Southeast Asia Pet Market

Pet Ownership in Southeast Asia

Pet ownership has been growing in the Southeast Asia region for the past decades, with the growing economy in the region, the treatment of pets have also changed according to the living standards of the population. According to the report from Rakuten Insight, as of 2021, more than half of people in Asia (59%) have a pet in their home. Notably, Philippines has the highest dog ownership rate of 67%, followed by China at 53%, and Thailand at 47%. 

On average, of the population of the surveyed 12 markets, dogs have shown to have the highest ownership rate at 32%, cats at 26%, and fish at 15%. Every market aside from Indonesia and Malaysia, has the higher rate for dog ownership.

Which Pets Do You Raise at Home?

Online Survey with 97,000 respondents from Rakuten Insight Propriety Panels; Markets: China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam; Fieldwork: January 2021

Pet Food Market in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asian is still a relatively small market for pet food consumption. 

A majority of pet owners (60%) in Southeast Asian region still feed their companions with scrap food rather than packaged pet food. This is mostly due to the lack of awareness of economy pet food option, as 58% of pet owners reported themselves to be in the under $20,000 income bracket, leading many to feed their pets with leftovers. 

E-Commerce Growth and Opportunities

Southeast Asian countries like Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia have shown significant growth in e-commerce during the COVID-19 lockdown between March and June 2020, observed through ‘out-of-stock’ percentage charts below. However, other countries like Vietnam and Philippines showed little impact due to underdeveloped logistics and delivery infrastructure. 

On the other hand, positive trends have been observed regarding e-commerce growth in all regions as many households now own smartphones, e.g. 70% of Indonesian households now own a smartphone. This results in a rapid growth in e-commerce supported by various successful marketplaces such as Lazada, Tokopedia, and Shopee sellings major brands like Royal Canin, and also by s-commerce and third-party delivery services such as Gojek. 

PETS International | September 2020

Key Players in the Southeast Asian Pet Market

Among the global top ten pet products, only half have presence in the Southeast Asian market. These are led by Mars, Nestlé, and Colgate-Palmolive, which are household names in the region. 

Another significant player is the local Thai company of Charoen Pokphand Group which forms 78% of value sales in 2017 who have presence in the majority of Southeast Asian countries. The rest of 22% are imported, local, and artisanal brands that are struggling to claim a bigger share in the market due to limited access and resources to the region. 

The top 10 companies in Southeast Asia, including private label, are most prominent in Thailand, followed by Malaysia and Indonesia. On the other hand, Vietnam only have the presence of three of the top 10 companies.

To break out of the 22% pool, companies must have a strong foundation in individual markets before expanding towards neighboring regions. With the growth rate of pet care in the region in an upward trend, companies should focus on strengthening consumer education about commercial pet food in order to succeed in claiming more share in the market.

Learn More of Individual Southeast Asian Market Insights:

Thailand Pet Market
Singapore Pet Market
Malaysia Pet Market
Vietnam Pet Market
Indonesia Pet Market

Top 10 Pet Food Companies in Asia

  1. Unicharm Corp. – Japan
  2. Thai Union Group – Thailand
  3. Jeil Feed – South Korea
  4. Real Pet Food Company – Australia
  5. Perfect Companion Group Co. – Thailand
  6. Petline Ltd. – Japan
  7. Inaba Petfood – Japan
  8. Maruha Nichiro Corporation – Japan
  9. DoggyMan H.A. Co., Ltd. – Japan
  10. Nisshin Pet Food Inc. – Japan

Southeast Asian Pet Care Market Growth (2014 - 2020)

The Southeast Asia pet care market is estimated at US$ 952 million in 2014 and expected to reach 1,412.7 million by 2020, reflecting a CAGR of 6.8% during forecast period.

Dog food was valued US$ 491.8 million in 2014 with 51.6% market share. It is expected to lose its market share by 30 BPS but maintain its top position through the forecast period. Cat food is the second largest segment in terms of revenue and will maintain its dominance during the forecast period, owing to new product development in this category. Pet products is likely to exhibit highest CAGR of 7.1% during 2015-2020 with rising y-o-y growth through the forecast period.

The SEA Pet care market is also segmented on the basis of channel which includes supermarket, veterinary clinic, pet shop and others.  Supermarket is the largest channel which account for 36.3% market share in 2014 and likely to continue the same momentum in 2020. Despite being the smallest market, other channel is expected to witness highest CAGR of 7.3% during the forecast period.

The key categories of SEA pet care market are economy, mid-priced and premium products. Mid-Price was the largest category in 2014 which accounted for US$ 547.2million and is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 6.5% from 2014-2020. Despite being the smallest market, premium products accounted for US$ 265.0 million in 2014 and it is likely to expand at the highest CAGR of 7.2% during the forecast period.

Geographically, the market is segmented into six countries namely Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines and Vietnam. Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia together constituted more than 80% of the market share in 2014. Currently, Thailand is the largest market in terms of size with 43.6% market share and is expected to dominate through the forecast period. However, Philippines is anticipate to emerge as the most vibrant market in terms of CAGR followed by Vietnam.

Changing consumer lifestyle and increasing disposable income in Southeast Asian countries is driving increasing acceptance for pets, not only among the high-income group, but also the middle-income group.  Furthermore, rising demands from pet owners for more nutritious, healthy and organic foods for their pets and growth of the pet humanization and increasing adoption of private label brands in countries such as Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia are major factors driving the SEA pet care market.

April 6, 2016 From Pet Food Industry

Debbie Phillips-Donaldson

Asian pet food markets posted the highest growth rates in 2015, ranging from about 10% for China and the Philippines, to nearly 14% for Thailand and Indonesia, up to over 25% for India. That’s according to data presented by Mariko Takemura, lead analyst for Euromonitor International, during Petfood Forum Asia 2016, March 30 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Takemura said Asia accounted for 9%, or US$9.8 billion in sales, of the US$105 billion global pet care market in 2015. (That’s for all pet products, not just pet food.) The region’s compound annual growth rate (CAGR), at 4.6%, is keeping pace with the global growth rate of 4-5%, obviously driven by those small but robust markets in Southeast Asia. With a relatively low penetration rate for commercial pet food—more than 60% of pets eat table scraps or homemade pet food—these countries present a significant opportunity for pet food companies.

While Japan still dominates the Asia region in terms of overall pet care sales, at US$4.8 billion in 2015, its growth has stalled, registering only 0.4% CAGR over the past five years, Takemura said. Still, the country has 20 million cats and dogs whose owners spend US$78 per pet each year. Dry dog food is the largest pet product category, with about US$1.1 billion in sales last year, but it is shrinking, while dry cat food—in fact, all cat products—are increasing in sales because the cat population in Japan is rising. Dry cat food sales reached about US$893 million in 2015, followed by wet cat food at US$586 million. Cat treats registered less than US$100 million but boasted a 19% CAGR from 2010-2015.

Thailand appears to be the exact opposite of Japan: small market size yet with very healthy growth, particularly for dry dog food, with less emphasis on cats (though cat food categories show high growth, too). In 2015, Takemura reported, Thailand reached US$737 million in overall pet care sales and continued its five-year CAGR of 13.7%. Its 8.2 million dogs and cats enjoyed US$52 spending each. Dry dog food accounted for nearly half the overall pet care market, at US$341 million, and increased nearly 15%. Wet dog food, dog treats and cat food all saw much lower sales, yet, are growing 13-16% a year.

With their economies and consumers’ disposable incomes rising, these countries’ pet food markets are projected to continue to grow, Takemura said. That growth is also driven by increasing urbanization, changing demographics (especially fewer people having children) and the increasing popularity of the Internet, where pet parents, prospective or actual, can find more pet-related information and products to buy.

Dynamic discussions and production pains

Petfood Forum Asia highlighted the vibrancy of the Southeast Asia pet food market in many other ways. More than 120 pet food professionals, mostly from the region, engaged in the day-long conference, asking questions of most speakers and networking in between sessions with the speakers, sponsors and other participants.

Frank Yiannas, vice president of food safety for Walmart, started the dynamic discussions with his insights on 21stcentury pet food safety and a call to action for pet food manufacturers. Topping the list: don’t be complacent.

New nutrition research included an intriguing look at the gut microbiota and overall microbiomes of dogs and cats, compared to that of humans, presented by Emma Bermingham, PhD, senior scientist with AgResearch in New Zealand. Kadri Koppel, PhD, assistant professor for Kansas State University’s Department of Human Nutrition, where she conducts unique research into pet food sensory analysis, shared data from a study of the appearance factors of dry dog food preferred by Thai pet owners, compared to preferences of US and Polish owners. And Jeff Alix, global pet nutrition marketing manager for DSM Nutritional Products, explained why guidelines for vitamin levels in pet food, set by the National Research Council, are out of date and nearly irrelevant to today’s formulations and consumer expectations.

Additional compelling presentations covered the market, supply, demand and outlook for marine ingredients, shared by Andrew Mallison, general director of IFFO Ltd.; how to determine relevant indicators of pet food palatability, freshness and safety, explained by Isabelle Guiller, global research and innovation director for Diana Pet Food; and innovations for automating critical, previously manual tasks for pet food production, offered by Galen Rokey, director of process technology for Wenger Manufacturing’s Companion Animal Division.

The current “production pains” that Rokey suggested could be alleviated via automation included continuous dosing of secondary ingredients, even rework; mixing intensity; and new ways to use in-line and off-line measuring devices. The latter could be big, he said. Imagine measuring water activity and even level of cook, real time, at various points in the process without having to shut down the line. “You could go from a three-hour test in the lab to a five-second one in-line.”

 

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