Will Pet Care Products Become a New Track for Making Money?

Li Xiangyang

Editorial Department of Detergent ＆Cosmetics,China

Many cosmetics brands seem to be unfamiliar with the pet care sector and know little about the detailed development of this area.However,as the pet industry is growing more and more popular,many domestic and overseas large companies of personal care such as Unilever,Bloomage Biotechnology and Cheerwin Group,and well-known beauty makeup and skin care brands such as Kiehl’s and Aesop have entered this sector successively.In the consumption of pet-raising people,imported pet supplies are their first choice,with no exception as to pet care products.At the same time,no representative brands concentrating on pet care have occurred in China so far.Therefore,there is a large development space for domestic brands in this orientation.

1 What features do pet care brands launched by scaled enterprises have?

In Australia,Japan,Canada and the European Union,pet cleaning care products are subject to different supervision systems according to their product claims.If a product is claimed to have the function of disease prevention or treatment,it will be classified as medicine or veterinary drug.However,in China,the only industrial standard for pet cleaning care products is QB/T4524-2013 Cleaning Care Agents for Pets,in which,the test about aerobic bacterial count is based on Hygienic Standard for Cosmetics;and pet cleaning products with pharmaceutical function should follow Administrative Measures for Development of New Veterinary Drug.

Though the market demand is great,the existing industrial standard is too single.In fact,pet care products should consider pH value of ingredients,natural edibility of raw materials,whether to cause skin allergy and other aspects,so they have a high requirement about safety.From the perspective of product safety,pet care products from cosmetics giants or makeup / personal care brands tend to be trusted by consumers for their own “halo”.For example,the two pet cleaning care brands “Stubborn Tail” and “Deshi”launched by Cheerwin Group subordinate to Liby Group;the “pet-embracing series” launched by the skin care brand Kiehl’s subordinate to L’Oreal;Australian skin care brand Aesop,China’s daily chemical brand Cnnice,and maternal ＆infant brand Baby Care have all entered the pet care area.

In 2020,Unilever launched an earth-friendly pet care brand Cafuné in Brazil,claiming that the recipe is mild,mainly natural extracts,and does not contain any ingredients that may have adverse effect on animals.The products mainly include four types of pet shampoo,two types of hair conditioner,wet tissue,cat litter,and family disinfectant and cleaning products.

In 2021,Unilever launched another pet care brand DOLI PLANET,which has entered Tmall flagship stores.Likewise,the brand highlights natural extracts and its recipe is designed according to different hairs and skins.For example,in the shower gel with“whitening and fluffing” effect,common skin care ingredients such as hydrolyzed silk protein,nicotinamide and squalane are added,which claim to be able to make the hair of the pet glossy and fluffy.

The pet brand HYAPAWS subordinate to Bloomage Biotechnology has also added in pet care products ingredients of skin care product class,including cationHA™-Clear1 and Nano HA,which are Bloomage Biotechnology’s patented ingredients of hyaluronic acid.The micro-molecular hyaluronic acid is more beneficial to absorption and utilization of ingredients.Now the brand has entered Tmall flagship stores,and products such as shower gel,pet shampoo,disposable mousse,disposable gloves,claw care cream,and ear ＆eye care gel specific for cats and dogs are being sold online.

With the boom of pet care,raw material companies of personal care have provided some support in recipe technology.For example,BASF develops recipes for specific dog breeds or specific types of hair according to knowledge about human hair care.They have selected 3 key ingredients respectively.

20世纪90年代初，我在《中国社会科学》上发表的论文引起较大反响，主要是《论社会科学基础》（1991年第5期）、《社会科学现代化的观念前提和技术基础》（1993，3），被多家报刊转载和评论。据说引起了高层的重视，中共中央机关刊物《红旗》杂志（后更名为《求是》杂志）专门约我写了《社会科学走向现代化的理论思考》一文，发表于该刊1994年第22期。这篇文章也在多家杂志转载。这些论文讲的就是社会科学怎样以系统科学的理论和方法作为基础，推动社会科学现代化。

In addition,DOW Chemical with organic silicon as their main products is also involved in the area of pet care.Their performance-enhanced organic silicon material portfolio can display a good unwrapping performance in shampoo and hair conditioner,and achieve the effect of moisturizing and retaining fragrance.

2 The products are more refined with increasing specialization degrees

According to the data of Qichacha,there are altogether 1.1035 million enterprises in business /remainder enterprises with the key word “pet” in China.In terms of investment and financing,according to data statistics,in the first half of 2021,there were a total of 25 financing events in the pet industry with a financed amount of 6.056 billion Yuan.It can be seen that the pet industry is paid close attention to by the capital market.However,as a subdivided demand in the whole industry,pet care is still facing many challenges in the domestic market.On the one hand,the domestic pet cleaning care is still in a long-term state of supply-demand imbalance.Most inventory supplies are overseas brands distributed through agents.On the other hand,rare products in the market will be promoted from the perspective of professional science popularization,so they have a very limited influence on users’ mentality.

However,it has become a consensus for brands that have entered the sector of pet care to develop in a more professional and subdivided direction.

2.1 Make customized care according to pets’hair and skin peculiarities

Domestic and overseas brands focusing on“professional pet care” have launched many individualized pet care products,which are finely distinguished according to discrepancies in pets’ hair and skin peculiarities.

Founded in 1992,the American natural care brand TropiClean has launched pet products featured with tropical fruit perfume and made from safe and natural ingredients.TropiClean PerfectFur pet shampoo series are classified according to different types of dogs’ hair such as long hair,short hair and frizzle,and so can meet different demands such as making hair supple,in-depth cleaning,rapid drying and deodorization.In addition,the brand has launched TropiClean OxyMed series products.Mainly made from colloid oatmeal,aloe,vitamin E and mild surfactant cocamidopropyl betaine,the anti-allergy shampoo for pets has provided a care program for cats and dogs of skin sensibility.

The domestic pet care brand Xuediao Liuxiang is devoted to bathing shampoo products.It is said that the special shower gels launched by Xuediao Liuxiang make customized recipes specific for 12 different dog breeds,and adopt different recipes and odor types according to the hair and body odor of each breed.

2.2 Technologies specific for deodorization,sterilization and anti-allergy

Efficacy has been a major standard for measuring the technical content of products,and efficacy-oriented pet care products are occupying a large proportion of the market.At present,most pet care products in the market take deodorization,sterilization and anti-allergy as the common publicity direction.Of them,many brands start from efficacy and form marketing highlights of the products through relevant technologies.For example,AMO PETRIC,a Danish organic care brand for pets,is mainly made from plant ingredients such as avocado,calendula and grapestone,and its product line categories include organic care creams such as pet foot-moistening cream,nose-moistening cream,tear stain cream and skin cream,and cleaning products such as shower gel,hair conditioner,disposable foam and pet wet tissue.The organic care cream series treat plant molecules with the black technology “small-molecule isolation technology” so that small-molecule vegetable proteins are generated.On the one hand,it can retain water.On the other hand,it can form a protective film to isolate secondary harm from the outside.The main ingredients are fructus hippophae oil and olive oil.As to the forest care series of shower gel for dogs launched by AMO PETRIC,they claim to have adopted a “black technology for deodorization”:DeoPlex plant protease,which contains hydrolytic enzyme,lipolytic enzyme,oxidation-reduction enzyme,etc,and can convert the grease,secretion and stinky substances on the surface of a pet into other odorless substances or relevant salts so as to remove or restrain the emission of odors.The shower gels target different hair or skin types.The shea nut essential oil series are suitable for dogs with long hair/frizzle,while the fir essential oil series are suitable for dogs with short bristles/sensitive skin.

Apart from preventing skin allergy of pets,some products claim to be able to relieve hair allergy.For example,the American pet supply brand Allerpet mainly promotes anhydrous pet care products that can restrain allergy for human beings.Its product efficacy verification was once supported by Bayer Company of Germany,and relevant research results were published as theses in conference journals.

According to the study of Allerpet,Fel d1 is a kind of glycoprotein existing in sebaceous and salivary glands.Usually called “cat allergen”,it is a main factor for causing hair allergy of cats.Allerpet’s anti-allergy disposable spray for cats is mainly made from plant extracts from aloe,green tea,rosemary and matricaria recutita,and can prevent human beings from allergic reaction caused by cats mainly through removing sebaceous gland excretion (Fel d1),saliva and scurf from the hair.

2.3 Portable pet care products

As consumers’ demands for portable products keep on increasing,many portable niche categories have occurred among pet care products.For example,disposable foam,dry cleaning powder,disposable glove,pet wet tissue,etc.

Zaisan,a domestic new prominent pet care brand founded in 2020,mainly focuses on all-scene cleaning and care health areas for pet-raising families.Its production line has covered six scenes such as toileting,showering,facial cleaning and aesthetic nursing.The pet disposable gloves launched by Zaisan infiltrate bath foam essence into gloves through integrating mask supply chains so that you needn’t wash the gloves by water and can achieve clean effect while fondling your pet.The small-pot bath capsule launched by the brand is being promoted by many bloggers for their features such as nice-looking small package and portability.Focusing on deodorizing function and combination of cleaning with care,the products contain the same fragrances as four luxurious perfumes,that is,Mon Paris,London Spring,New York Beauty and Berlin Girl.

At present,as an emerging category,disposable gloves and small-package bath capsules do not have a high occupancy rate in the whole market.By comparison,products such as disposable spray and dry cleaning agents are more widely popularized.For example,brands such as Japan Lion,SOS,Xuediao Liuxiang and Japan OneNyan once launched disposable care products.

In addition,some brands have launched travelling packages associated with care products.For example,the classical series and shining black series of bathing shampoo in travelling package launched by Italian brand ISB contain 50 mL of shampoo and hair conditioner,which are sold at 69～99 Yuan.

2.4 Pets also need oral care

People’s attention to pet care and health is comprehensive,not restricted to cleaning and care of the body and hair.Therefore,oral care begins to become a new demand point.This seemingly novel area also takes on a diversified competition tendency.

To mention pet oral care,Cature should be one of the domestic representative brands.Oral care products have a high repurchase rate and stickiness,are widely demanded in the market and are directly associated with the pet-raising sense of consumption decision-makers (pet owners),therefore,they became the initial entry point for Cature brand.

Drawing inspiration from commonly-used mouthwash,Cature has developed edible tooth-cleaning water and tooth-cleaning powder specific for cats and dogs,which are mainly made from persimmon extract and brown algae extract and said to be able to effectively prevent diseases associated with dental plaque.In addition,the tooth-cleaning water is added with inulin,which can relieve ozostomia caused by alimentary metabolism.

Cature has also launched Feileshu facial pheromone spray that can relieve stress reaction of cats.It is said that the product contains 10% of cat facial hormone analogs,which can protect and appease cats from stress reaction caused by strange environments by simulating cats’ secretion of pheromone.The product has entered many pet hospitals.

At present,Cature has incubated several subsidiary brands such as the cat litter brand Maodianxia,oral care brand Ru’er and pet nutrition brand Tiantianle,and has entered over 5 000 offline pet hospitals and physical stores.

Gailc,a new prominent domestic pet personal care brand themed with probiotics care products,has launched relevant products such as probiotics tooth-cleaning water,oral spray and breath spray.According to the brand,the most important thing of an oral care product is to guarantee the safety of long-term use.Probiotics can not only regulate oral flora but also have a high security assurance.Gailc adopts a patented technology concerning active probiotics,which involves a micro ecosystem composed of up to 18 probiotics.Its product contains ingredients such as lactobacillus,bacillus,streptococcus salivarius,bio-enzyme and prebiotics,and vitamin B2that can prevent inflammation.

Before that,many overseas cat food brands are exposed to have the problem of “toxic cat food”,making many pet-raising people shake with fear.In terms of product use,there is a great discrepancy between pet care products and ordinary care products,and it is uncontrollable that they will be licked by pets.Therefore,product safety should withstand a more rigorous test.Only when safety as a primary condition is met can the product develop in other diversified orientations.

As a whole,in the area of pet care,large groups have strong product R＆D strength and comprehensive testing systems,so tend to receive more attentions.At the same time,some domestic and overseas new prominent brands can grasp niche and subdivided demands more quickly and accurately,and perform various tests for the safety of their products.After the boom for emerging categories fades away,only safe and professional brands and products can stand the test of time and gain a firm foothold in the market,rather than vanish as soon as they appear.CDC