CBD Remains in Pet Supplements Spotlight

Historically, it’s hard to recall anything making more of a splash in both human and pet supplements than CBD, whose explosion onto the market birthed a novel product segment and brought renewed attention to the supplements business that seems likely to last for years.

CBD has been cited as useful for everything from pet stress/anxiety to chronic pain to epilepsy, and as more pet owners try CBD products for themselves to treat a host of health conditions, they are seeking out the same for their pets as well.

Pet supplements featuring CBD or hemp have become entrenched as a major player in the supplements space, posting high double-digit and even triple-digit growth in recent years. Packaged Facts Pet Owner Survey data show that 11% of dog/cat owners overall began buying due to COVID-19 more products to alleviate pet stress/anxiety, and also that 32% of pet supplement purchasers began buying calming/anxiety supplements.


As with any maturing market, CBD supplement sales growth has slowed, but interest remains strong. Even so, a sticking point in the pet CBD products segment is that the products do not have FDA approval, nor has AAFCO approved their use. As AAFCO reported in February 2022, “We understand the importance of supporting the hemp industry, and yet we also believe it is simply too soon to know whether hemp is safe for farm and ranch animals, as well as for our pets.”

The science of cannabinoids is still in early stages, and more research is needed to secure CBD’s place in the pet supplements market. The lack of official approval hasn’t dissuaded the dozens of marketers selling pet CBD products, but pet owners will be more willing to try these products if they can be shown to be both safe and effective through rigorous testing.

Pet supplements featuring CBD ride the larger wave of pet products addressing pet stress and anxiety, and the resulting behavioral problems. As pet owners return to the office, the calming supplements they turned to during the pandemic sheltering era are now finding new purpose, helping pets deal with separation anxiety after becoming accustomed to providing and receiving full-time companionship.

For more information on this topic and others like it, please see the newly published report Pet Supplements in the US, 9th Edition by Packaged Facts.