In recent years, China’s pet economy has witnessed robust growth, with an expanding market scale, upgrading consumption structure, and improving industrial chain. As residents’ living standards rise and consumption concepts evolve, pets have become important family members, and the pet economy has emerged as a core track in the new consumption wave. In 2025, the pet economy will maintain strong growth, with the market scale expected to reach RMB 811.4 billion. This article explores the four trends and eight business opportunities in 2025, providing valuable insights for industry practitioners.
I. Four Trends
1. Premiumization & Branding
As consumers demand higher quality and stronger brands, premium and branded products will gain greater market competitiveness. In pet food, companies like GuaiBao Pet Products and China Pet Products Group have broken the monopoly of foreign brands through premiumization and R&D investment, increasing the market share of domestic brands. Premium pet foods such as baked and freeze-dried food are seeing rising penetration, with functional formulas (e.g., joint care, coat enhancement) becoming new selling points. Additionally, the pet health supplement market is growing rapidly at over 30%.
In pet supplies and services, smart devices and customized services are emerging as new growth drivers. Popular smart products like automatic feeders and litter boxes continue to hit the market, while AI diagnosis and wearable devices (heart rate monitoring) are being adopted faster. These innovative technologies not only improve pets’ health and quality of life but also meet young owners’ demand for intelligence and convenience.
2. Intelligence & Diversification
Advancements in 5G and IoT will further boost the intelligence of the pet smart supplies market. In the future, more smart devices that can monitor pets’ health and behavior in real time will be launched. These devices will help owners better care for their pets, reduce medical costs, and improve pets’ health.
The pet service market will also diversify to meet owners’ varied needs. Beyond traditional grooming, boarding, and funeral services, emerging services like pet travel and emotional healing are on the rise. For example, Shenzhen Airport has set up a pet waiting lounge to facilitate pet travel; the pet psychological counseling market has huge potential, filling the gap in owners’ emotional needs.
3. Emotionalization & Socialization
Pets have become important family members, and owners’ emotional needs for their pets are growing. In the future, pet companies will focus more on emotional marketing, launching products and services that meet owners’ emotional needs. For instance, customized clothing and pet spas are seeing increasing penetration, satisfying owners’ demand for personalization and fashion for their pets.
The pet socialization boom is sweeping across the market, and pet social platforms will become important channels for brand promotion and product marketing. The integration of online and offline channels is becoming more obvious—pet social platforms are collaborating with offline merchants to host various pet activities, meeting owners’ social needs. These activities not only enhance interaction and communication among owners but also boost brand awareness and reputation.
4. Standardization & Professionalization
As the market expands, industry regulation will become stricter, driving the market toward standardization and professionalization. The government will introduce more favorable policies to promote the healthy development of the pet economy. For example, the “Measures for the Administration of Pet Medical Institutions” will eliminate 30% of irregular small and medium-sized hospitals, improving the overall service level of the industry. Meanwhile, carbon neutrality policies will promote eco-friendly pet products (e.g., biodegradable cat litter), driving the development of the environmental protection industry.
In terms of professionalism, the chain rate of basic medical services in the pet medical field has exceeded 40%, and appointments for high-end services at specialized hospitals are scheduled until 2026. These professional institutions not only provide high-quality medical services but also promote the standardization and professionalization of the entire industry.
II. Eight Business Opportunities
1. Pet Food: Premiumization & Functionalization
The pet food market will maintain its dominant position, accounting for 52.8% of the total market. Premium natural food, grain-free food, and customized fresh food will become market hotspots. For example, GuaiBao Pet Products and China Pet Products Group have broken the monopoly of foreign brands through premiumization and R&D investment. Additionally, services targeting niche markets such as small pets and exotic pets deserve attention.
2. Pet Medical Care: Specialization & Intelligence
The pet medical and health market accounts for 28% of the total market, with health supplements growing at over 30%. Demand for specialized hospitals and high-end services will continue to grow, and the penetration rate of smart monitoring devices will rise from 12% to 19%. The application of AI diagnosis and wearable devices (e.g., heart rate monitoring) will accelerate, reducing medical costs by 20%.
3. Pet Supplies: Intelligence & Customization
The pet supplies market, including smart devices, clothing, and toys, accounts for 12.4% of the total market. The smart device market is expected to reach RMB 48.4 billion in 2025, with products like automatic feeders and litter boxes becoming bestsellers. Additionally, the penetration rate of personalized services such as pet spas and customized clothing (e.g., Hanfu series) will increase by 30%.
4. Pet Services: Diversification & Socialization
The pet service market, including grooming, boarding, and funeral services, accounts for 6.8% of the total market. The compound annual growth rate of pet travel and funeral services exceeds 40%, and Shenzhen Airport has even set up a pet waiting lounge. Pet social platforms will become important channels for brand promotion and product marketing, and the integration of online and offline channels is becoming more obvious. Special attention should be paid to adapting to the silver economy—data shows that the average order value of home care services has reached RMB 300 per visit; pet aging is also worthy of attention, with sales of joint care food for senior dogs growing by 55% last year.
5. Pet Smart Devices: Technological Innovation & Market Expansion
The smart device market will become an important growth driver of the pet economy. Products like smart feeders, water dispensers, and health monitoring devices will attract more attention. For example, smart feeders with remote control and monitoring functions can automatically adjust feeding amount and time, meeting owners’ personalized needs.
6. Pet Medical AI & Genetic Testing: Application of Innovative Technologies
Innovative technologies such as AI health monitoring, genetic testing, and cell-cultured meat will bring new growth points to pet medical care. For example, AI image recognition technology can quickly diagnose pets’ disease risks, improving the efficiency of medical services. Additionally, technologies like AI diagnosis in pet medical care and commercialization of cloning will gradually become popular.
7. Pet-Friendly Policies & Industrial Parks: Policy Dividends & Industrial Clusters
The government will introduce more pet-friendly policies to promote industry development. For example, the “Measures for the Administration of Pet Medical Institutions” will eliminate irregular small and medium-sized hospitals, improving the overall industry level. Local governments are also actively promoting the construction of pet economy industrial parks, such as the Pet Economy Industrial Park in Pinggu District, Beijing, which will focus on multiple segments including pet food, supplies, medical care, and grooming.
8. Pet Socialization & Emotional Consumption: Meeting Owners’ Emotional Needs
As pets transform from “functional animals” to “family members,” emotional consumption will become an important market driver. The rise of pet social platforms will provide new channels for brand promotion and product marketing. For example, the pet psychological counseling market has a potential of RMB 5 billion, and emotional healing services will become an important field to meet owners’ spiritual needs.
China’s pet economy market shows huge development potential and vitality. With the acceleration of urbanization, changes in population structure, and improvement of residents’ living standards, pets have become important family members, and the pet consumption market will continue to expand. In the future, premiumization, branding, intelligence, diversification, standardization, professionalization, emotionalization, and socialization will become the development trends of the pet industry. Enterprises should keep up with market trends, seize development opportunities, continuously innovate and improve product and service quality to meet owners’ needs and expectations. At the same time, enterprises should focus on brand building and marketing promotion, improve brand awareness and reputation, and compete for the blue ocean market. In the fierce market competition, only by continuously improving their competitiveness can enterprises remain invincible in the pet economy market.
