Wikipedia defines a duopoly as: “where two firms have dominant or exclusive control over a market, and most (if not all) of the competition within that market occurs directly between them.”
The two companies in pet food’s duopoly: Purina with 32% of US market share and Mars with 29%. (According to market analysis from www.thestreet.com.)
Purina pet food products in the US:
Mars pet food products in the US:
Purina puts their company logo on all of their pet food brands, clearly linking the brand to the Purina name. On the other hand, Mars does not. Mars allows products to stand-alone as a brand – not directly linking them to the Mars name.
Wikipedia states a duopoly “is the most basic form of oligopoly.” “An oligopoly is a market in which pricing control lies in the hands of a few sellers.”
We looked at the pricing between these two brands…
In comparing the price of Purina Dog Chow to Pedigree Dog Food (budget pet foods), the Purina price was $0.69 per pound – the Mars dog food was similarly priced at $0.68 per pound.
Looking at wet cat food brands, comparing the price of Purina Fancy Feast to Mars Sheba, the Purina price was $0.44 per ounce – the Mars cat food was similarly priced at $0.37 per ounce.
Purina and Mars Petcare combined – make 61% of the US pet food market.
This means that the market share of hundreds of other pet food brands added together – make up the remaining 39% of US pet food sales.
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
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Sandy M
June 10, 2025 at 5:11 pm
When we consider with these “big two” combined, they also own thousands of vet clinics worldwide, their power is even more magnified. Purina makes lots of supplements too, some with big price tags. Too bad they can’t be transparent with their ingredients.
Thanks for sharing Susan. Displaying these logos all in one place as a visual reminder is impactful. I refuse to give my money to them.
Becky S
June 11, 2025 at 8:54 am
Somehow this duopoly doesn’t feel like freedom of choice. Consumers make their own freedom of choice by doing their homework and researching brands. The FDA isn’t doing us any favors by protecting mainstream manufacturers, some of whom have products that caused illness and deaths to beloved pets. Those beloved pets are the family of U.S. citizens. U.S. citizens are the constituency of the FDA, not pet food manufacturers.
Lorraine
June 11, 2025 at 9:32 am
I would love to know what percent of the remaining market is Hill’s Science Diet dog food. I’m pretty sure at this stage that all commercial dog foods are owned by mega food corporations.