China Pet Food Market 2025: Functional Ingredient Trends

Executive Summary#

Functional claims became the main source of growth in China's pet food market in 2025. Product functionality, the selling-point dimension that captures specific health claims, grew 14% year-on-year (YoY) across the staple food segment, faster than any other selling-point dimension once growth is adjusted for scale. Coat health claims rose 63.2% YoY, immune enhancement 41.3% and oral health 43.3%, which shows pet owners moving from basic nutrition toward managing their pets' health through diet. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) herbal ingredients grew 83.1% in cat food alone, an innovation path that combines Chinese wellness traditions with functional nutrition. This article examines how ingredient technology, functional claims and emotional consumption are changing both staple food and snacks, and what these trends mean for brands competing in the CN¥ 37.7 billion combined market.

Ingredient Technology Builds Scale#

Ingredients and craftsmanship remain the basis of competitive positioning in China's pet food market. In MAT 2025 this dimension led staple food sales at CN¥ 23.95 billion, about 30% of all selling point-associated revenue. (Selling point dimensions are not mutually exclusive; a single product may be tagged across multiple dimensions. Sales figures represent the total sales value of products associated with each selling point.) The data shows a clear order, in which ingredient technology builds scale while product functionality drives growth.

Within the ingredient dimension, three sub-categories stand out for their growth. TCM herbal ingredients grew 83.1% in cat staple food and 51.8% across the overall market, which reflects a distinctly Chinese path that blends traditional wellness thinking with modern pet nutrition. Refined processing technology grew 46.2% as brands invest in manufacturing techniques such as freeze-drying, baking and finishing to differentiate their formulations. Finishing techniques on their own grew 36.3% in dog food and 48.8% in cat food, which shows that how ingredients are processed matters as much as which ingredients are used.

Premium animal protein grew 17.5% in cat food and reached CN¥ 800.3 million in sales, which shows that pet owners are willing to pay for higher-quality protein. Hypoallergenic and digestible formulas, by contrast, declined 11.2% in cat food and 8.0% in dog food, which suggests that consumers are moving away from defensive health claims toward targeted, preventive nutrition.

Product Functionality Drives Growth#

Product functionality ranks fourth by absolute sales at CN¥ 9.84 billion, but it has the highest growth rates among the large selling-point dimensions. The functional claims behind this growth differ between cats and dogs, because each species has its own health priorities, and so brands face a different set of innovation choices for each.

In cat staple food, coat and skin health is the largest functional claim at CN¥ 3.61 billion in sales, because the quality of a cat's fur matters both to its health and to its owner. Immune system claims grew 41.3% YoY and oral health 43.3%, which indicates that consumers are becoming more aware of managing health through diet. Digestive system care nearly doubled from CN¥ 1.27 billion to CN¥ 2.51 billion, the largest absolute growth among all functional sub-categories.

In dog staple food, the priorities shift toward bones and joints (+45.9% YoY), weight and body condition management (+46.9%) and coat health (+28.2%). These patterns reflect dogs' active lifestyles and the age-related health problems that owners manage through diet. Products with targeted claims, such as "Milk source calcium plus Vitamin D3" for senior dogs, show how a specific functional claim becomes a clear proposition for consumers.

From Staple Food to Snacks: Functionality Crosses Categories#

Functional innovation extends beyond staple food into the CN¥ 8.19 billion snack market, where ingredient technology and emotional scenarios are the two main sources of growth. Ingredients and manufacturing processes led snack sales at CN¥ 6.79 billion with 12.0% YoY growth, and advanced processing technologies grew 108.4% in cat treats and 92.7% in dog treats, which confirms that manufacturing has become a primary point of difference.

Each functional claim category in dog snacks grew, while growth in cat snacks was more selective. Immune system support and bone and joint care led the expansion of dog snacks, and geriatric conditions grew from CN¥ 24.8 million to CN¥ 64.4 million, which reflects the arrival of snack formulations for specific life stages. Functional nutrients in dog treats grew 61.2%, compared with 1.1% in cat treats, which suggests that dog snacks are at an earlier and faster-growing stage of functional adoption. (Dog snack functional nutrient sales grew from a CN¥ 60.4 million base, compared with cat snack functional nutrients at CN¥ 285.1 million, a difference in scale that partly explains the different growth rates.)

TCM herbal ingredients reached CN¥ 56.1 million in cat treat sales with 13.2% growth. They represent an ingredient path with no direct international equivalent, which gives domestic brands a structural advantage in a category where most of the largest brands are already Chinese.

Emotional Scenarios Support Premium Prices#

Beyond physiological health claims, emotional and scenario-based consumption is growing fastest. The behavioural and emotional scenarios dimension grew 18.7% YoY in the snack market, driven by festival scenarios (+14.1% in staple food; +62.8% in snacks) and fun shapes (+7.8% in staple food; +12.9% in snacks). Holiday-themed products carry the highest price premiums, with cat holiday scene products at an average price index of 112.3 compared with 28.2 for fun poses, and they grew 47.5% for cats and 99.0% for dogs.

The trend also matters beyond pricing. Formats inspired by human food, such as pet cakes at CN¥ 168 per piece, pet mooncakes and Lunar New Year dinners, show that zero-additive formulations combined with the look of human food can command high premiums. Social media reinforces this. During the 2025 Lunar New Year period, social media topics such as "Pet dumpling New Year's Eve dinner orders grew nearly 480%" attracted 7.9 million views, which created demand that brands can plan for each year.

Key Takeaways#

Ingredient technology builds scale, while functionality drives growth. Ingredients and craftsmanship account for about 30% of staple food selling point-associated sales, but product functionality has the highest growth rates, led by coat health (+63.2%), immune enhancement (+41.3%) and oral care (+43.3%).
TCM herbal ingredients are a distinctly Chinese innovation path. With growth of 83.1% in cat food and 51.8% overall, herbal ingredients give domestic brands a point of difference that imported competitors cannot easily copy.
Dog snacks are at an earlier stage of functional adoption. Each functional claim category in dog snacks grew, with functional nutrients up 61.2%, which suggests the segment has considerable room to grow before it reaches the slower growth seen in cat snacks.
Festival scenarios are a repeatable route to premium prices. The highest growth rates (+47.5% to +99.0%), the highest price premiums and the support of social media make holiday-themed products the most attractive innovation opportunity in the snack market.
Emotional and experiential consumption is the next area of competition. As basic functional claims become a minimum requirement, we believe brands that combine health, experience and the bond between owner and pet will gain a larger share of the value.

About the Data#

This analysis draws on Moojing Market Intelligence (魔镜洞察) e-commerce data covering China's major online retail platforms for the MAT 2025 period (December 2024 through November 2025). Sales figures represent online transaction values in Chinese Yuan (CN¥). Growth rates are calculated on a year-on-year basis against the corresponding MAT 2024 period. Selling point analysis reflects consumer-facing product claims as classified by Moojing's proprietary taxonomy across six dimensions.