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[Forkball]

Shanghai bank employee Frances Chen spends about a fifth of her monthly salary on her poodle, Cookie, one of the millions of pet owners turning China’s pet care industry into one of the fastest growing in the world.

Chen takes Cookie to a groomer for a weekly shower and feeds it imported food, costing her some 2,000 yuan ($320) a month. “I want to give him the best,” said the single, 26-year-old who lives with her parents. “He’s our kid. The only difference is that he can’t speak human languages.”

Once banned by Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong as a bourgeois pastime, having a pet has now become a symbol of financial success in China, where consultants Euromonitor forecast the pet care sector to grow by more than half to 15.8 billion yuan ($2.6 billion) by 2019, outpacing the world’s biggest market the United States, which is expected to grow just over 4 percent this year to $60.6 billion.

The prospects have multinationals such as Mars Inc, Nestle S.A., Procter & Gamble Co. and Colgate-Palmolive Co. licking their lips, especially as growth in the overall retail market slows along with the world’s second largest economy.

Dogs are by far the most popular pets and dog food sales alone are expected to almost treble to over $760 million by 2019, Euromonitor data shows, as higher disposable incomes make keeping a pet an affordable luxury for more Chinese, particularly in more developed cities.

The loneliness and stress endemic to city life are also driving the pet ownership boom: last year, some 30 million households, or nearly 7 percent of the nationwide total, owned a dog, Euromonitor said.

Matthias Berninger, Mars’ global head of public affairs, said there is plenty of room for growth in China’s pet food market, which is already expanding beyond most industry expectations.

“Pet food penetration in China is very, very low,” he said. “People didn’t believe chocolate would ever be something Chinese consumers would like, let alone that Chinese consumers would become passionate pet owners.”

The U.S. firm renowned for its confectionery owns pet food brands including Pedigree and Whiskas.

Mars was the market leader in China two years ago with a two-thirds share, according to the latest Euromonitor data. Nestle-owned brands were second with just over 16 percent followed by local firm Nory Pet (Shanghai) Co. Ltd with an almost 7 percent share.

“There is huge demand for pet food as owners give up feeding their dog rice and meat and switch to proper pet food,” Chen Xiuqiang, sales manager at pet food importer and distributor Guangzhou Mudi Trading Co. Ltd said.

In addition to branded food, more Chinese are paying top yuan for pedigree dog breeds such as Tibetan mastiffs, and the services and accessories they think these prized pets deserve.

“In big cities like Shanghai, many people feel lonely and treat pets like family,” said pet groomer Zhao Huanhuan. “People are now willing to spend on their pets as much as they are willing to spend on their parents.”

Beijing pet photographer Yipets offers clients packages- including pet costumes and styling- that range from 388 yuan to 8,888 yuan ($63-$1,430) while a one-month dog training course at JinJiaJun Kennel can cost 5,000 yuan.

Luxury retailers are also benefiting. U.S. firm Chrome Bones, which opened its first China franchise in Shanghai in September, said sales have risen by up to 40 percent a month.

The brand specializes in Swarovski-crystal encrusted pet collars that cost some $260, snakeskin carriers that start at $3,800 and patent leather beds and bowls.

“The prospects are very good,” said shop owner Chen Yinfeng.

Pet pampering has also become big business. Cole Zhang, who owns Blue Bone near Shanghai’s famed riverfront known as the Bund, offers to chauffeur canine clients in a Ferarri or a Maserati, a service he said costs up to 500 yuan per kilometer. It is often booked out, he added.

“On average, we have more than 100 clients a week. We usually work overtime on weekends,” he added. “Most of my customers treat their dogs very well and they are willing to spend a lot on their dogs.”

Does anyone here spend an exorbitant amount on their pet? I thought putting a dog in a baby carriage was too far, but it seems like that's step one.

 

[Dusk Golem]

I had a turtle who I bought fish for since he seemed to like and hunt and eat him, and I'd have to clean the aquarium for fish guts. Filter replacements and fish wasn't costly at all. I would let him out on the yard or in the house and watch to make sure he didn't get hurt or lost. Sometimes I'd take him to a nearby pond to swim a little with some other turtles that lived there, but always kept my eye on him to make sure he didn't get away, but strangely he never really went too far and just would let me pick him up when I needed to go.

I don't know, I do think animals have conscious and personalities, but I also don't know if they appreciate this stuff or not. Maybe they do, maybe they have the ability to like or dislike this stuff based on who they are, but it all just seems like a money-wasting hobby to me for those who have too much cash to spend and want to fixate on spoiling something that keeps them company rotten. That's maybe over-generalizing it, but like... Does the dog care if it rides in a Ferarri? I really doubt it.

For better or worse, I can see why China with its economy would find big success in the pet industry, however.

 

[PixalTheCat]

My husky and cat are my daughters and I treat them as such too.

Kairi eats a filet or a ribeye every night. She's my baby and I want her to always be healthy and happy.

Good for those that spoil their pets as well. Good pets will be honest and loyal until the end. Can't say that about people.

 

[YesNOnoNOYes]

My dogs prefer cheap dog food over the gourmet brands so it's a win-win????

...

I love my dogs but idk... After some point in expenditure, I think all that money spent on an animal reflects a little poorly on the owners.

 

[stilgar]

Good for those that spoil their pets as well. Good pets will be honest and loyal until the end. Can't say that about people.

Well

That escalated swiftly

 

[Vhalyar]

Forcing a dog to wear a bunch of ridiculous, impeding shit seems like the opposite of pampering.