The global pet food economy has become one of the fastest-growing and most influential market segments linked to contemporary agri-food systems, driven by rising pet ownership, increasing consumer expenditure, and the rapid expansion of pet food-related industries. Beyond pet food production, the pet food value chain spans ingredient sourcing, processing, packaging, distribution, and retail—raising important questions for agricultural production, trade, food supply chain performance, and sustainability outcomes.

At the same time, the pet food sector is increasingly confronted with pressing sustainability challenges. Resource-intensive production practices, growing demand for animal-based ingredients, greenhouse gas emissions, and waste generation have raised concerns about the long-term environmental footprint of pet food supply chains. These challenges are further intensified by shifting consumer expectations toward sustainable, functional, and ethically responsible pet products and services, as well as evolving regulatory and market standards. In addition, an emerging market trend toward fresh and minimally processed pet food—often marketed as “fresh,” “refrigerated,” or “human-grade”—introduces distinct sustainability and economic challenges, including greater reliance on raw ingredients, cold-chain logistics, shorter shelf life, food safety risk management, and potential increases in energy use and packaging across distribution and in-home storage.

Recent research has advanced knowledge in specific areas such as alternative proteins for pet nutrition, circular strategies for by-product utilization, and innovations in ingredient and supply chain design. However, existing studies remain fragmented, often focusing on isolated technologies or single stages of the supply chain, while comprehensive frameworks that integrate ecological, economic, and social dimensions across the pet food system remain underdeveloped.

A systemic and interdisciplinary perspective is therefore urgently needed to explore how sustainability principles, technological innovation, and economic incentives, market structures, and policy instruments can be jointly leveraged to support the future development of the pet food economy. Understanding synergies and trade-offs across ingredient sourcing, processing, environmental impact, consumer demand, and policy frameworks will be essential for achieving sustainable growth while safeguarding resource efficiency and societal responsibility within agri-food systems.

This Research Topic aims to bring together cutting-edge research and practical insights that address sustainability transitions throughout the pet food value chain, with a clear focus on agricultural and food economics. We welcome contributions that explore innovative pathways, decision-support tools, and governance approaches capable of fostering a more resilient, circular, and sustainable pet food sector, including evidence on adoption barriers, costs, pricing, trade-offs, and distributional effects. We also encourage submissions that examine the economic and environmental implications of the shift toward fresh pet food business models, including cold-chain requirements and household-level storage considerations.

To gather further insights into sustainable and innovative transformations of the pet food economy, we welcome submissions addressing themes including, but not limited to:

• Sustainable and alternative ingredient development for pet food systems (e.g., insect protein, plant-based diets, cultured ingredients) with explicit analysis of costs, scalability, adoption, and market impacts
• Environmental footprint assessment and life cycle analysis of pet-related industries linked to economic trade-offs, externalities, and policy/market instruments
• Circular economy applications in pet food production, waste valorization, and by-product utilization including incentives, business models, and supply chain feasibility
• Digitalization and traceability in pet food supply chains (e.g., blockchain or data systems) where there is clear relevance to market access, compliance, contracting, costs, and consumer trust
• Sustainable supply chain management and green logistics across pet industry networks (coordination, contracting, risk, resilience, and efficiency)
• Product differentiation, labeling, and sustainability claims in pet food markets (credence attributes, trust, willingness-to-pay, and misinformation risks)
• Economics of standards, quality assurance, and risk management relevant to pet food production, processing, and distribution
• Consumer behavior and purchasing patterns shaping sustainable pet food demand (preferences, segmentation, willingness-to-pay, substitution effects)
• Economic performance, business innovation, and emerging entrepreneurship models in the pet sector with direct linkage to agri-food supply chains and measurable sustainability outcomes
• Policy instruments, regulatory frameworks, and international experiences supporting sustainable transitions in pet food systems (standards, labeling rules, trade, incentives)
• Comparative case studies of sustainable pet economy pathways in developed and developing countries with an explicit agri-food economics framing (markets, governance, supply chain organization)
• Fresh and minimally processed pet food supply chains: economic viability, pricing, and affordability; cold-chain logistics and energy demand; packaging and food waste trade-offs; microbial and food-safety risk management; and household-level refrigeration/storage constraints and consumer handling behavior

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The Economics of Sustainable Pet Food Systems: Value Chains, Innovation, and Policy