Small formats are playing an increasingly important role in wet pet food. As consumers look for convenience, freshness, variety and more premium feeding experiences, the 85g can offers brands and retailers a compact format with strong commercial potential.

At C&D Foods, we develop and manufacture cat and dog food in a wide range of formats for retailer and pet food brand customers across Europe. One format presenting particularly interesting growth opportunities is the 85g can, which we manufacture on a dedicated lines at our Boulogne-sur-Mer factory in France. If you are thinking big about market opportunities in pet food, here is why it can pay to think small.

Convenience, freshness and variety for cat owners

Cats remain a major part of the European pet food category. According to FEDIAF’s latest European pet population and market data, Europe has around 306 million pets, including 111 million cats, with 140 million households – 49% of all European households – owning at least one pet. Annual pet food sales in Europe now stand at approximately €29.4 billion, underlining the scale of the category and the importance of formats that meet changing owner needs.

The 85g can is already well established across mainland Europe and is also gaining interest in the UK, where pouches have traditionally been the preferred wet cat food format. Its appeal lies in how well it fits everyday feeding habits: easy to serve, simple to portion and convenient to store.

For cat owners, an 85g can provides a manageable single-serve portion that can be offered fresh, with less need to refrigerate an opened pack. This helps support portion control, reduce uneaten food and minimise waste.

The format also gives cat owners greater flexibility and variety at mealtimes. Smaller individual portions make it easier to alternate between recipes and textures, from smooth pâté to savoury chunks in jelly or gravy, or finely minced mini fillets. For cats with selective tastes, the ability to offer different options without committing to a larger format can be an important benefit.

A premium-ready format with room to innovate

As premiumisation continues to influence the European pet food market, the 85g can provides a strong platform for higher-value recipe development. Its smaller portion size creates permission to explore more indulgent concepts, distinctive textures and recipes designed around taste appeal, quality cues and variety.

For consumers, this can mean a way to treat their cat, try new recipes or add more variety into the weekly feeding routine. For brands and retailers, it creates an opportunity to introduce premium tiers, encourage trial and build more differentiated propositions within the wet cat food aisle.

Rather than simply placing an existing recipe into a smaller can, the opportunity is to consider how format, recipe and positioning work together. Different proteins, flavour combinations, textures and pack architecture can all help create a clear reason to buy and support repertoire purchasing across a wider range.

Single-serve and smaller pack formats are also gaining relevance as manufacturers and retailers look to balance convenience, freshness and accessible price points. PetfoodIndustry reported positive momentum across Europe for formats below 50g, single-serve packs and 85g cans, with freshness identified as one of the consumer benefits of smaller packaging.

A growing opportunity in small dog formats

While 85g cans are a well-established option for cat food, they have traditionally been less common in dog food because canine portion needs vary so widely. For larger dogs, an 85g can is unlikely to be suitable as a full serving.

However, pet demographics and consumer lifestyles are changing. Urban living, smaller households and limited storage space are all influencing how people shop for and feed their pets. In the UK, recent Kennel Club registration trends have also highlighted rising popularity for several smaller breeds, reinforcing the opportunity for portion sizes and formats designed around smaller dogs.

For owners of small dogs, the 85g can can offer the same benefits already valued by cat owners: freshness, portion control, variety and convenience. It also creates space for premium and gourmet dog food propositions tailored to smaller appetites and more specific feeding routines.

This is not simply a future opportunity. C&D Foods is already producing an 85g can dog food range for one of our customers in Italy, demonstrating how the format can work beyond cat food when the proposition, portion size and customer need are aligned.

From category insight to successful customer ranges

Successful pet food innovation has to be grounded in what is happening in each customer’s market. Pet populations, feeding habits, preferred formats, price points and the maturity of premium segments can vary significantly from country to country, which means the opportunity for 85g cans will not look the same everywhere.

That is why C&D Foods offers more than manufacturing capability. We work with brands and retailers to analyse market data, understand category trends and identify opportunities that can help grow market share, diversify ranges and respond to changing consumer needs.

For customers looking to unlock growth in small-format wet pet food, the 85g can offers a flexible, proven and premium-ready platform. With dedicated production capability at Boulogne-sur-Mer and category insight across European markets, C&D Foods is well placed to help customers turn this small format into commercially successful ranges.

Sources: FEDIAF European Pet Food Statistics 2026; PetfoodIndustry, “Europe’s pet food makers rebalance pack sizes”; Pets4Homes/Kennel Club small dog breed registration commentary.