Soaring pet ownership is driving Chinese demand for salmon and tuna, according to a new report by Shanghai-based market research agency MobResearch (also known as Mob Data).
China's urban pet consumption market was worth CNY 206.5 billion (USD 33 billion, EUR 28.9 billion) in 2020, with nearly 63 million dog and cat owners recording per-capita annual consumption per pet averaging CNY 5,172 (USD 811, EUR 718). MobResearch projected a 14 percent year-on-year increase in pet spending in 2021 and 2022.
The bulk of China’s spending on its pets was on nutrition, with high-nutrition, seafood-based foods and supplements among the most-popular pet-sector products. China’s dog-owning households increased by 40 percent in number between 2015 and 2019, while the number of households in China that own cats rose by 131 percent over the same period, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Among the numerous brands cashing in on China’s growing pet craze is Tianjin-based Ranova Pet Food, which sells its 70-gram packs of dried salmon and tuna via leading Chinese e-retailer JD.com for CNY 70 (USD 11.20, EUR 9.80). A 30-minute ride from Beijing by high-speed rail, the city of Tianjin has become a hub for the pet food industry, with Swiss food giant Nestlé recently investing USD 160 million (EUR 142 million) into its petfood manufacturing capabilities there.
Other foreign entrants into the Chinese market include Mars Corporation and U.K.-based Fish4Cats, which markets its sardine-based snacks as a healthy pro-growth food for kittens. The Phase One trade deal signed between China and the U.S. in early 2020 removed trade barriers for American pet food shipments into China, increasing the presence of U.S. brands in the market.
Zhejiang-based Zui Chong Pet Foods – which uses the English brand name Paddy Time – has also capitalized on the trend, selling a 10-pack of 16-gram salmon- and tuna-flavored powdered snacks at CNY 36 (USD 5.76, EUR 5.04). And the Shanghai-based Wan Pi (Naughty Family) Group, which also operates pet hospitals, is selling a range of imported Thai tuna cat food cans on JD.com, with six 85-gram cans selling at CNY 46.40 (USD 7.42, EUR 6.49).
Photo courtesy of Tianjin Ranova Pet Food
