Self-built factory with an annual output of over 100,000 tons. Xu Cuihua, a plant cat litter brand, aims for the No. 1 position in the niche market | Early-stage project

Author | Lan Jie

With the development of the domestic pet economy, a group of new pet product brands have rapidly emerged, and Xu Cuihua, which mainly sells plant-based cat litter, is one of them.

During this year's 618 shopping festival, Xu Cuihua ranked first on the Tmall store list for cat/dog products and the Tmall store list for cat litter in the full-cycle transaction ranking. In 2024, Xu Cuihua's sales exceeded 260 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 247%.

To some extent, the reason why Xu Cuihua has achieved a rise in sales is that it seized the opportunity in the domestic cat litter market when plant-based cat litter was not yet popular. Compared with traditional bentonite cat litter and tofu cat litter, the plant-based cat litter mainly sold by Xu Cuihua features fast clumping, no sticking to the bottom, and strong environmental friendliness.

Currently, the main products under the Xu Cuihua brand include pure cassava cat litter, a mixture of plant-based cat litter and tofu cat litter, a mixture of plant-based cat litter and mineral cat litter, etc., as well as a cat litter companion with deodorizing function. Among them, the most popular pure cassava cat litter is priced at 29.19 yuan per bag, with an average price of 11.7 yuan per kilogram. Compared with similar products under the well-known pet product brand pidan, the price is comparable, and it belongs to the products with a relatively high unit price among cat litter brands.

Peng Han, the founder of the Xu Cuihua brand, is also the founder of the pet food brand Gao Ye Jia. Previously, Hangzhou Gao Ye Jia You Hao Duo Mao Pet Food Co., Ltd., to which Gao Ye Jia belongs, completed angel round and Series A financing of 6 million yuan and 50 million yuan respectively, invested by Zhonghui Capital and Jinding Capital.

Xu Cuihua told 36Kr that it will also open a round of minority equity financing in the third quarter of this year, with an expected financing amount of 50 million - 80 million yuan, mainly used for the construction of a new cat litter factory, the research and development of new cat litter categories, and the further improvement of the market share of cat litter.

Cat litter is a product category with relatively low entry barriers, and it is difficult to form a competitive barrier through factors such as technology.

Currently, the domestic cat litter market is vast - according to relevant data from Yipu Consulting, the scale of the Chinese cat litter market exceeded 10 billion yuan in 2023, but the competition pattern is fragmented.

Therefore, for Xu Cuihua, which has achieved remarkable results in the cat litter track, it is urgent to improve the market share and seize the market more quickly.

Well-known pet product brands such as pidan, petshy, and Xiaopei are already selling plant-based cat litter. The trend of plant-based cat litter has passed - compared with using a single type of cat litter, it is more popular nowadays to mix different types of cat litter for customization. Such mixed cat litter often combines the advantages of different types of cat litter.

In addition, cat litter is also a product category that pet owners will repurchase frequently and stock up on during major promotion periods. Therefore, it also poses a test to the warehousing and logistics capabilities of relevant brands.

In October 2024, Xu Cuihua put its Phase II factory with an annual production capacity of 90,000 tons of cat litter into operation. Currently, the total production capacity of Xu Cuihua's factory can reach about 120,000 tons, and all plant-based cat litter can be produced in its own factory.

Xu Cuihua told 36Kr that the brand's sales target for 2025 is 1 billion yuan, and it aims to become the top brand in the cat litter category.

Building its own factory can ensure production capacity and also better achieve quality control.