More tech to improve lives of new darlings
From the finest pet foods to topnotch toys, pet owners always want the best for their furry family members.
Just like people who enjoy the convenience brought by smart hardware, pet owners now also want to bring high-tech modern gadgets into the pet world.
PETKIT Network Technology Co Ltd, a designer and producer of some of the world’s leading smart pet products, has seen rising growth opportunities in the blue ocean market.
Founded in 2013, the Shanghaibased company offers a wide range of smart pet devices including automatic feeders, smart waterers, selfcleaning litter boxes and airconditioning smart pet houses. It aims to bring convenience and safety to pet owners caring for their furry friends such as cats and dogs.
Guo Weixue, co-founder and CEO of PETKIT, said most of the company’s consumers are young pet owners born in the 1990s. Working in a fast-paced environment, the young pet owners are not always available to care for their pets due to heavy demands at work or frequent business trips.
“We aim to make pet ownership easier and more efficient,” Guo said. “While pet owners are away from home, pets will be taken better care of with the help of PETKIT products and services.”
For instance, pet owners can schedule feeding and control the PETKIT smart pet feeders on their smartphone with the PETKIT app while they are away from home. And the company’s air-conditioning smart pet house will allow consumers to remotely customize the temperature inside the pet house by using the app. The built-in sensor will detect the presence of the pet and record data such as resting time.
In August, PETKIT announced the completion of a $50 million round of Series D financing led by Belgium-based investment company Sofina and Chinese alternative asset manager CDH Investments’ wealth management platform. It also attracted a slew of return backers such as GGV Capital and Qiming Venter Partners.
PETKIT provides products and services to over 30 countries, including the United States, Japan, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
While taking a rosy view of the smart pet products sector, Guo said spending on smart products only accounts for a small part of owners’ overall spending for their pets.
“Pet owners will spend more on products and services such as pet food, healthcare services and pet grooming,” Guo said. “So we aim to offer pet owners a one-stop destination to access everything from pet tech solutions, pet food, pet care and medical services through our omnichannel approach.”
The company has operated an offline chain of pet chain stores since 2016 to offer pet products and services. As of August 2021, the number of PETKIT chain stores reached more than 1,500 across China.
According to Guo, PETKIT earned nearly 500 million yuan ($77 million) in revenue last year, and he expected to see the figure reach around 1 billion yuan this year thanks to the rapid development of China’s pet market and the strong recovery of the economy.
Pan Helin,executive director of the Digital Economy Academy of the Zhongnan University of Economics and Law in Hubei province, said the emerging pet economy will offer increased business opportunities for various sectors such as pet grooming, pet hospital, smart pet products and pet hotels.
“China’s booming pet economy is particularly driven by people’s improved living standards as well as changes in the way people think and live,” Pan added.
“Due to the aging of the population, the complicated landscape for interpersonal relationships and huge pressure on personal lives, there are more singles and DINK groups. Many of them are choosing to keep pets for their companionship.”