China News Service, Hangzhou, May 28 (Reporter Huang Hui) In the ups and downs of life, companionship with pets and constant healing by pets are becoming a true portrayal of more and more individuals or families today.
Pets become an important part of a family as friends or family members.
Under this trend, the pet economy has become a new blue ocean.
Enter the word "pet" on major e-commerce platforms, and countless products are available: automatic cat litter box, pet smart water dispenser, pet sweater, pet washing three-piece set... In addition to pet consumption upgrades , pet baking, pet insurance, pet schools, pet photography and other services continue to rise.
The "2021 White Paper on China's Pet Industry" (Consumption Report) shows that in 2021, the number of cats and dogs in China's urban areas will exceed 110 million, and the number of pet owners will reach 68.44 million.
Pet baking is popular: give a full sense of ceremony
"The last order for zongzi is tonight. Those who want to add more orders will seize the opportunity tonight. From tomorrow, they will not accept orders for zongzi!" The Dragon Boat Festival is approaching, and the popularity of zongzi has hit again, and this craze has also blown into the pet industry.
On May 24th, Qiu Chengshu, founder of IN Baker's high-end pet bakery, shouted in the circle of friends that it was the special zongzi gift box for pets.
The reporter saw that the bamboo round gift box contains 2 chicken yam healthy egg yolk dumplings, 2 duck meat purple potato healthy egg yolk dumplings, and 2 dumpling egg yolk crisps. The appearance looks very delicate, and it is no different from human food. .
"Our theme of this year's zongzi is health preservation, and we specially added wolfberry to the zongzi to clear the fire and detoxify." She introduced that since the pre-sale started on May 10, the order has been "soft", so the order has been cut in advance.
At present, the more than 600 rice dumplings made by it overtime have all been delivered.
According to reports, many pet "parents" asked a few questions about the price and taste of the zongzi gift box with a price of more than 100 yuan, and then paid immediately.
Nowadays, pet owners pay more attention to giving pets a full sense of ritual.
Not only buying exclusive dumplings for pets, but also customizing birthday cakes for pets, buying pet moon cakes, pet New Year gift boxes, pet glutinous rice balls...
A custom birthday cake for a pet owner.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
Qiu Chengshu, who has been in the pet baking industry for 6 years, has personally felt the growth of the pet economy in recent years.
"Six years ago, when we went to various platforms, markets, etc. to promote, most pet-owning families didn't think that pets needed birthdays." Today, it has become her normal life to post freshly baked birthday cakes in the circle of friends every day.
"We get more than one birthday cake order every day."
At the same time, pet snacks are also varied, including fresh meat egg tarts, chicken sushi rolls, chicken cheese sticks, etc., constantly enriching the taste of pets.
Qiu Chengshu said that she also witnessed the emergence of peers in the pet baking field in Hangzhou last year.
According to the company's data, there are 1.1669 million pet food-related enterprises in China.
In the past 10 years, 2021 is the year with the largest number of new pet food-related companies, and 744,500 new pet food-related companies will be added in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 282.35%.
"Old mother-style" pet raising: hard expenses are considerable
Whether it is "rich" or "poor", the rigid expenditure of pets for a year is essential.
"I love cute cats and have always dreamed of having a cat of my own. When I could afford the cost of raising a cat and I was sure I could be responsible for my cat, I bought a British short blue and white The cat is named 'Bath Bath'." Xiao Wang, a "post-95" girl from Hangzhou, said that because she went to work during the day and was worried that "Bath Bath" would be alone at home, she specially bought another blue cat, "Lan Lan", and it's companion.
A pet cat sleeps in an exclusive bed.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
Talking about the expenses of the two cats, she made an account for the reporter.
When I first raised cats, I had to spend a lot of money. I had to get a few shots of the vaccine, which cost more than 100 yuan per shot. In addition, I had to buy a four-piece set of "cat food, cat litter, cat food pot, cat litter pot", which is necessary for cat raising, and wait until they become adults. And then sterilized.
According to cat food 400-500 yuan a bag, cat litter 50 yuan a bag, the total cost of cat food and cat litter alone will reach 4,800 yuan in a year.
In addition to the basic "eating", Ms. Wang also kept "buying, buying and buying" for pets, buying a series of things such as beds, snacks, nail clippers, toys, cat scratching boards, etc.
"Raising a dog really gives me the feeling of being an old mother." Chocolat, a netizen who raised a Maltese, sighed with emotion.
She said that there are many aspects to consider for dogs.
In one year, dog food costs more than 1,000 yuan, health products cost 3,000 yuan, washing and grooming costs 6,500 yuan, snacks cost 3,000 yuan for teeth grinding, and deworming costs 900 yuan, etc. The total cost reaches more than 20,000 yuan.
Under the economic effect of pets, the reporter visited a certain area in the west of Hangzhou and found that many residential quarters have opened pet living halls and pet hospitals downstairs, and there is one not far away.
The store owner of a cat living center told reporters that the store provides services such as delicate cat care, foster care, and retail supplies, and can also pick up and drop off cats.
Under her leadership, the reporter saw the "standard room" and "single room" in the boarding area, where cats are boarding.
"The standard room is a little smaller. It costs 68 yuan per day for daily life and 118 yuan for holidays. The single room has a larger activity area, usually 118 yuan per day and 168 yuan on holidays." She said that the longest cat fostering time was 3 months. .
As far as the delicate cleaning service is concerned, customers bring cats to the store to bathe every day, and they are even busier on weekends.
A cat exclusive pet living hall in a certain area in the west of Hangzhou.
Photo by Huang Hui
Anthropomorphic service derivatives: development still needs to be standardized
In the blue ocean of the pet economy, a series of anthropomorphic services continue to be derived, such as pet schools, pet hospitals, pet insurance... To a certain extent, although the services around pets are more complete than before, there are still chaotic behaviors , the future development of the industry requires continuous regulation.
Sending dogs to pet schools is nothing new in pet circles.
A Hangzhou woman who once sent her dog to a pet school believes that if the dog does not have bad habits such as biting and barking, there is no need to go to school.
"Naughty is a dog's nature, why should you suppress it?" She admitted that her original intention of sending the dog to school was just to make it happier and have a place to play.
She said she regretted it later.
"The hygienic environment of the pet school I chose was not good, and the dogs were infected with bacteria when they came back." After that, she never considered sending the dogs to school again.
Many people also choose to buy pet insurance to add an extra layer of protection.
However, the effect is different.
Some netizens believe that pet insurance is very important, and they did pay a part of the amount; some netizens said that buying pet insurance is easy to "step on the pit", for example, it will be difficult to settle claims.
At the same time, going to the pet hospital to see a doctor, whether you can "avoid the pit" also requires "luck".
It is understood that there are good hospitals and doctors in the industry, but at the same time, there are also some veterinary hospitals that charge excessive fees for examinations and medicines, and the prices vary among different veterinary hospitals.
In addition, pets may have done unnecessary checks.
It is not difficult to see that the blue ocean of the pet economy has come, and many opportunities have emerged as the times require.
However, the real maturity of the pet-related industry may still be tested and tempered by time.
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