Pet food is witnessing a "production capacity race", offering relief to pet owners' wallets | World Research Consumer Index Brand List Vol.91

The pet food industry is evolving from "satiation" to "precision nutrition." Functional staple foods, with their precise positioning, are breaking through the homogenized competition and becoming a new engine for the industry. Meanwhile, leading brands are accelerating their expansion upstream, upgrading quality control and achieving transparent traceability through self - built supply chains. Driven by both product innovation and in - depth development of the supply chain, the high - end process of pet food is being jointly promoted.

Image source: Shiyan Big Consumption Index

During this monitoring period, pet brands NetEase Yanxuan, Orijen, and Nusun ranked among the top three in the comprehensive popularity list with comprehensive popularity scores of 1.88, 1.64, and 1.60 respectively.

Science - based feeding drives the ultra - segmentation of pet food, and functional staple foods open up a new blue ocean for brand growth

As pet owners' understanding of "science - based feeding" deepens, functional staple foods are becoming the core battlefield for brand innovation. The new generation of consumers is no longer satisfied with general - purpose products. Instead, they seek precise nutrition solutions based on their pets' age, breed, physical condition, and specific health needs (such as sensitive stomachs, urinary problems, and skin and coat conditions).

This trend is driving the market to evolve towards ultra - segmentation, opening up a new blue ocean for brand growth. According to third - party data, in July, the sales of Nusun's pet food on Douyin increased by 185% year - on - year, mainly driven by the phenomenon - level single product "Bao Bao Tong" (Exploding Bucket), a deep - sea collagen cat food freeze - dried staple food. Since its launch in the first half of this year, Nusun's "Bao Bao Tong" has achieved the dual value of "delicious and effective" through the form of "deep - sea high - protein + freeze - dried staple food." It enters the market by focusing on hair beautification and muscle maintenance and strengthens its credibility through clinical trials and expert endorsements.

Fangkuaixiaogou (Crazy Puppy) is promoting the pre - launch distribution of its functional staple foods. It uses functional formulas such as "intestinal protection and vitality improvement" and "probiotic stomach protection" to specifically address the problem of fragile stomachs. Macdull's "Nai Fu Goat Milk Fresh Meat Staple Food Cans" are specially designed for kittens and pets with sensitive constitutions. The MMOs goat milk oligosaccharides contained in them help regulate the intestinal flora and enhance immunity. The "Ba Fu Staple Food Cans" focus on urinary health and incorporate natural herbal formulas.

Overall, functional staple foods with scientific research evidence, refined ingredients, and scenario - based positioning are reshaping the competitive landscape of high - end pet food.

Leading pet food brands are deploying upstream self - owned production capacity, promoting supply chain transparency and quality control upgrading

As consumers' requirements for product transparency and quality control increase, leading pet food brands are extending upstream to build self - owned or deeply - bound production capacity systems to strengthen their market competitiveness.

This month, Xianlang completed the layout of its three "fresh factories" in Wuyishan, Luohe, Henan, and Dandong, Liaoning, achieving geographical nesting between raw material production areas and factories. This greatly shortens the turnover time of fresh meat and ensures the freshness and stability of raw materials. At the same time, Xianlang took the lead in formulating the group standard for "fresh - meat baked full - price pet food," clearly defining the core concept of "0 added meat powder" and promoting the transparent upgrade of the industry. Chengshiyikou (Honest Bite) launched its self - owned "Qi Xian Factory," defined the "zero - radiation fresh" standard, and launched flagship - level baked pet food, initiating a comprehensive strategic upgrade driven by self - owned manufacturing in terms of quality and innovation.

Brands such as Freitag and Pedigree also emphasize self - owned production lines and reject contract manufacturing. Through technological empowerment and standard output, they further improve the stability of raw materials, cost control, and quality control levels. These measures not only promote the transformation of domestic pet food from "contract manufacturing and OEM" to a high - quality development stage driven by technology but also make the supply chain the core carrier of brand trust and the entry threshold for the high - end market, providing consumers with higher - quality and more transparent pet food options.

Explanation of the list

The Shiyan Consumption Compass Series Index Report is a consumption index evaluation system independently developed by Shiyan Index. This series includes major lists such as the "Brand Consumption Popularity Index List," "Industry Consumption Heat Index List," "Product Consumption Wave Index List," and "Consumption Popular Event List," as well as extended list reports within the corresponding scope. It aims to objectively and truly present the trend characteristics of the consumption world through index evaluation, help the industry and brand owners continuously track consumption market trends, provide references for enterprise operations, and enhance comprehensive business competitiveness.

The Shiyan Consumption Compass Series Index List continuously monitors the following industries:

3C digital products, footwear, clothing and accessories, food and fresh produce, household appliances, sports and outdoor products, beauty and cleaning products, mother and baby products, home decoration, automobile consumption, toys, models and musical instruments, pet products, and medical health, a total of 12 major industries.

Image source: Shiyan Big Consumption Index

Disclaimer

This list is independently compiled by Shiyan Index. The views, conclusions, and suggestions in the list are for reference only and do not represent any specific investment advice or decision - making basis.

The calculation of the list data combines public data from mainstream platforms and data precipitation from the Shiyan Big Consumption Platform under the ownership of Zhidemai Technology. We have taken reasonable measures to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the provided data as much as possible, but we cannot rule out some errors or deviations due to the limitations of the data itself. In addition, some data in this report have not been formally audited by an independent third - party auditing institution, so there may be unidentified errors or omissions. It is particularly reminded that the market situation may change at any time, so the predictions, analyses, and conclusions in the report may differ from the actual situation.

Any third - party names, brands, or products mentioned in the report are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement or recommendation of them. Any mention of these third - parties should not be regarded as an endorsement or recommendation in any form. The copyright of the report belongs to Zhidemai Technology Group and Shiyan Index. It shall not be reproduced or distributed without permission. Zhidemai Technology Group and Shiyan Index shall not assume any legal liability for any losses or damages caused by the use of the information in this report.