China’s Love for Pets Fuels Multi-Billion Dollar Industry

Despite economic downturns, China’s pet market (petconomy) has a high growth rate. In particular, the market is flourishing in first and second-tier cities, signaling a need for targeted strategies for companies looking to enter the Chinese market.

On the 16th, the KOTRA Chengdu Trade Center introduced the growth status of China’s petconomy through a report titled “China: A Rising Market in the Pet Industry?”

Recently, in China, as living standards improved and the population of singles and elderly people living alone increased, the concept of emotional companionship through pets is spreading. This is leading to a high growth rate in the petconomy.

According to the 2023-2024 China Pet Industry Status and Monitoring Report released by market research institute iiMedia Research, the size of China’s pet industry reached 592.8 billion yuan (about $93 billion) in 2023 and is expected to grow at an annual rate exceeding 20%, reaching 811.4 billion yuan (about $127 billion) by 2025.

The primary consumers in China’s pet market are young people, with first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen leading the trend, followed by new first-tier cities such as Chengdu, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Suzhou, Xi’an, and Nanjing.

The petconomy in Chengdu, a new first-tier city, is proliferating. In 2017, the number of pets in Chengdu was recorded at 1.5 million, but by 2023, it is estimated to have exceeded 5 million.

Chengdu’s petconomy is primarily centered on food. In addition, the number of pet-friendly places is increasing, and service industries such as pet theme parks, medical care, entrusted childcare, entertainment, and funerals are showing rapid growth.

The KOTRA Chengdu Trade Center stated, “The purchasing power for animal welfare is showing a continuous upward trend, and the demand for various pet industries is diversifying. When considering entering the Chinese market, it would be desirable to target the market with high-value products and services centered on major first and second-tier cities.”