Pet industry booms in China

The pet-related industry is booming in China and is one of the few sectors that has maintained a good growth rate.

The Box, a new shopping mall, has just opened in central Beijing. It is home to brands aimed at China’s trendy urban youth. Notably, one of The Box’s largest stores is Marsmart, a supermarket selling pet products.

They sell hundreds of product lines, from collars, leashes, and pet beds to coats, slippers, street shoes, caps, sunshades, diapers, organic food, and especially drinks for dogs and cats. "After Shanghai, pet culture is entering Beijing," Sputnik's representative assessed.

The first restaurant dedicated to pets, which does not serve food to their owners, will open in Shanghai in 2021. Photo: IC

About 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) from the capital, pet product manufacturing is booming in Wenzhou. Over the past 20 years, Shuitou, a town of 120,000, has become the industry's capital. "At first, my father only made leather goods, but in the 1990s, customers started asking for collars and leashes. Now we also do dog coats," said Nick Wang, owner of UnitePet, a company with 110 employees.

UnitePet mainly produces for export to Europe and the US, but the domestic market is also growing rapidly. "I really need to pay more attention to this," the 43-year-old boss assessed.

Just a few blocks away from UnitePet’s headquarters, pet food company PetPal has a similar view. For a long time, Deputy General Manager Pan Chunbin has focused solely on the overseas market. PetPal listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2017. They have a total of 5,000 employees and own factories in Vietnam and Cambodia with 3,000 workers.

Although Pan is not overly optimistic about the economic situation in 2023, Pan Chunbin still sees great prospects in the Chinese market. "Since 2018, adults have bought dogs or cats as companions when their children leave home, and young urban people have chosen to keep pets before having children. This market is growing very fast," he said.

There are about 100 pet companies in and around Shuitou, employing about 10,000 people. Bai Hongfan, the town’s economic manager, said that instead of attracting new industrialists, the town is aiming to become pet-friendly.

In the town surrounded by lush green hills, cats and dogs are featured on murals. "We encourage residents to adopt animals, open parks dedicated to them and hold regional and national competitions between pets," he said.

According to research published by PwC in November 2022, the pet industry in China was worth 131 billion yuan (about 18.3 billion USD) in 2021, five times more than in 2011. This value is divided almost evenly between the food, accessories and services sectors. This is one of the few industries that has maintained a strong growth rate in the Chinese economy so far.

According to Statista, a German data company, the number of dogs and cats kept in China exceeded 112.4 million in 2021, up from 87.5 million in 2017. Diao Li, a professor at the School of Economics and Management at Wuhan University, said the growth of the pet economy reflects rising living standards.

There are other reasons driving the industry. In recent years, more people have been living alone and looking to pets to alleviate loneliness. According to data from China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs, an estimated 77 million people in the country lived alone in 2018, rising to 92 million by 2021.

The online giants can’t ignore the pet craze. In November 2022, JD launched a new service called JD animal health, which provides medicine and medical advice to dog and cat owners. More than 5,000 veterinarians are participating in the “first virtual hospital for pets,” according to JD.

JD has seen this market grow rapidly over the years. Now, organic pet food is available to both dogs and cats in China. Sales of pet birthday cakes have increased 48% year-on-year on the platform, and mooncakes for dogs and cats have also appeared.

Xu Hongbo, founder and general manager of dog and cat grooming chain Noble Pet, sees Chinese people increasingly viewing their pets as full-fledged family members. Originally from Shanxi, the veterinarian moved to Beijing in 2007 and found that his neighbors were dissatisfied with the quality of pet care services.

"Because I can do better and love animals, I founded my own beauty and care institute," she said. The chain now has more than 200 franchise branches nationwide. She is looking for more investors to increase this number to 10,000 in the next three years.

Phien An ( according to Le Monde, CGTN )

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