I rode the Nantes-to-Redon stretch over three quiet days: no cars, herons on repeat, exactly six dogs on the towpath — and three of them, naturellement, were dachshunds. One belonged to a still very active 75-year-old bird photographer who introduced herself between kingfisher sightings, and in 30 minutes became a friend for life. She tipped me to a French brand I’d somehow missed: Pro-Nutrition, made in France (bien sur!) and often bought directly through breeders and farm-store channels, which was my wake-up call to hunt beyond the obvious specialty aisles this fall.
That towpath chat reframed my map. Some high-performing French and EU foods don’t scream from endcaps; they flow through breeder networks, veterinary wholesalers and agricultural stores, where bigger bags, clearer feeding economics and working-dog credibility matter more than a glossy shelf.
If you’re a U.S. brand trying to land in Europe, consider a dual track: a clean, multilingual DTC for urban owners and a separate boots-on-the-ground plan for breeders and handlers. “Hard to find” in retail doesn’t mean “not winning.”
My three-of-six canal dachshunds wasn’t a hallucination. Across Europe’s big registries, top-breed tables have tilted toward compact city dogs even as national flavors persist. In France, official counts show the Australian Shepherd anchoring the top ranks in recent years, with Goldens and other family-friendly breeds close behind. In the UK, the Labrador still leads, but miniature dachshunds have soared since the mid-2010s. Germany’s pet ID data keeps Labradors and Goldens near the top while mixing in smaller companions. None of this is a single “Europe list,” but the signal is consistent: smaller dogs are structurally important to the market.
Paris has even turned it into a spectacle: the annual “Paris Sausage Walk” returns in November, a charitable teckel parade along the Seine that gathers dachshunds across France. Nantes now hosts its own exuberant walk each year and is working on adding the beloved low-key race. If you sell harnesses, sweaters, mini-sticks or long-lasting treats, bring the XS.
In the U.S., the American Kennel Club now has the French Bulldog at No. 1 for 2024, followed by the Lab, Golden retriever, German Shepherd and Poodle. Format, pricing and pack size should follow the dogs we actually see on sidewalks.
Aisle-Level Truth
Our colleague Ada-Miette Thomas (yes, like Les Misérables, because life loves a good French reference), Senior Analyst at BSM Partners, spent two weeks in southern Italy with a notebook instead of a selfie stick. Half the customers she overheard started with nutrition questions, not flavor. “Hypoallergenic” was a magnet claim. Chicken avoidance and broader allergen anxieties framed many conversations. Grain-free still drew interest, “Made in Italy” helped but wasn’t an absolute must, and stores leaned into delivery and simple loyalty “fidelity” cards more than splashy stores.
If you’re pitching Italy, lead with allergen clarity, show a true hypoallergenic rationale (hydrolysates or novel proteins, plus digestibility), and bolt a low-friction delivery promise onto launch so scooters and steep staircases don’t kill trial.
Correcting the Record
A family member told me to tune into a France Inter radio segment: “Comment bien nourrir son chien?” (how to feed your dog well) featuring two “experts.” Within minutes, the first expert, let’s call him “Dr. D,” was calling carbohydrates “sugars” and sugars “poisons,” then advising listeners to avoid carbs in kibble. Small reminder: without starch gelatinization, you don’t get extruded kibble; this is where good nutritionists and good food scientists need to share a microphone.
The second expert, let’s call her “Dr. G,” followed by saying grain-free diets are “loaded with legumes” and cause flatulence and DCM. The nuance matters: in 2022 the US Food and Drug Administration said it lacked sufficient data to establish a causal link between specific diets and canine DCM and stopped routine updates, while researchers continue to investigate subsets. Correlation does not equal causation, and blanket statements help no one.
On enrichment, the show got it right: hiding kibble and slow-feed bowls help dogs and cats pace themselves and stay engaged. It also explains why French independents often devote more space to accessories than to novel foods: the margin is there, and owners like tools they can see working. Speaking of accessories, fashion keeps creeping into function: Primark’s sister brand Penneys in Ireland set social feeds buzzing last month with a €22 quilted pet-carrier tote that’s machine-washable and airline-friendly. It’s fast fashion meeting real use, probably a good idea when spendings are slowing.
Fresh Headlines
The retail engine hasn’t slept. In Britain, Pets at Home’s latest results show a subdued retail backdrop but a steady rise in veterinary revenues as the chain leans into its “one platform” of store, services and app. In the Nordics, Musti Group’s half-year showed double-digit sales growth and continued expansion, helped by own-labels and loyalty. Online, Zooplus added “zoodays” and expanded price reductions on proprietary brands to tighten repeat spending behavior.
Read those together and you get a simple map. Design your EU pitch for ecosystems: loyalty currencies, vet adjacencies, and subscribe-and-save mechanics, not just a single SKU on a shelf.
For Neighborhood Pet Store Day (Saturday, Septwmber 27), I visited a neighborhood shop whose owners, initially distant (and even skeptical) turned out to be exactly the kind of retail partners you want. A former printing-industry couple, they’ve rescued seven cats and five dogs and test every prospective SKU on their animals before listing. During the COVID supply mess, frustrated by silent formula changes and erratic palatability, they launched their own brand, Urban Cat, and it worked so well that they added cat treats, then one SKU of dog kibble.
They were impressively knowledgeable about co-manufacturers across France and the UK, and I offered to connect them with efficacy-focused ingredient suppliers. The lesson fits in French and English: ce n’est pas l’habit qui fait le moine (it’s not the robe that makes the monk); don’t judge a book by its cover, and don’t give up after a chilly “bonjour.” Culture matters as much as compliance when you expand into Europe. If your product is right but your posture is wrong, doors stay shut.
Fashion Coda
One sparkly note: while haute houses flirt with pet lines, the more telling trend is democratic chic: affordable, good-looking carriers, rain capes and knitwear that match human wardrobes without scaring the dog. It’s a wink to Paris Fashion Week, but it works on wet cobblestones in Nantes. Your brief for 2026: make it pretty, make it practical, and make it wash well.
If you’re eyeing Europe for Q1, shrink the pack, sharpen the allergen story, and widen your channel map. Build a breeder plan alongside your retail pitch. Speak “ecosystem” when you talk to chains. And when the airwaves get noisy, equip your teams to explain extrusion, evidence and enrichment without picking fights. I’ll keep pedaling towpaths and shops; you keep refining the brief.
Émilie Mesnier is the vice president of European operations at BSM Partners in Nantes, France. After running a small farm animal rescue sanctuary in Utah, Mesnier moved her children, husband and two senior pets back to France in early 2025 to bring BSM Partners’ full suite of consulting services closer to clients across the European market.
