Southeast Asia is emerging as one of the fastest-growing regions for the global pet industry. Driven by three core factors—the demographic dividend of young populations, accelerating urbanization, and the upgrade of emotional consumption—this market with 680 million people is unleashing enormous potential for the pet economy.
Relevant forecasts indicate that by 2030, the size of Southeast Asia’s pet market will reach $25 billion, a colossal business opportunity that has captured the attention of global players.
Yet, beneath this seemingly vast blue-ocean market lie multiple pitfalls, including complex policies and regulations, a highly fragmented market landscape, and cultural and religious differences.
Market Opportunities: Explosive Growth of Southeast Asia’s Pet Economy
The Southeast Asian pet market is experiencing explosive growth. Currently, the regional pet market size has exceeded $20 billion, with an annual growth rate of up to 15%, making it one of the fastest-growing segments in the global pet industry.
Markets across countries are performing strongly:
Thailand’s pet market is projected to grow from $1.46 billion in 2023 to $3.35 billion in 2029, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.87%.
Indonesia is also showing robust performance, with its pet market expected to hit $5.88 billion by 2033 at a CAGR of 9.5%.
A high penetration rate of pet-owning households is a defining feature of the Southeast Asian market. Around 73% of households in Thailand own pets, while the ratio reaches 67% in Indonesia and over 60% in the Philippines.
Notably, the cat economy is on the rise. In Indonesia, 69% of pet-owning households keep cats, compared to just 13% that have dogs. In Malaysia, cats are also the most popular pets, accounting for 60% of the pet population.
E-commerce channels are growing at a blistering pace. In 2024, pet product sales on Indonesia’s Shopee platform hit 228 million units worth $362 million; in Thailand, Shopee’s pet product sales also reached $364 million.
Pet food dominates as the largest segment, accounting for 85%–90% of total pet consumption in major Southeast Asian countries, serving as the primary driver of market growth.
Market Diversities: Southeast Asia Is Not a Single Homogeneous Market
The Southeast Asian market is characterized by significant diversity, with vast disparities in economic development levels, consumption habits, and religious cultures across countries.
Thailand stands as the most mature pet market in Southeast Asia, having entered a "refined development stage". Thai pet owners generally prioritize product functionality, safety, and brand quality, with pet services accounting for as much as 32% of the total market share.
Indonesia and Vietnam are in the phases of "consumption take-off" and "market structure formation". Indonesia’s pet food market size reached approximately $237 million in 2023, registering a year-on-year growth of 24.5%. Cat food consumption in Indonesia is growing significantly faster than dog food, a trend driven by limited urban living space and shifting lifestyles among young people.
Malaysia presents a polarized market. Affluent groups in the country, similar to consumers in Singapore, are willing to pay a premium for high-end pet healthcare services. Cat food holds a 60% share of Malaysia’s pet food market, while dog food accounts for around 31.8%.
Religious and cultural factors exert a profound influence on the market that cannot be overlooked. In Indonesia, due to religious and cultural beliefs, fewer households keep dogs. Traditional Islamic teachings interpret dogs as "unclean" animals, leading consumers in these regions to prefer cats as pets instead.
Overseas Expansion Pitfalls: Practical Challenges for Brands
Despite its enormous potential, the Southeast Asian pet market is rife with pitfalls that Chinese brands must take seriously.
Complex Policies and Regulations This ranks as the top challenge. Policies and regulations vary independently across Southeast Asian countries and lack a unified framework. Importing pet food requires navigating multiple procedures, including product registration, formula filing, and label translation.
For example, while Thailand’s approval process is transparent, it involves numerous stages and is time-consuming. In Vietnam, pet food imports require obtaining a sales license from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, creating a significant barrier for cross-border products entering the market.
Inadequate Logistics and Infrastructure Underdeveloped cold chain logistics and last-mile delivery systems hinder the development of high-value-added products, restricting quality control and rapid circulation of wet food, freeze-dried treats, and similar items.
Intense Market Competition International giants and local brands jointly dominate the pet food category. In Indonesia, international brands once held a staggering 95% market share; although the rise of local players has reduced this figure to below 90%, international brands still maintain a dominant position.
Uneven User Education Levels Most Southeast Asian consumers have not yet formed stable brand preferences, with purchasing decisions heavily influenced by content recommendations and price factors, adding complexity to brand-building efforts.
High Upfront Investment Requirements Zhang Fan, Overseas Director of Bestpet Health, notes that the fragmented Southeast Asian market with limited consumer purchasing power is not a "gold mine" for quick profits, but rather a long-term market that requires patient cultivation.
Success Strategies: Strategic Choices for Chinese Brands Going Overseas
To thrive in this vast yet complex market, Chinese brands need to formulate differentiated strategies to stand out from the competition.
Tiered Market Entry Strategy Prioritize Thailand and Malaysia—markets with early-stage pet economy development and relatively mature market mechanisms—as the first batch of "model markets" for focused investment. For countries in a phase of rapid consumption growth, such as Vietnam and Indonesia, adopt an asset-light approach combining "local operation, e-commerce testing, and social media product validation" for market exploration.
Product Strategy: "Stabilize with Staple Food, Break Through with Functional Products" Launch small-sized trial packs of staple pet food to cover price-sensitive consumers, while offering cost-effective bulk options. For functional products, focus on nutritional snacks, wet food, and supplements, and boost average order value by emphasizing specific product functions.
Channel Layout: Leverage the Dual Ecosystem of "Platform E-commerce + Social E-commerce" Treat Shopee and Lazada as core transaction platforms, while utilizing social platforms like TikTok and Facebook as key venues for brand awareness building and user engagement.
Compliance Capability Building as the Foundation of Overseas Success Establish a unified "compliance document package" in the early stages of overseas expansion. Prioritize completing registration and filing in countries with transparent systems and clear procedures (e.g., Thailand), then replicate this model gradually across other markets.
Localization as the Key to Rooting in Southeast Asia Beyond achieving compliance certifications, brands must understand local cultural preferences and develop localized product systems. For markets with large Muslim populations, focus on cat-related products; in Thailand, the concept of natural pet food resonates strongly with consumers.
Future Outlook: A Long-Term Strategy from Testing the Waters to Establishing Roots
The Southeast Asian pet market is in a phase of rapid growth, with more opportunities and challenges on the horizon in the coming years.
Premiumization and Specialization as Clear Trends As the middle class expands in Southeast Asia, demand for high-quality pet products and professional services will continue to grow. Niche segments focusing on pet health, nutrition, and medical care are poised to capture higher profit margins.
Localized Operations as a Standard for Successful Brands A "country-specific strategy" is crucial in Southeast Asia, requiring brands to tailor products and services according to the culture, religion, and consumption habits of each market.
Brand Building as the Key to Long-Term Success Southeast Asian consumers are gradually developing brand awareness. Enterprises that invest in brand building early will reap greater rewards in the future.
Win-Win Cooperation as a Sustainable Development Path Partnering with local enterprises can help Chinese brands adapt to the market faster and mitigate policy risks.
For Chinese pet brands, the Southeast Asian market is both a promising new blue ocean and a complex landscape that demands patience and strategic wisdom to navigate. Only enterprises that deeply understand local markets, implement differentiated strategies, and are prepared for long-term investment can achieve sustainable growth in this dynamic region.
In the next decade, a number of regional leading brands are bound to emerge in the Southeast Asian pet market—and the choices and layouts made today will determine whether Chinese brands can secure a place among them.
We have successfully designed and produced over 100 products, successfully entering high-end markets such as the United States, Japan, Germany, France, and Russia.
