Alibaba’s supermarket starts 2023 with strong pet food sales

GlobalPETS learned that high-quality pet food and treats performed very well in the e-commerce platform days ahead of Chinese New Year’s Eve, which fell on 22 January 2023.

Sales of pet apparel spiked over 60% at Tmall Supermarket in the week before the start of the festive period, according to the company.

The excellent performance of the category in the first days of the year follows a 40% growth in revenue during the popular Singles’ Day Festival on 11 November 2022. 

Retail sales for imported pet food brands in China have grown from less than $100 million in 2016 to $1 billion in 2021, according to Alibaba. 

Premium pet food

Data from a white paper by C2 Capital Partners, a private equity firm and consultancy Bain & Company for Alibaba, concluded that a shift in attitudes had fuelled demand for premium commercial pet food that promotes pet health and welfare. 

The study also revealed rapid progress across China’s pet food sector. The white paper suggests the sector is primarily driven by increased pet adoption among young people, women, and high-income groups living in first and second-tier cities.

Supposedly, nearly 45% of new pet parents in China are in their early thirties, and almost 60% are female. “For this group of [young] consumers, pets are playing an important emotional role as extended family members,” it says. 

The study concludes that China’s young generation of pet parents are mostly from middle-class households with monthly incomes between RMB4,000 ($588 / €549) and RMB20,000 ($2,943 / €2,743).