Pet consumption exceeds 430 billion yuan, why are brands shifting to the health niche segment?

Will a bag of dog food be sold at a higher price just by sticking a label marked "for pets aged 8 and above"? For pet-owning families, this cost calculation needs to be extended to the next bag. Whether the dog is willing to eat it, whether the product suits it, and how much will be spent each month after the preferential policy ends are far more practical than those functional buzzwords printed on the package. For brands, the first bag can be sold with the support of coupons. Only when the owner is willing to come back and repurchase at the regular price after finishing this bag can the age-specific formula truly form a sustainable business.

On November 9, CCID Consulting released its annual report, estimating that the scale of China's pet economy in 2025 will reach 433.53 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of about 4.3%. Pet food and pet medical care together account for 71.1% of the total market. By observing these two types of businesses together, we can clearly see the direction of brand competition. Pet food needs to be selected repeatedly in daily feeding, while pet medical care needs to accumulate trust through multiple rounds of examinations, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up visits. The premise for consumers to keep paying is that the product or service is really suitable for their own pets and affordable for the long term.

Consumer spending grows faster than the number of pets, brands need to compete for the next expenditure

The 433.53 billion yuan figure is CCID Consulting's industry estimate for the generalized pet economy. To observe the consumption changes of families raising cats and dogs, we can adopt another statistical caliber. Xinhua Finance cited the *2026 China Pet Industry White Paper (Consumption Report)* and pointed out that the number of urban cats and dogs in 2025 is about 126 million, with a year-on-year growth of 1.8%, and the consumption market scale of urban cats and dogs reaches 312.6 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 4.1%. The two reports cover different scopes and cannot be summed up. The 71.1% estimated by CCID only reflects the proportion of the scale of food and medical care, and it is impossible to judge how much growth the two types of businesses contribute respectively only by this number.

In the same set of statistics for urban cats and dogs, the growth of consumption amount is faster than the growth of the number of pets. Dividing the market size by the number of pets, the converted average consumption per pet increases by about 2.3% year on year. This is only the overall average value, which can be affected by price, consumption structure and service use frequency. The change of expenditure of a single family still depends on its own account book. However, for merchants, this set of figures is enough to show that the expansion relying solely on new pet-owning families cannot explain all the consumption growth. What the existing customers will buy for the next bag and what services they need next also determine whether the business can be expanded.

One of the changes is that demand will change as the same pet grows up. In a survey of 1,000 pet owners reported by Xinhua Finance, more than half of the cats and dogs raised by the respondents are over 5 years old. The sample proportion cannot be extrapolated to the whole country, and 5 years old cannot be used as a unified age division line for senior cats and dogs. For operators, this survey points to a verifiable question: when existing customers start to change food for their pets, take physical examinations or adjust care methods, can brands provide suitable next product or next service?

For the price of age-specific pet food, the calculation should be extended to the monthly feeding cost

There are already specific products on the market for comparison. Royal Canin lists on its official Chinese website the full-price adult dog food for small dogs over 8 years old, which is marked as non-prescription food. Guaipet disclosed in its 2026 semi-annual report the "Naifu First Bite Food" positioned for the young pet stage, and also disclosed the layout of nutrition research for senior dogs and cats. One end is the stage when pets just start to eat solid food, and the other end is the demand after pets grow older. Enterprises can use age to explain who the product is for, but consumers still need to judge whether it is worth it based on the label, actual feeding effect and price.

Let's make a hypothetical cost calculation for two 2kg bags of staple pet food. The regular price of one is 160 yuan, and that of the other is 210 yuan. If calculated according to 50g per day, the monthly cost for 30 days is 120 yuan and 157.5 yuan respectively, with a difference of 37.5 yuan. 50g is only a hypothetical calculation condition, and the actual feeding amount should be determined in combination with the package suggestion and individual situation of the pet. The advantage of this comparison is that the first-bag discount, different package weights and estimated consumption duration can be put into the same account. The option that is only a dozen yuan more expensive during the promotion may lead to a completely different total cost when purchased at the regular price for a long time.

Age-specific positioning also has boundaries. According to the *Regulations on the Labeling of Pet Feed* issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, relevant component and function claims need to be supported by certification materials, and pet feed shall not make descriptions or publicity for preventing or treating diseases. The statement of "suitable for senior pets" only refers to the product positioning. If the pet at home has been diagnosed with a disease, the diet adjustment should be combined with the veterinarian's evaluation. The health descriptions on the staple food package cannot play the role of diagnosis or treatment. If brands make the applicable scope clear, they can also reduce consumers' wrong purchases, returns and mid-way food changes.

From a bag of pet food to a return visit, the reasons for continuous spending are different

The repurchase of staple pet food has a roughly estimable consumption cycle. The next expenditure on medical services depends on whether there are problems that need further treatment. In the report of Xinhua Finance, veterinary experts mentioned that as pets grow older, their care needs will involve screening, diagnosis, nutrition and long-term follow-up. For pet hospitals, making every link clear enough is itself a part of the service.

Taking an abnormal indicator that needs to be tracked as an example, what pet-owning families really need to know is what problems have been solved in this examination, what changes need to be observed in the next examination, which expenses have been incurred, and which expenses depend on subsequent evaluations. When comparing two institutions for the same "senior pet physical examination", the project content, who interprets the abnormal results, and whether reexamination charges extra fees can better explain the possible subsequent expenditure than only comparing the total price of the package. Hospitals can also judge whether the reason why customers keep coming back is the clear diagnosis and treatment arrangement, smooth service connection, or the unused pre-paid package.

CCID Consulting predicts that the scale of China's pet economy may reach 5153.2 billion yuan by 2028, and lists senior pet food, chronic disease management and smart pet raising as noteworthy segmented directions. This prediction provides enterprises with directions for research and layout. For a specific brand, how much long-term revenue it can obtain still depends on whether it can solve the repeatedly encountered demands and how much pet-owning families are willing to pay to solve these problems.

Promotion campaigns can sell out the first bag, while repurchase will not happen until the pet finishes it

According to 21st Century Business Herald citing Tmall data, this year's "Double 11" saw 95 brands from 14 industries cross-border into the pet track. This figure reflects the supply change observed by the platform. With more brands entering, pet-owning families have more options to choose from. Guaipet mentioned in the investor communication disclosed in August 2026 that the company actively reduced inefficient paid traffic, and adjusted the price system and product structure of some brands. Whether the adjustment can bring better repurchase and profitability still needs to be answered by subsequent business results.

Brands can start calculation from the first bag. Gather all customers who buy the same pet food for the first time during the promotion period, estimate the time to finish the food according to the actual purchased specification, and observe how many of these people buy the second bag within a reasonable restocking window and what the actual payment price of the second bag is. Customers who buy 2kg for trial and those who stock up 6kg at one time have different restocking time originally. If we uniformly judge by 30 days after placing the order, the two groups will be mixed together. When making statistics, we also need to deduct refund orders, and distinguish the restocking brought by the next round of deep discounts from the restocking at the regular price.

Then calculate the profit. After deducting the product cost, performance cost, platform fee and extra promotion cost not included in the actual received payment from the actual income of the first order, how much is left to cover the customer acquisition investment? If we no longer issue a coupon for the second bag, will consumers still buy it? Can the extra R&D, production and inventory cost of age-specific products be covered by continuous orders? Even if a brand sells more first orders during the promotion, it can only judge whether the next budget should be invested in drainage or in products more suitable for existing customers after making all these accounts clear.

For pet-owning families, comparing health-segmented products can start with three questions: what specific stage is it suitable for, how much will it cost per month at the regular price, and what is the reason for continued purchase or reexamination. For brands, to judge whether the health segmentation business is successful, we finally need to wait until the promotion ends and the first bag of food is finished, to see how many people are still willing to come back.