China Daily Global Edition (USA)
Gastronomic meals, for furkids
Aself-confessed “science and tech geek” who has a passion for quantum computing and artificial intelligence, Franziska Gloeckner has spent the past 12 years in Shanghai working in various construction companies, taking on roles that include process engineering, quality management and software development.
Earlier in March, she decided to quit her job at an American construction firm in Shanghai to focus on her own startup, Pawsome. While big data is an integral part of the operations, Pawsome’s products actually have little to do with information technology.
It sells handmade food for dogs and cats.
According to Gloeckner, her company is the first in China to offer meals that are specially tailored to a pet’s nutritional needs. Pawsome also sells a variety of snacks and standard meals that are prepared based on what the company has analyzed and determined to be the general nutritional requirements of pets in China.
“A unique selling point of Pawsome is certainly the customization. You can submit information about your dog’s health condition via an online registration system and our team of experts will put together meals based on his or her requirements,” said the German entrepreneur.
“For example, we have clients whose dogs suffer from liver issues and we had previously advised them to customize their meals instead of buying our standard offerings as those have high protein content, which is not suitable for such a health condition.”
The idea of starting the company was sparked when Gloeckner’s golden retriever Kolya nearly died after a severe food poisoning episode in 2014. The incident prompted her to feed the dog freshly prepared meals instead of dry food from a well-known commercial brand. After discovering how Kolya’s condition had dramatically improved because of the new diet, Gloeckner decided to raise awareness about the importance of providing a safe and healthy diet for pets by setting up Pawsome in late 2015.
She claims that she would only work with a food supplier if she knows the origins of their ingredients, and that the meats, fish and vegetables used in Pawsome products are sourced from certified international suppliers and credible local wholesalers. Some of their ingredients, such as calcium, have even passed purity tests conducted by Wessling Consulting, a German analytical and testing firm.
According to Gloeckner, the company’s products have grown 30 percent year-onyear since it was founded.
Pawsome’s entry to the market comes at a time when an increasing number of Chinese are spending more on their pets than ever before. According to consulting firm Euromonitor, loneliness and stress resulting from the pace of life in megacities are With a growing number of people treating their pets just like their children, high quality handmade foods for dogs and cats are proving to be a lucrative business in China
An increasing number
quality sustenance. Beijing-based BarkBox specializes in creating handmade birthday cakes for dogs and cats. of handmade pet food brands have been emerging in China's booming pet care sector in recent years as owners look to provide their furry companions with among the factors boosting pet ownership. The firm also found that there are around 30 million households in China that own a dog.
“People are now paying more attention to the wellbeing of their pets. In fact, pets are becoming a new or extended form of parenthood. Many families have now a dog or cat included in their concept of a family,” said Gloeckner.
Just like how family members throw birthday parties for one another, Chinese have been doing the same for their pets. This is where Beijingbased BarkBox comes in.
Founded in 2012 by three animal lovers who volunteer at an animal adoption center, BarkBox sells handmade food products for pets, with its bestseller being the birthday cake that can be customized to feature the pet’s portrait. The brand’s products are currently only available on e-commerce site Taobao and are not the same as those from a US company of the same name.
BarkBox co-founder Hui An said that it all started when an adopter at the center asked if the volunteers could hold a birthday party for a dog that was ill and did not have long to live. Knowing how the usual ingredients in a cake are not suitable for dogs, Hui and her friends handmade a birthday cake specially for the occasion.
“Following that incident, we continued to feed handmade food, prepared by a friend of mine named Ying Qin who studied pet nutrition, to the animals at the center. We saw how the homeless dogs in the center became healthier and were convinced that we humans shouldn’t be the only ones eating healthy. That’s when we decided to open a shop to offer nutritious food to pets.”
The reception for BarkBox’s products was overwhelming, with sales growing by nearly 50 percent every month during its first year of operations, said Hui. The company now has plans to deliver its popular cakes to overseas customers.
China is currently the thirdlargest dog-owning market in the world with Shanghai and Beijing being the key sectors. Authorities revealed in late March that the transactions in the domestic pet food market grew from 19.32 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) in 2013 to 53.5 billion yuan last year. It projects that the industry will grow at a rate of 30 percent per annum to hit 150 billion by 2020.
According to Euromonitor, increasing disposable incomes are driving growth in China’s pet food industry. Government data shows that China’s per capita disposable income in 2016 was 23,821 yuan, up 6.3 percent year-onyear in real terms. The percent rise in 2015 was 7.4 percent.
But while Gloeckner’s company has won some pet owners over, businesses like hers only account for a small portion of the market. Euromonitor found that American food manufacturing giant Mars, the owner of pet food brands
Pets are becoming a new or extended form of parenthood. Many families have now a dog or cat included in their concept of a family.” Pawsome
Franziska Gloeckner,
founder of
Pawsome founder
Franziska Gloeckner and her dog Kolya. The German claims her brand is the first in China to offer fresh meals tailor-made to a pet's nutritional requirements. like Pedigree and Whiskas, is the market leader in China. Nestle, which owns brands such as Alpo, Friskies and Purina, also has considerable market share.
Another major factor driving growth in the pet food sector is e-commerce. Nestle spokesperson Nancy He told China Daily in an earlier news report that pet food ranks among the fastest-growing categories online next to infant and baby nutrition.
Options for consumers are poised to increase as well. In April 2016, food for dogs and cats were for the first time included in the “positive list” for goods imported through cross border e-commerce, meaning that such imported products now enjoy easier access to China’s burgeoning market. The sector received a further boost when the country’s first cross-border pet industry experimental zone was set up in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on March 27.
From dry food such as kibbles to canned wet food to freeze-dried patties to homemade meals, pets owners are spoilt for choice when it comes to feeding their pets. According to Kantar Worldpanel, about 80 percent of pet owners in China buy pet food while the rest prepare homemade meals. The firm also found that most people buy dry foods.
Karolina Weiss, Pawsome’s head nutritionist, said that this ratio could be due to the kibble diet being perceived as being the healthiest option among others. She noted that kibbles are
also the most convenient way to feed one’s pet because there is no preparation required, and is hence the best option for those living in fast-paced cities.
“My mother said that cooking for me and the whole family already takes quite a lot of effort. That’s why our dog eats kibbles. It’s just more convenient and practical,” said Chen Ruiye, a Shanghai native who owns a mixedbreed dog.
But are commercial kibbles more nutritious than homemade meals? Or is raw food, according to some purists, the best option for man’s best friend?
Weiss said that it is not a matter of form, but a matter of content.
“There is no best option — the food should ultimately suit the individual pet’s requirements. Raw food might work for one dog but not for another that has a compromised immune system or acute digestive issues. A poodle’s nutritional demands in Shanghai certainly differs from a sled dog in Alaska and this aspect must be considered when creating food for dogs,” said the German.
“In my opinion, a good diet is one that is balanced, speciesappropriate and made using fresh and whole foods. But creating such a meal actually requires a lot of knowledge that most pet owners lack.”
Weiss, who owns two handicapped dogs, said that a pet’s nutritional requirements should only be determined by a certified animal nutritionist as many vets around the world are not trained to provide such advice. Carmen Cheng, who owns four dogs, believes that fresh food options are generally more trustworthy than commercial food. She claims there are many vendors on Taobao selling fake pet food and that she once found bugs inside a bag of kibbles she bought in China. She does not think that pet food sold in physical stores are more legitimate either.
Her skepticism about commercial brands is not entirely unfounded. Alibaba, the owner of Taobao, had in March released a statement announcing that it was suing an online merchant suspected of selling fake Mars pet food.
“Actually, fake pet food is not a China problem — it is a global problem,” clarified Gloeckner.
“There was once a scandal in the US about a commercial pet food company using euthanized animals in their food and this killed several pets because the dosage of the drug used to euthanize animals was still high enough to kill a pet. I think the world didn’t care too much about what went into pet food until now,” she added.
To boost consumer confidence, Hui said that BarkBox does not use any chemical preservatives and displays all the ingredients used. The company also sends its products for safety tests by the local food and drug safety bureau.
At Pawsome, all treats and meals are prepared only through dehydrating, baking or freezing, said Gloeckner. For their raw meals, the food is freshly prepared upon demand and never precooked — pet owners are even taught how to prepare these meals using sous vide bags that help maximize the retention of nutrients. The company also goes to the extent of educating clients about pet nutrition and health through their blog and seminars.
In spite of her reservations about commercial food, Cheng does not feed her dogs fresh meals exclusively, pointing out that it makes more financial sense to mix dry food from a trusted source — she only buys kibbles from a friend who handmakes them every month — with fresh food.
Lester Amara, an Indian national working in Shanghai, does the same, too. He explained that the particular grade of Royal Canin kibbles he buys costs 105 yuan per bag and would last his dog two weeks. In contrast, feeding his dog a Pawsome-only diet over the same period would cost about 1,000 yuan.
“Kibble is good for dogs as it generally has the basic essentials. I also chose to buy Pawsome meals as they are fresh, extremely nutritious and a lot of research goes into preparing them,” said Amara.
Weiss encouraged pet owners to view the extra expenditure on quality meals as a worthwhile investment in the health of their furry companions.
“Living a healthy life is all about preventing diseases, and that counts for our pets as well. Nutrition is at the core of health — you are what you eat. Providing high quality food to our pets saves us vet costs in the long term. It also keeps them by our side for a longer time.”