Europe Debuts Medicated Cat Food Category

Plus: Pet pharma races toward anti-sarcopenia drug

Author

Avinash Duggempudi
October 01, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

Here's what's happening this week in the world of pet commerce and innovation:
- Europe greenlights medicated cat food; care protocols shift.
- Korea targets first pet sarcopenia drug, 2026–2029.
- Mars links adoption with Calm to drive well-being narrative.
- Aquatic dollar sales slide despite mixed unit trends.
- Top cat creators sharpen multi-stream influencer monetization.

⏱️THE MINUTE READ

Juvenon suspected upper-funnel spend were fueling growth, but pixel reporting undervalued them, pushing spend to the bottom funnel.

With Fospha’s Halo, they unified DTC and Amazon sales and uncovered the truth: TikTok was 9X stronger than reported, DTC performance was under-credited by 2.9X, and upper funnel became their growth engine.

  • 📈 +18% revenue growth QoQ

  • 📉 20% CAC improvement YoY

  • 🚀 10X upper-funnel SoW growth

📌WEEKLY MUST-KNOWS

Virbac introduced Vikaly, a renal kibble coated with an approved veterinary drug, inaugurating a new medicated feed category under EU Regulation 2019/4. This blends pharma with nutrition, potentially improving adherence and shifting care protocols toward vet-prescribed diets. Implications hit veterinary channels, formulators, and any brand eyeing EU expansion or drug–food hybrids.

Daewoong Pet, with Rat Bio, KIST and Sungkyunkwan University, is advancing a first-in-class companion animal sarcopenia therapy, targeting a candidate this year and commercialization between 2026 and 2029. With animal health R&D accelerating and a fast-growing vet pharma market, mobility and healthy aging emerge as high-value therapeutic themes. Expect new Rx categories, insurer uptake and clinic protocols focused on senior pets.

Mars teams up with Shailene Woodley and Calm to drive its Global Adoption Weekend, covering $185,000 in U.S. fees and bundling three months of Calm for adopters. The campaign connects adoption with mental well-being, amplifying PR and community impact across 20+ countries. This is a scaled template for cause-led, cross-industry partnerships that lift brand equity and shelter throughput.

Pooch and Mutt unveiled a limited-edition holiday line spanning meals, treats, toppers, gifting and an advent calendar, rolling out DTC, Amazon, Tesco and Ocado from mid-October. Seasonal SKUs pair indulgence with functional benefits and premium gifting, primed to lift AOV and repeat purchase in Q4. Expect earlier shelf resets and coordinated omnichannel drops as brands chase holiday share.

⚡QUICK READS

Aquatic Category Shows Dollar Declines: Aquatic pet dollar sales fell across segments while unit trends diverged, signaling price sensitivity and fragmentation in a discretionary niche.(More)

Nala Cat And Kiki Monetize Multi-Channel Reach: Top feline creators scale revenue via premium sponsorships, limited drops and licensing, sharpening performance-based influencer deals for pet brands.(More)

Nala Cat And Bentley Expand Licensing Playbooks: From YouTube ads to co-branded products, the cat–dog duo underscores creator-led SKU development as a scalable revenue channel.(More)

ClickZ is a ClickZ Media publication in the DTC eCommerce division