China vs US Pet Spending Per Pet 2025: A Ten-Fold Gap

Executive Summary#

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China's pet category at USD 11.9 billion in 2025 is roughly 8.5% of the size of the United States' USD 139.3 billion category. On a per-pet basis the gap is wider still, at USD 95 in China against USD 961 in the US, a ten-fold difference that we believe sets the room China's pet category has to grow over the next decade and more. Both markets are expanding at similar percentage rates (China +17.5% YoY, the US +19.7%) from very different bases. Per-pet spend in China rose from USD 83 in 2024 to USD 95 in 2025, an increase of 14.5% YoY. At that pace the market is on course to approach the per-pet level of more mature markets in the region, such as Hong Kong, within five to seven years. Domestic Chinese brands are strongest in the entry and mid-price tiers, and PETKIT, a Chinese pet hardware brand, is visible across Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. For investors and global pet brands, we believe the per-pet spend gap is the clearest way to define the opportunity in China.

The Per-Pet Spend Gap: USD 95 vs USD 961#

We believe per-pet annual spend is the clearest single measure of the opportunity in China's pet category. China, at USD 95, spends roughly one-tenth of the US figure of USD 961, and that ratio indicates how far the category can grow over the next decade.

The gap measures how much room the category has to grow, and it says little about the category's current strength. China's USD 11.9 billion pet e-commerce category grew 17.5% YoY in 2025, from a base large enough to support serious investment and small enough for premiumisation to keep adding to growth for the next decade. Mature markets show how high per-pet spend can go. Per-pet spend itself rose from USD 83 in 2024 to USD 95 in 2025, an increase of 14.5% YoY, which indicates that premiumisation is contributing more to growth than the increase in the number of pets.

Even without any further growth in the pet population, we believe premiumisation alone could lift per-pet spend toward Hong Kong's level over five to seven years, while the US level remains the long-term ceiling.

Why the 10× Gap Implies More Than a Decade of Growth#

Several factors explain the gap between China and the US, and we believe each of them is narrowing.

Lower spending on pet healthcare and prescriptions is the largest single factor: pet healthcare in China, at USD 0.58 billion in 2025, accounts for roughly 4.9% of the category, a fraction of the equivalent share in the US. It is also the fastest-growing sub-segment by ASP. Pet services are the second factor, since services accounted for only USD 0.02 billion of e-commerce GMV in China against a US services market worth several billion dollars. The maturity of pet owners is the third, because China's pet owners are younger on average. As those who took in a pet after 2018 move into their fifth and sixth year of ownership, their baskets widen toward specialty diets, supplements, prescription items and grooming.

The 14.5% YoY increase in per-pet spend from 2024 to 2025 is the earliest evidence that these gaps are narrowing.

Domestic Brands Are Strongest in the Mid-Tier in China#

Seven of the ten largest pet brands by 2025 sales across marketplaces are domestic Chinese brands, and the other three are foreign premium pet-food brands. How the market divides between them matters for who will capture the growth in per-pet spend.

Domestic brands are strongest in the entry tier (under CN¥ 50) and in the mid-tier (CN¥ 50-150), while foreign brands hold more of the premium tier (CN¥ 150-400) and the super-premium tier (CN¥ 400+). Domestic brands have gained ground in the premium tier since 2020-2021, which follows the path that domestic brands took in beauty and dairy as those categories premiumised.

We expect the CN¥ 150-400 premium tier to be the next tier in which domestic and foreign brands compete most closely.

PETKIT and the Hardware-Led Export Model into Southeast Asia#

Southeast Asia is the second-largest external benchmark for China's pet category and the most relevant export region for Chinese pet brands in the near term.

Singapore, at USD 730 million, is the largest pet e-commerce market in Southeast Asia in 2025 across leading cross-border and content-commerce marketplaces, followed by Malaysia at USD 350 million and Thailand at USD 118 million. Year-on-year growth in the three markets ranges from approximately +50% to +70% on a 2024 base, much faster than China's growth rate of +17.5%, from bases roughly one-twentieth to one-hundredth of the size. Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines are not covered as separate pet categories in this dataset.

PETKIT is visible across all three markets, and its approach shows an export model that works, in which Chinese brands compete on hardware and product differentiation more than on price. PETKIT uses Singapore as a premium entry market, Malaysia for volume and Thailand as a small market with fast growth. We believe this approach is a useful template for Chinese pet food and supplies brands that are considering Southeast Asia.

Implications for Strategic Investors#

For investors and global pet brands, the per-pet spend gap points to a specific approach to capital allocation.

Pet sub-segments should be valued as growth businesses, since they have more room to grow than consumer staples. Healthcare and accessories are converging with mature markets over a five-to-seven-year horizon.

Entry into China's premium tier should be timed against the shift in share expected in 2026-2028. Foreign super-premium positioning remains defensible, but domestic brands are competing more strongly for premium-tier share.

Export economics in Southeast Asia now justify dedicated capital. PETKIT's presence in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand shows that Chinese brands have early footholds, and growth rates of +50% to +70% YoY indicate that the cross-border infrastructure is working.

The per-pet spend gap explains why Chinese FMCG companies are investing in pet. Chinese FMCG parents are reallocating capital into pet subsidiaries because the gap represents spending headroom that justifies the move.

Key Takeaways#

China's per-pet spend of USD 95 is roughly one-tenth of the US figure of USD 961, which indicates room for more than a decade of premiumisation.
China's per-pet spend grew 14.5% YoY from 2024 to 2025 (USD 83 to USD 95), with premiumisation contributing more than growth in the number of pets.
Hong Kong's per-pet level is a realistic benchmark over five to seven years, and the US level is the long-term ceiling.
Domestic brands make up seven of the ten largest pet brands and have gained ground in the premium tier over five years.
PETKIT is visible across Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand with an export model built on hardware and product differentiation.
Southeast Asia's pet category in 2025: Singapore USD 730M, Malaysia USD 350M and Thailand USD 118M, growing at +50% to +70% YoY.

About the Data#

This analysis draws on Moojing Market Intelligence (魔镜洞察) multi-platform e-commerce research across the principal China pet platforms and the principal Southeast Asian cross-border platforms. China per-pet spend is calculated against the China multi-platform pet e-commerce category at USD 11.9 billion in 2025. Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines lack standalone pet category coverage in the SEA dataset and are excluded from the country-level comparison.