Top pet food, treat trends from SUPERZOO 2026
By Kimberlie Clyma
LAS VEGAS — Pet industry professionals flocked to Las Vegas from Aug. 12 to 14 for SUPERZ00 2026, hosted by the World Pet Association (WPA). The show boasted the second-highest exhibitor count in show history and one of the largest exhibit footprints on record, along with more than 2,000 new products showcased across the show floor in the New Products Showcase and Emerging Brands section.
“From the moment the doors opened, SUPERZOO 2026 felt focused, active and ready for business,” said Mike Karsting, senior vice president of WPA. “Retailers came with decisions to make, exhibitors came ready to earn their business and throughout the week you could see real business getting done. Bringing together buyers with real purchasing power, established suppliers, emerging brands and new products creates opportunities that move companies forward and support the future of pet retail.”
Wetting your whistle
Hydration emerged as one of the show’s most pervasive themes. Once largely confined to wet food and a handful of supplements, hydration-focused products now span virtually every category, including treats, toppers, broths, lickable snacks and functional supplements. Brands are positioning hydration as a wellness benefit rather than simply a product feature, connecting it to digestive health, urinary support, recovery and overall vitality.
The trend is especially prominent in cat products, where lickable formats continue to proliferate. While Inaba’s Churu brand was first-to-market with the lickable formulation, brands throughout the show were showcasing lickable varieties to have a presence in the category.
Nulo displayed its Freestyle Perfect Purées variety pack alongside its growing number of cat offerings. Pet Honesty debuted its Cat Squeezables line of lickable purées targeting health and wellness need states, which come in eight varieties, including Calming Support, Digestive Gut Health, Hairball Support and Urinary Tract Health. Central Gardan & Pet launched its Comfort Zone Cat Calming Mousse, providing a solution to cat parents that isn’t commonly found on the market. The popularity of Inaba’s Churu Terrine for Dogs, which was introduced in the spring, led to the brand’s addition of Churu Soft Terrine for Cats, which provides hydration in a thicker format than its traditional lickable products.
Bone broth and goat-milk based products continue to support hydration, but are also being used as supplemental ingredients to provide additional health benefits in food and treats.
Taking home the New Product Showcase award for the dog category was Gnü’s Bone Broth Chews, which provide nutritional protein, collagen, amino acids and minerals derived from the bone broth. Also on display in the New Products Showcase, Tucker’s displayed its Boost Butter, made with bone broth. Offered in Chicken, Pork, Turkey and Beef flavors, the product, which can be used as a meal topper or treat, adds nutrients from single-sourced proteins. A Pup Above’s complete-and-balance sous-vide cooked dog food recipes also feature bone broth as a key ingredient, which provides collagen and healthy amino acids to the formulations.
Pet parents are looking for products that are minimally processed.| Source: Pet Food Processing / Sosland Publishing Co.
Less is more
The growing consumer interest in transparency not only relates to the ingredients inside the formulations but also to the processing and cooking methods used to produce the products. Across the show floor, brands highlighted manufacturing processes such as gently cooked, freshly cooked, air-dried, roasted and other less-intensive preparation methods designed to preserve ingredient quality while maintaining shelf stability. These approaches allow manufacturers to deliver many of the benefits consumers associate with fresh feeding while offering greater convenience, wider distribution and more accessible pricing.
Consumers are seeking foods made using processes they recognize from their own diets, including sous vide cooking. Pet food manufacturers are leveraging these methods to create products that deliver the perception of freshness and minimal processing while maintaining food safety, consistency and convenience.
Butcher’s Pup uses the sous vide cooking method to gently cook the products at slow speeds and precise temperatures. The brand showcased its meatballs, sausages and dinners in the New Products Showcase in a refrigerated case designed to look identical to what shoppers could find at butcher’s shop.
FarmFetch showcased its “gently cooked” messaging at its booth in the Emerging Brands section. The Canada-based company offers gently cooked, fresh beef, turkey, fish and chicken recipes as well as meal toppers made from gently cooked and freeze-dried ingredients.
Pet parents are looking for products that are minimally processed.| Source: Pet Food Processing / Sosland Publishing Co.
On display at the Instinct booth were its FreshDried Meal Blends, which are pantry-friendly raw meals that don’t require thawing or cooking. The product is freeze-dried to maintain freshness and lock in nutrients and flavor.
The proliferation of minimally processed products throughout the show floor reflects growing consumer interest in ingredient transparency and processing methods, not just ingredient lists themselves.
Targeted nutrition
The era of one-size-fits-all pet nutrition continues to fade. Across the show floor, brands emphasized more precise approaches to feeding, introducing products formulated for specific life stages, breed sizes and wellness concerns in an effort to deliver increasingly individualized nutrition solutions.
Mid America Pet Food brand VICTOR featured a range of formulations catering to the varying nutritional needs of various dogs and cats. For outdoor-loving cats, its Hunter’s Instinct foods feature high protein to satisfy the needs of today’s more active cats. The brand also showcased its 2025 Bully Fuel formula which is specially designed for the nutritional needs of bully dog breeds, which include the American Bully, American Pit Bull Terrier, Bull Terrier and English Bulldog.
More brands are developing breed specific formulations.| Source: Pet Food Processing / Sosland Publishing Co.
Royal Canin has long offered food ranges tailored for specific breeds including German Shepherds, Yorkshire Terriers, Poodles, Shih Tzus, Pugs and French Bulldogs. At this year’s show, the brand introduced its Corgi diets in both adult and puppy formulas. The formulation takes into consideration the breed’s size and shape, focusing on bone and joint support, weight management and the skin and coats needs of Corgis.
The focus on small-breed nutrition reflects broader demographic shifts within the pet population. Small dogs are now the most common dog size in US households, according to the 2025 American Pet Products Association’s National Pet Parents Survey, and their popularity continues to grow as Millennial and Gen Z pet owners increasingly gravitate toward apartment living and urban lifestyles. Manufacturers are responding with a growing assortment of products specifically developed for smaller dogs, ranging from appropriately sized treats and chews to formulations tailored to their unique metabolic, dental and wellness needs.
Full Moon Pet showcased its Jerky Minis, introduced early this year, which are meat treats designed specifically for smaller breeds that are easier to chew and break down.
More pet food and treat brands are tailoring the foods and treats they produce to smaller breeds.| Source: Pet Food Processing / Sosland Publishing Co.
Three Dog Bakery also developed treats with small dogs in mind. Its Small Dog variety of its Lick’n Crunch! mini sandwich cookies and Mini “Mutt’s Cookie Trio feature smaller sized cookies that are better suited for smaller dogs.
The trend reflects a growing emphasis on precision nutrition, with pet food manufacturers recognizing the value of tailored formulations that help owners feel they are meeting their pets’ individual needs rather than relying on generalized nutrition solutions.
Time to indulge
Finally, indulgence and pet humanization remain powerful drivers of innovation, but the expression of that trend appears to be evolving. Rather than focusing solely on dessert-inspired flavors and sweet bakery-style treats, some brands are offering savory, meal-inspired concepts that mirror human food preferences.
When pets are family, there’s never a shortage of excuses to indulge.| Source: Pet Food Processing / Sosland Publishing Co.
On the sweet treat side, Against the Grain displayed its Happy Cake for cats and dogs in a Chicken & Tuna Recipe for cats and Chicken & Pumpkin Recipe for dogs. The no bake dessert features a savory mousse icing and flake toppings. The Honest Kitchen also showcased its DIY indulgent treats with Birthday cake and Muffin mixes. The Birthday cake mix features chicken and blueberries, while the Muffin mix is made with chicken, apples and cinnamon. Rondi’s Kitchen also capitalized on the indulgent trend with its Oatmeal & Banana, Blueberry and Peanut Butter & Apple Pancake Mixes for dogs, which feature premium goat’s milk for additional nutrition.
The new generation of savory indulgent products balance pampering with functionality and nutrition, reflecting the desire to treat pets as family members without compromising their health goals.
While Brutus Bone Broth is known for its nutritious bone broth-based products, it hasn’t typically offered products that fall under the indulgence umbrella. However, its new Dog Nog provides pet parents with the opportunity to focus on beneficial nutrition, while having some fun during the holidays. The product not only features the brand’s signature bone broth, but goat milk for flavor, hydration and nutrition.
Three Dog Bakery has always been a human-food inspired brand with its treats mirroring human indulgences across the board. Its latest additions celebrate comfort-food flavors — Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuits and Chicken Pot Pie soft baked biscuits.
Comfort-food flavors and culinary preparations allow pet owners to share food-inspired experiences with their animals while maintaining a stronger connection to protein-centric nutrition.
Carrie Van Wert of Giddy Kitty by NorthStar competed in the LAUNCH Pitch Competition hosted by Purina and the WPA.| Source: Pet Food Processing / Sosland Publishing Co.
Awards and recognition
A number of brands and products were recognized during the show for their innovation and creativity. On the Show Floor Talks Stage, New Product Showcase winners across 24 categories were honored by WPA. The pet nutrition product winners included:
- Cat — Rad Cat by Tucker’s
- Dog — Bone Broth Chews by Gnü
- Holistic/Alternative Therapies and Supplements — Functional Mushrooms with Qrill by Real Mushrooms
- Training — Freeze-Dried Beef Liver Chops by Benny Bullys
- Nutrition and Treats — Wiggle Whip Freeze-Dried Dog Ice Cream Treats by GreenLine Pet Supply
- Sustainability — Silver Carp Fish Maws by Archway
- Made in America — No-Hide Stix by Earth Animal
- BIPOC — Spoiled Kitty: Chicken and Salmon Freeze-Dried Raw by Spoiled Pets
- Women-Owned — Pumpkin Digestive Support Collection by Austin & Kat
SUPERZOO also recognized emerging entrepreneurs through two pitch competitions. On Aug. 12, five participants in the Black Pet Business Network’s (BPBN) Retail Inclusion and Success for Entrepreneurs (R.I.S.E.) Program competed in the Next Wave Pitch Competition, sponsored by Leap Ventures Studio and the WPA. Founders competing for the $10,000 prize included Sierra Obioha of Raw Dawg; Lindsey Wendt, DVM, of Botanical Bones; Tiffany Webb of D’OAJIE WASTE; Aisha Byrd of R&B Dog Bakery; and Autumn Smith of Parents2Pawz. Obioha took home the prize for her fresh, raw dog food.
On Aug. 13 during the show, three company founders — Carrie Van Wert of Giddy Kitty by NorthStar Pet, Scott Groves of Dog Cloud, and Emily Holmes of WhiffWag — competed in the fourth annual LAUNCH Pitch Competition hosted by Purina and the WPA. Van Wert won the competition, receiving a $10,000 prize and a place in Purina’s Pet Care Innovation Network. Giddy Kitty develops cat enrichment products, combining toys with proprietary treats.
“SUPERZOO is one of the best opportunities as a young brand to connect with retailers, buyers and other leaders in the industry,” Van Wert said.
Following another successful year, attention is already turning to SUPERZOO 2027. Next year’s event is scheduled for Aug. 11 to 13 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, with educational programming kicking off on Aug. 10.
Keep an eye out for more SUPERZOO 2026 coverage, along with updates and announcements on next year’s show.
Continue reading our coverage from SUPERZOO 2026, and keep up with the latest pet food trends on our Trends page.
Fonte: petfoodprocessing.net
