenetrated: only 3.9% of dogs and just under 1% of cats in the US had insurance, according to Bloomberg. Underwriting new data on pet health, providing increased coverage and awareness can be a large and exciting area of innovation.
The total value of US premiums on pet insurance is already >$2.5b annually, and there is still much room for growth. That size of opportunity is nothing to bark at!
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A Growing Paw-ty
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Industry News
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Select Financings
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