Pets in China to feast on dim sum and seafood as families gather for Lunar New Year’s Eve dinner
- Online sellers bet big on a growing pet economy and emerging demand for festive pet food
- Gen Z and millennials are discovering niche products through e-commerce channels and social media, such as Douyin and Taobao.
Wang Jianing never cares about the price tag when it comes to spending on her cat – a Russian blue named Doudou – and two dogs – a toy poodle and Maltese named Yomi and Neinei, respectively. Whether it is food, clothing, Italian-made shampoo, or the occasional spa visit, the 24-year-old pet owner in the eastern Chinese city of Hefei just opens her wallet and hands over the money “whenever there is a need”.
The three pets’ most recent “need” is a feast for the upcoming Lunar New Year’s Eve on January 31. For the major family occasion, Wang placed an online order for a 399 yuan (US$62.7) meal set to share among the canines and feline. The set includes carrot soup, omelette rice shaped like a tiger’s head, stuffed tofu, mussels, cheesy shrimps, pumpkin cheese biscuits, meaty cupcakes, as well as dim sum made with chicken, cod, duck, and purple yam.
“Lunar New Year is coming soon, and I want my fur babies to have a feel of the holiday ritual as well,” Wang said. “I’ll feel very happy if I can enjoy the big meal with them.”
Like Wang, many people in China consider their pets as friends, or even children, according to market research firm Mintel. “Owners treat their pets like humans emotionally. As a result, there is an increased selection of pet food resembling human food,” said Pepper Peng, a food and drink analyst at Mintel.
After a rapid period of growth between 2011 and 2020, China’s pet market entered a mature phase in 2021, domestic market research firm iResearch wrote in a recent report. During this new phase, a business ecosystem is expected to emerge around the entire life cycle of pets, the firm said. Pet food, the largest segment with 40 per cent of total spending, is likely to come in a wider variety of products that are open to customisation.
In 2021, China’s retail market value for pet food was estimated at 29.8 billion yuan, more than doubled the value in 2015, according to Mintel. In 2025, it is expected to reach 42.8 billion yuan. While the growth momentum has slowed in recent years, China’s pet food market is forecast to increase 10 per cent annually on average over the next two years, compared to 4 per cent in the United States.
The expanding pet economy has fostered the growth of a stream of entrepreneurs like Jin Shangbao, who switched from running an online fitness snack business to making and selling pet food through his direct-to-consumer store Mr Tail in 2017. This year, he is offering Lunar New Year pet meals, and from previous experiences, he thinks they will be a hit with pet owners.