Year: 2019 and 2027
Market size: $27.7 million and $399.2 million, respectively
Today’s market size shows the global revenues for CBD-infused pet products in 2019 and projected for 2027.1 The CBD pet product market is a minuscule segment in the overall $4.6 billion CBD product market,2 however, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is expected to be nearly double that of the overall market, 40.3% vs. 22.2% in the near future.3 Growth in this industry is unsurprising. According to a Gallup poll, 64% of people in the United States alone are familiar with CBD and/or CBD products. In 2019, Consumer Reports announced that 64 million Americans had tried CBD products between 2017 and 2019, with 22% saying it helped them supplement or replace over-the-counter or prescription drugs. Twenty-four percent of pet owners consume CBD products either for themselves or for their pets.
As more CBD products become available, more people are expected to try these products. And, for those that are helped by them, they may be more inclined to try CBD products on their pets. Even those that have not tried CBD themselves, but have heard the health claims, may consider it for their pets’ health, especially those looking for natural and organic remedies.
CBD is legal in most countries around the world, however, some countries where it’s legal impose regulations about who can grow, produce, or purchase it. In the United States, President Donald Trump signed the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, commonly called the Farm Bill. This bill made hemp and hemp products legal by modifying the Controlled Substance Act to exclude hemp from the definition of marijuana and excludes the THC in hemp from being classified as a Schedule I controlled substance, as long as the THC content does not exceed 0.3 percent.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has the authority to regulate cannabis and cannabis-derived compounds, including hemp-derived CBD under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act. Marketing CBD products promoting use in the “diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of diseases” without first getting FDA approval and selling unapproved products with unsubstantiated health claims violate this Act.4 To date, only one CBD product has been approved by the FDA, a prescription drug used to treat two rare forms of epilepsy in humans.
In 2019, there were more than 4 dozen types of products containing CBD on the market, with three — oil/tincture, treats/chews, and topicals — geared toward pets. The pet food-grade segment of the market accounted for the largest market share, more than 60%, as pet parents spend more on products for their pets’ health. The therapeutic grade segment of the market is expected to see significant growth through 2027 as CBD oils become increasingly popular to treat inflammation and pain. According to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, about 56% of dogs and 60% of cats in the United States are overweight or obese.4 As with humans, obesity in pets can lead to joint pain. As pets age, joint pain from arthritis becomes a concern. The American Pet Products Association reports that 25% of dogs in the U.S. suffer from arthritis. In 2019, the treatment of joint pain disorders claimed a 23.6% revenue share with CBD oil driving this segment of the market. Revenues from CBD products used to treat anxiety and stress-related disorders in pets is expected to grow the fastest through 2027. In a survey conducted by the cannabis market research firm Brightfield Group, more than 60% of human CBD users have taken it for anxiety.
The easy online availability of CBD products without a prescription led to a more than 40% share for the e-commerce segment in 2019. Discounted prices and increasing use of smartphones and the internet in developing countries are expected to contribute to e-commerce growth. Pet specialty stores held the second-highest revenue share. North America accounted for more than 35% of global revenues. The passage of the Farm Bill as well as several major manufacturers located in the region contribute to growth there. In addition, according to a survey conducted by the American Pet Products Association, 34% of cat owners and 39% of dog owners prefer CBD-infused pet products. Europe also held a significant market share in 2019 as CBD is legal in most countries in the region, and both the pet population and people’s expenditures on their pets have been increasing. The Asia-Pacific region is expected to experience significant growth through 2027 due to a growing pet population, higher disposable income, and an unregulated market.
Leading companies include Honest Paws, Canna-Pet, Fomo Bones, Pet Relief, HolistaPet, Joy Organics, Wet Noses, CBD Living, Pet stock, Petco, and Charlotte’s Web. While CBD pet products exist in legal limbo in the United States, products from Honest Paws and Charlotte’s Web have earned the National Animal Supplement Council (NASC) Quality Seal. NASC is an independent agency that performs facility audits on companies that manufacture veterinary supplements. To obtain permission to display the Quality Seal on their products, companies must pass an independent facility audit every two years and demonstrate ongoing compliance with a set of guidelines, two of which include: “having an adverse event reporting/complaint system in place to monitor and evaluate products in real time” and “submitting to random product testing by an independent lab to ensure ingredients meet label claim.”6
To capitalize on the growing popularity of CBD pet products large companies such as Nestlé, Mars Inc., and General Mills plan to enter the market in the near future either with new product launches, by acquiring companies that currently manufacture CBD products, or with collaboration. In February 2019, Martha Stewart collaborated with Canopy Growth Corp., a Canadian cannabis research, product development, and production company, to develop a line of CBD infused animal health products.
1 CBD stands for cannabidiol, the nonpsycoactive ingredient in hemp and marijuana. THC stands for tetrahyrocannabinols. It’s the psychoactive ingredient in these plants.
2 Data for 2018.
3 Revenue for CBD pet products is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 40.3% from 2020 to 2027. Revenue for CBD products overall is expected to grow at a CAGR of 22.2% from 2019 to 2025.
4 Source: Harold B. Hilborn, “2018 Farm Bill Legalizes Hemp, but Obstacles to Sale of CBD Products Remain,” The National Law Review, March 5, 2019 available online here.
5 October 14, 2020 is National Pet Obesity Awareness Day
6 Source: “The NASC Quality Seal,” National Animal Supplement Council available online here.
Sources: “CBD Pet Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report by Product (Therapeutic Grade, Food Grade), by Application (Joint Pain, Anxiety), by End-use, by Region (North America, Europe, APAC, Latin America, MEA), and Segment Forecasts, 2020 – 2027,” Grand View Research Report Summary, August 2020 available online here; “CBD Pet Market Size Worth $399.2 Million by 2027 | CAGR: 40.3%: Grand View Research, Inc.,” CISION PR Newswire, September 16, 2020 available online here; “Cannabidiol Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report by Source Type (Hemp, Marijuana), by Distribution Channel (B2B, B2C), by End Use, by Region, and Segment Forecasts, 2019 – 2025,” Grand View Research Report Summary, December 2019 available online here; Harold B. Hilborn, “2018 Farm Bill Legalizes Hemp, but Obstacles to Sale of CBD Products Remain,” The National Law Review, March 5, 2019 available online here; Dawn MacKeen, “What are the Benefits of CBD?” The New York Times, October 16, 2019 available online here; “The NASC Quality Seal,” National Animal Supplement Council available online here; “CBD Products are Everywhere But Do They Work?” Harvard Women’s Health Watch, August 2019 available online here; “CBD Statistics 2020,” The Checkup, May 13, 2020 available online here; “52 CBD Products on the Market in 2019,” Ministry of Hemp, September 30, 2019 available online here.
Image source: RR_Medicinals, “dog-husky-cbd-oil-cbd-hemp-oil-4432830,” Pixabay, August 27, 2019 available online here.