China's pet market sniffing out great opportunities

More and more Chinese families intend to keep adorable pets for companionship, boasting a vast bullish pet market, according to the Shanghai Securities News on Tuesday.

The scale of China's pet market totaled 592.8 billion yuan ($81.95 billion) in 2023, increasing 20.1 percent year-on-year, and it is expected to reach 1.15 trillion yuan by 2028, the report said quoting data from market consultancy company iiMedia Research.

Pet food sees new growth

Pet food is the largest sub-sector in the overall pet market. With high consumption frequency, pet food runs through the entire life journey of pets.

Among pet food categories, high-end products are getting more attention. Peidi, a pet food producer, has built a new factory in New Zealand to manufacture high-end staple pet food, with an annual production capacity of 40,000 metric tons, according to Peidi's CEO Chen Zhenbiao.

Driven by the large demand for pet food, listed companies in the pet industry have seen a rapid growth. The latest data released by the companies show that Gambol's net profits reached 470 million yuan, rising 49.64 percent on a yearly basis in the first three quarters of this year, while China Pet Foods' net profits recorded 282 million yuan, with an increase of 59.54 percent year-on-year. Meanwhile, Peidi's net profits achieved a phenomenal yearly growth of 630.85 percent to reach 155 million yuan.

Pet supplies turn smarter

With industrial upgrading, technology is applied to pet supplies. New intelligent products like smart feeders, smart locators and smart toilets are available in the market.

Amongst new inventions is a cat litter box that automatically cleans itself after it is used. Pet keepers are then only required to replace the garbage bags regularly instead of tidying it up every day, the report said.

Pet services are personalized

Pets become cherished members of the family when it comes to pet ownership, thus ensuring overall comfort for pets has impacted consumption demands. Pet owners are willing to pay for services like social activities, education, dates and funerals so that their pets are well taken care of.

Meanwhile, pet schools offer training for pets, teaching them how to adapt to living with humans. In addition, vlogs showing interactions with pets on social media attracts many views, the report said.

Pet-related consumption is booming under such strong demands and pet product sales have doubled year-on-year. In the first hour of this year's Double Eleven, an online shopping festival, 15 pet brands had sales totaling over 10 million yuan, according to CGTN.