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Text/Kyra
Source: Tidal Business Review (ID: daily-case)
“Look, cub is so stupid.” A string of words was passed along with a video. This is the fifth cat video from Afra’s girlfriend during half an hour of chatting with her girlfriend.
During the more than two months of working from home, Afra recorded her life every day. The one who shared the most with her friends is her cat. “Although I can’t go out in isolation at home, the cub accompanies me every day. It doesn’t feel boring at all, but it feels full of warmth.”
Under the epidemic, intermittent staying at home has become the norm, and pets have gradually become the adjustment of many people during their home life. In our neighboring country, Japan, due to the aging population and its unique economic and cultural atmosphere, it is often dubbed a “lonely society” by Chinese people. Coupled with the repeated epidemics, the already “sluggish” interpersonal activities are more restricted. As a result, more and more people choose to keep pets to relieve loneliness and warm their lives.
In fact, Japan has long been one of the few “pet countries” in Asia, among which cats and dogs are the most popular pet types. According to the “2020 National Dog and Cat Breeding Survey” by the Japan Pet Food Association, the number of pet cats and dogs in Japan in 2020 will reach 18.13 million (excluding the number of stray cats and dogs), even more than the number of children under the age of 15 in the country ( 15.12 million as of 2020).
Although there are thousands of years of pet-raising history in my country, the pet industry has developed relatively late. In recent years, with the continuous development of the national economy, the per capita income level has continued to increase, and the leisure consumption methods have become more and more abundant. The development of the economy has also “bred” the trend of “subculture” in stages. The lazy house economy and the single economy have gradually prevailed. Facing the fast-paced and introverted urban life, more and more people have begun to adopt pets to relieve loneliness and loneliness. Embrace emotions. At the same time, the intensification of aging has also stimulated the development of the pet economy to a certain extent.
According to the “2021 White Paper on China’s Pet Industry”, the total number of pet dogs and cats in urban areas across the country will exceed 112 million in 2021. According to the iiMedia Research report, the scale of China’s pet economy industry will nearly double from 2017 to 2021, approaching 4,000 It is estimated that this scale will reach 493.6 billion yuan in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 25.2%, and will increase to 811.4 billion yuan by 2025.
“Like cats” and “dogs” have become the daily routine of today’s young people. Whether in online social networking or in real social scenarios, pets are the “hard currency” for communication between people. Showing pets has also become another major theme after showcasing babies and food.
“More and more people keep pets,” Afra couldn’t help but sighed to Tidal Business Review.
From the concept of “casual feeding” to “mutual companionship”, pets have become an indispensable family member in many families, and the pet market is ushering in a period of rapid development.
People’s attention to pets has long been no longer limited to “food and clothing”, and the pet economy has long since changed from a simple “toy-style” raising to a “companion-style” economy of solving loneliness. Pets are no longer a simple toy, but more like the emotional sustenance of pet owners, like family members and children. This relationship change indicates that the consumption of pet economy will change fundamentally.
Driven by market demand, pet-related segments continue to emerge, pet food (staple food, snacks), pet supplies (clothing, toys) and pet services (foster care, medical care, beauty, insurance) that have emerged in recent years. , training, funeral) and other industries have risen sharply, all of which indicate the advent of a new era of ‘pet economy’.
pet food:
“The furry child’s favorite thing is to eat.”
“Maozi doesn’t actually spend as much money as he imagined, and the biggest expense is food. But there are too many brands of pet food now, and the price difference is not small, so it’s not a good choice,” Afra said.
In the subordinate track of the pet industry, pet food is a well-deserved “big head”.
All kinds of exclusive cat food, dog food, canned food, dried small fish, functional food, etc. are regulars in the shopping list of pet owners.
Due to the mature overseas pet market, domestic pet owners have long preferred imported pet food. Nestlé Guanneng, Mars’ Baolu and RoYAL CANIN Royal, Champion Food’s Desire, Ocean Star, GO! The foreign brands represented by etc. have a solid domestic position.
With the development of the domestic pet food industry and changes in consumer cognition, Mai Fudi, Bi Rui Ji, Zhong pet series (true, naughty, leading), Shanghai Yiyun Bernard Tianchun, Chong Xing Weishi, Nai A large number of domestic brands such as Wick and Crazy Puppy have gradually entered the attention of consumers.
According to Euromonitor data, the size of China’s pet food market will reach 52.4 billion yuan in 2021, accounting for 62.2% of the pet food industry market size. Among the top 10 pet food brands, there are as many as 7 domestic pet food brands, which are older than Regis and other time-honored brands. The pet food brand has been in a dominant position in the market for a long time.
In addition, some domestic brands have also begun to try to expand the market by “going overseas”. The pet food brand established in 2019 has continued to grow. It has established Amazon official sites in 5 countries, and has become the first and only overseas Amazon in China. Chinese pet food brand.
As the largest and most frequent sub-category of pet food consumption, pet staple food has always been a “strife”. In the final analysis, this competition is a contest between product strength and R&D strength. Taking domestic pet food Bi Ruiji as an example, it has a complete set of management system from product research and development, to production, to sales. Its new products adopt “black technologies” such as the patented technology of direct irrigation of fresh meat, the spraying process of seaweed, and the patented nitrogen-filled fresh-keeping technology.
As the market share of pet food continues to increase, various companies are also “cross-border” increasing the size of the pet food field. Before, NetEase Yanxuan officially released the pet sub-brand NetEase Tiancheng, focusing on the mid-to-high-end pet market; later, JD.com launched its own brand. The pet staple food made in Beijing and Tokyo has more than 200,000 reviews from consumers after purchase alone.
“To be honest, I would rather starve myself than to starve my cubs. After all, what fur children like most is to eat.” Afra said with emotion.
Pets ‘go to school’:
“I sent Ball to Pet Kindergarten”
“It’s the school season again. The children are all starting school. I also sent Qiuqiu to the pet kindergarten. It can be regarded as a feeling of an old mother sending her children.” Poppy, the exquisite pet owner, said with emotion, while Qiuqiu It was her dog.
According to an online market survey with a scale of nearly 10,000 people, 80% of people don’t keep pets because they don’t have time to keep them at work, not because they don’t like pets.
Compared with cats who can stay at home for a long time, dogs have poorer self-control and more energy, which will not only cause damage to furniture, but will also affect neighbors and cause resentment due to the occasional excited howls.
In order to meet the needs of pet owners who have no time to accompany and train, there have been many pet kindergartens and day care classes in first-tier cities. The core of the curriculum is daily behavior management and social training.
Top e-commerce anchor Li Jiaqi once revealed in an interview that his dog Never is attending school. Never often appears in the live broadcast room and is ridiculed by netizens as a “well-known actress”. Never majors in healing and has also begun to participate in healing dog activities.
Coincidentally, a video of Li Xueqin picking up his pet dog “Lao Jin”, who had been studying for a month, went viral on the Internet. It is reported that Li Xueqin’s dog “Lao Jin” successfully graduated from the pet school with a comprehensive score of 80 points.
‘Send pets to school’ has gradually become a new way for urbanites to raise pets, and many companies have already entered the game.
Take the pet kindergarten launched by Saint Pet as an example. It has built an integrated education community for pet life and training, imitating the operation mode of human kindergartens. It has been claimed to be the first pet kindergarten in China. 3 years; and ViewSonic Mansion is known as the first pet day care center in China, providing services such as dog travel, entertainment, eating and drinking, accommodation, training, grooming, socialization and health.
It is understood that each course of these pet kindergartens takes about one month and charges starting at 3,000 yuan. Every day, they will drive school buses to various places in the city, and are responsible for picking up pets to and from school.
The pet industry is one of the industries that continues to grow against the trend despite the epidemic. It is estimated that in the next ten years, the total size of my country’s pet economy will exceed one trillion yuan, becoming the world’s largest pet market.
As pets become more and more anthropomorphic, not only pet kindergartens have begun to rise, but more sub-industries have emerged.
Pet Insurance: Should fur kids also buy insurance?
“After hesitating for several months, I still decided to buy an insurance for my cat. Not to mention that the cost of illness is a lot and insurance can balance the expenses. I just want to have my cute baby as well.” Suzy told her best friend over the weekend. Happy talking.
According to the “Blue Book of Pet Industry: 2022 China Pet Industry Development Report” (hereinafter referred to as the report) recently released by Asia Pet Research Institute, the number of pets and pet owners in my country continues to grow, and the pet market will reach 150 billion yuan in 2021, of which 19 Young people to the age of 30 are the main pet owners.
As more “Generation Z” join the pet-raising army, pet “familyization” has gradually become a trend. The upgrade of the concept of “family-style pet raising” and the rise of the “pet loving generation”, the innovation of pet raising concept, and the diversification of pet consumption demand have led to the prosperity of the pet consumption market. In addition to “must-haves” such as pet food, pets Insurance is also starting to show strength. From the perspective of pet owners, the cost of medical treatment for pets sick or injured is relatively high. Buying an insurance policy for pets can undoubtedly reduce the burden of long-term pet ownership.
It is worth mentioning that Gen Z pet owners have a more prominent attitude towards medical diagnosis and treatment of pet life, and are willing to spend on pet health services. The “Report” shows that based on pet owners’ emphasis on pet health and the need to reduce pet medical costs, more than 60% of pet owners have expressed their consumer demand for pet insurance. Pet insurance is the characteristic service that pet owners are most willing to invest in.
According to the “New Youth Insurance Service Report” released in the first half of the year, nearly 70% of “Gen Z” are willing to insure themselves and their families. In their eyes, pets are also family members, and it is reasonable to buy an insurance for them.
Many domestic insurance companies have launched related businesses one after another. Common insurance types include Ping An Pet Medical Insurance Plan, Weibo Pet Medical Insurance, Pacific Pet Dog Owner Liability Insurance, and Dadi Pet Medical Insurance. Participating companies include Continent Insurance, Pacific Insurance, Taiping Technology Insurance, Zhongan Insurance, Sunshine Insurance, Ping An Property & Casualty Insurance, PICC Property & Casualty Insurance, We Insurance, etc. The product types are roughly divided into two types: one is pet medical insurance, the other One is pet accident insurance.
Recently, ZhongAn Insurance has innovatively launched pet insurance that can pay for accidents and diseases. It has also launched new pet ecological insurance products such as pet food safety insurance, pet consignment insurance, pet anesthesia accidental death insurance, and pet industry employee accident insurance.
With the growing number of domestic pet owners, how to better “relieve the burden” of pet owners through pet insurance is a key point that insurance companies need to consider. and other issues still need to be resolved.
Tidal Business Review believes that the development potential of the pet insurance market is huge, but in order to be recognized by consumers, the transparency and standardization of the industry and the training of professional pet insurance talents are undoubtedly difficult problems that cannot be avoided in front of the current industry entrants. .
“Although I bought insurance, to be honest, I haven’t used it once. Either I forgot it, or I was too troublesome to operate it.” Suzy said.
Pet Burial: Finally Returning to Another Planet
The last thing every pet owner wants to think about and face is the death of the furry child. But life always has an end. A dog or cat will accompany a pet owner for 10-15 years. This is a practical problem that pet owners have to face.
In the past, the common way of dealing with deceased pets was to bury or discard them, but now environmental protection is the top priority, and such operations are not allowed in first- and second-tier cities, and pet owners also need a decent farewell emotionally.
Where there is demand, there will be a market. The emergence of pet funerals seems to be niche and difficult to understand, but it is a rigid industry for pet owners.
While the penetration rate of the pet funeral market is increasing, capitalization is accelerating unprecedentedly. In June this year, the pet funeral service brand Enchon Hall announced the completion of a 15 million Series A financing, which was strategically invested by Hangzhou Huayuan Pets. According to data, the company’s revenue has reached 230 million, serving 100,000 pets annually, and its business has entered 68 cities across the country.
Not only Grace Hall, but the entire pet funeral industry seems to be ushering in a spring of “a hundred flowers blooming”. Shenzhen pet funeral company “Fangcao Pet” has started to attract investment in the national market; and “TIANPET”, which was established in 2019, has covered 14 domestic first- and second-tier cities through franchise expansion; it is located in Beijing and officially operates in 2019. The “Rainbow Planet” of the company has created two sets of service systems in the field of pet funerals due to the characteristics of Chinese and Western styles, and many investment institutions have come to visit.
Figure / Rainbow Planet WeiboAlthough chain brands have emerged, the pet funeral industry is still dominated by a small-scale individual business model. Most individual brands focus on serving a small range of customers.
According to data from Tianyancha, in the past two years, more than 3,500 pet funeral related companies have been added in my country, a year-on-year increase of 127%, and an average of more than 230 pet funeral companies are added every month.
In fact, in the pet funeral field, in addition to the aforementioned companies focusing on the funeral subdivision, pet hospitals are also important players in this field.
In 2018, 450 pet hospitals under Ruipeng Co., Ltd. and 700 pet hospitals invested by Hillhouse Capital merged to form ‘New Ruipeng’. Xinruipeng has become the largest chain hospital in China. As of the end of 2021, Xinruipeng has more than 1,600 pet hospitals. Many of these hospitals have supporting pet funeral services. Compared with stores such as Rainbow Planet or Chongmu, which highlight the attribute of “farewell to the owner and pet”, the hospital mainly provides simple cremation services.
Today, the once niche and monopolized pet funeral industry is gradually moving towards the general public. More and more cats and dogs are returning to their mother stars quietly. How far these soul ferry services can go in China, in addition to the accelerated pace of capitalization In addition, changing the absence of regulatory authorities is also a top priority.
The role of pets in real life is becoming more and more important, resulting in the rapid heating up of the “it economy” and the accelerated deployment of funds, making the domestic pet industry full of imagination.
“Anyway, there are more and more friends with pets around me. No matter how cramped life is, everyone seems to be generous in spending money on furry children at home. After all, it is one of the few comforts and comforts in my busy life. .” Afra said with a smile.
We may not be able to predict the ‘wind’ of business in advance, but it is not difficult to figure out ‘where the wind comes from’. Behind the seemingly complex business practices, there are often simple business logics. It seems that behind the 100 billion pet economy is a blue ocean of new pet consumption market.
Business is just that.
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