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Rapidly expanding pet ownership in Asia fuels demand for pet vitamins and science-backed nutrition

Pet ownership rates have exploded across Asia in recent years. China is leading the way, with predominantly young, urban, female pet owners driving the latest pet food and supplements trends.

This is one of the key takeaways from research presented at Fi Europe 2024 by Zarina Kanji, the managing director for UK and Europe at digital marketing agency WPIC. At the first-ever dedicated Fi Pet Food Spotlight, which took place at the Innovation Hub, Kanji unpacked the evolving habits, tastes, and spending behaviours of pet owners across several Asian markets.

China’s pet owners: Predominantly female, urban, and affluent – for now

WPIC’s data shows that China is not only the largest, but also one of the fastest-growing pet care and pet food markets in the region. The country accounts for nearly half (45%) of the entire pet care market, valued at $29 billion in 2024. With 220 million documented pets in China, it is the world’s third-largest pet market.

Unlike the other major markets in Europe and the US, however, pet ownership rates have skyrocketed over the past few years – rising from 13% in 2019 to 22% in 2023. Kanji noted that, considering the 70% ownership rates in the US, the Chinese market still has lot of room for growth. The demographics of Chinese pet owners also reveal a strong preference for pet ownership among a few specific groups.

A large majority (70%) of pet owners are women – but as the WPIC report Profiling China’s Fastest-Growing Consumer Segments reveals, this could be changing rapidly as the share of male pet owners increased from 20 to 30% between 2023 and 2024.

Another notable demographic divergence is the strong concentration of pets in so-called ‘Tier 1’ and ‘Tier 2’ cities, which include urban areas that are considered the most affluent and commercially interesting. “These are the consumers who are the wealthiest, the most well- educated, the most internationally travelled, the ones that are really seeking out international brands and new and different things,” said Kanji.

The age distribution of pet owners in urban China is skewed significantly towards the youngest adults, with those in the 18-25 and 26-30 age group accounting for more than two-thirds of all pet owners, while those over the age of 60 account for less than 1%.

Cats and dogs dominate, but Peppa Pig is bringing change

Cats are the most popular pet in China by a significant margin. At 70 million, there are more cats in the country than there are people living in the UK, while the Chinese dog population rivals the human population of South Korea at 52 million.

The pet demographics in the other two major Asian pet industry markets, Japan and South Korea, paint a different picture. Japan has 4.9 million cats and 5.5 million dogs, while there are 1.5 million cats and 3.3 million dogs in South Korea. Both countries do show a similar upward trend, with a healthy compound annual growth rate in pet populations of 4.6% in Japan and 6.9% in Korea.

Smaller pets are on the rise across the region – with ownership trends revealing how change can come from unexpected sources shaping people’s pet choices. Kanji attributes a spike in fish ownership to the trend towards wellness and the need for a calming presence, while rising hamster, gerbil, and bird ownership is influenced by the popularity of children’s television show Peppa Pig, which features these animals as characters.

Innovative technology and advanced nutrition gaining attention

The young, urban, and affluent consumers forming the core of China’s pet owners have a growing appetite for innovative products, and are increasingly targeted through digital channels. Kanji cites the example of Mars-owned Royal Canin as a brand that has effectively capitalised on this consumer profile.

“[Royal Canin has] about 550 different products available in China, and they've been really smart about how they tap in. They've really embraced live streaming. They've delivered a lot of content based on the rising camping trend that we've seen in China. And they've also done very effective collaborations.”

Social commerce platforms like Little Red Book, Xiaohongshu, and Douyin (known as TikTok outside of China) that use a ‘very shallow wide funnel’ and rely on live streams, peer recommendations, and engaging content are very rapidly taking the place of more traditional e-commerce players.

This has translated into the rise of products like pet vitamins and supplements, with consumers increasingly demanding more science-based products – for themselves and their animal companions.

“Consumers [in Asia] are really sophisticated. They've moved [on] from ‘I want something to make my bones healthier, make my bones stronger, or I want something to improve my heart health’ and are getting really granular on the science behind it … They really understand what they want. As a brand the more that you can communicate to them … [the] better [your chances] of growing in the market,” said Kanji.

Pet food brands can find success through collaborations with trusted veterinarians that can communicate the nutritional and scientifically backed benefits of certain ingredients and products.

As the WPIC report underlines, “the pet industry in China is not just expanding; it's evolving with a sophisticated consumer base that values high-quality pet care products and innovative solutions”.

In the near term, the pet vitamin sector is likely to be among the most prominent beneficiaries of the evolving pet industry in the region. According to WPIC data, demand in the sector grew from $344 million in 2022 to $418 million in 2023, for an increase of 21.3%.