The animal health and nutrition industry globally is one of the most critical industries underpinning livestock production and companion animal care, growing steadily on the back of rising protein intake, expanding pet ownership, and improved animal welfare standards globally. Total world production of animal feed in 2023 was 1.2 billion metric tons with a slight decrease of 0.01% or around 140,000 metric tons from the previous year, according to the 2024 Alltech Agri-Food Outlook report. The large market of animal feed incorporates tactical subcategories of animal feed additives, pet food, pet tech, veterinary medical devices, veterinary medicinal products, and veterinary services that tackle some of the important issues and wants surrounding livestock production, companion animal guardianship, disease management, and optimizing nutrition across a large array of animals.

The feed additives category has unparalleled growth opportunity. The animal feed additives market is estimated to be USD 25 billion in 2024, with a projected CAGR 4.4% until 2034, owing to an increase in demand for animal proteins. Related nutritional uses also have strong growth potential like with feed amino acids, which totaled USD 7.69 billion in 2023 with a projected CAGR of 5.8% from 2024-2032, also owing to an increase in demand for animal proteins, and feed premixes became USD 19.2 billion in 2023 year-on-year with a projected CAGR of 6.1% from 2024 to 2032. There is considerable growth potential in the specialty health uses area, with the animal intestinal health market being USD 4.5 billion in 2024 and rising at a CAGR of 8.3% until 2034.

Key market drivers include the rising global demand for meat, which requires improvement of livestock productivity and health stewardship, and increasing numbers of pets under human care. The industry benefits from advancements in veterinary medicine including drug delivery systems and reformulation of existing drugs allowing for growth in the market. Government emphasis on food safety, antibiotic free animal production, and sustainable agriculture promotes innovation in the areas of feed efficiency, disease prevention, and animal welfare optimization. Emerging biotechnology applications, precision nutrition principles, and digital health monitoring technologies are transforming animal care delivery, treatment efficacy, and production effectiveness in every animal health and nutrition subsegment.