China: From imitator to innovator

A global driver

A few years ago, the Chinese government determined in the well known five-year plan that China has to become a global driver of innovation. Based on this government policy, the leading Asian exhibition CIPS has taken the initiative to create an Innovation Platform for the pet industry.

Why the Innovation Platform?

Innovation is becoming vital for the pet industry. Pet retailers need innovative products to compete with hyper-/super markets, but also especially to create a competitive edge in order to make the difference in the omnichannel world. Nowadays, consumers have high demands and orientate themselves on the internet (and via social media), a channel that builds and erodes reputations.

In addition, society driven factors stimulate innovation. The Paris climate agreement forces all of us to put sustainability high on the agenda. Implementation requires a new way of looking and thinking, which is again a demand for innovation.Also, technical developments such as 3D-printing, nanotechnology, alternative protein sources, big data, et cetera are sources for innovation with a lot of opportunities for the pet industry.

Innovation is a necessity

To make this a succes, companies will have to organize themselves differently. How to stimulate creative thinking? How to implement innovations in a new way? This was the main topic during the last GlobalPETS Forum Asia.

This Innovation Platform was started on 15 November, the evening before this year’s CIPS. On this evening, all main CIPS clients were invited to a VIP meeting where the Innovation Platform was launched.

How to establish the Innovation Platform?

In order to establish the Innovation Platform, several initiatives have already been taken. This includes:

• In 2017, four young companies who started profound innovations in the pet industry won the Pet Company Innovation Award. In the next years, this Award will be continued.
• During every CIPS event, the Pet Product Innovation Award will also be handed out. The jury is formed by industry experts as well as the public in order to guarantee that true innovations are rewarded.

In our next publications, we will follow up about more news and further steps.

Pet Company Innovation Award 2017

pidan

pidan was founded in Paris in 2014 and specializes in product design for cats. They uphold the purpose of ‘full of goodwill, creative, brave and stable’. Not only does pidan want to provide cat lovers with useful, special and irreplaceable products, but also believes their products make raising cats more convenient and scientific, offering a much more pleasant living experience for both cats and cat lovers. pidan is committed to serving animals all over the world to create a better future for the coexistence of human and animals.

PETKIT

PETKIT is a high-tech company dedicated to design and produce smart products for pets. Founded in 2013, the company has rapidly developed into one of the leading technology firms in the pet industry. The PETKIT app was created to support the PETKIT products system, to link all different scenes in a pet’s life. The focus is on helping pet owners to take care of their pets more easily to enhance the petkeeping experience and lower the feed complexity. To make every pet lover own their favourite adorable fur baby is PETKIT’s striving direction.

Himalayan

Himalayan Pet Supply began in 2003 based around the company’s first product; the Himalayan cheese chew named ‘Himalayan Dog Chew’. It was discovered to be a pet favourite when the two friends Nishes and Suman Shrestha realized that Nishes’ dog Kaos loved the hard cheese traditionally made for people in the Himalayas. By 2016, Himalayan Dog Chew was a leader the industry. They expanded the business in other pet categories as well, transforming the company from a single product-oriented business to ‘Himalayan Pet Supply’. Now they also offer retailers treats, toys and gear.

Yumax

Yumax is a very young brand. ‘The easier, the happier!’ is the core concept of this company. Unlike traditional manufacturing companies, Yumax pays more attention on organism breeding and technological innovation, hoping to guide the hardware development through optimizing the breeding technology, and create simpler and more user-friendly products through the combination of hardware and software, so that more people can easily enjoy the fun of aquarium breeding