Marketplace · Tuesday, November 3, 2026
New York Times reporter Jenny Gross discusses the massive scale of the pet food industry, highlighting facilities like Mars' pet center in France where hundreds of cats and dogs participate in daily taste tests. Driven by demographic shifts toward later parenthood, companies are investing heavily in high-end foods and senior-cat supplements.
“It turns out Royal Canaan has a big dog and cat industry center, their pet center in the south of France. And there are 377 dogs and cats. And every day at 4pm, they do taste tests.”
“17 billion was spent on cat food in the US over the last year, and that was up 14% from the same period two years ago.”