How many pet owners stayed up late scouring live-streaming platforms to stock up on supplies for their furry companions? The annual TikTok 618 shopping festival has concluded, revealing the latest trends in China's booming pet economy. This mid-year sales event not only tested marketing strategies of pet brands but also provided valuable insights into evolving consumer behaviors.
Market Overview: Sustained Growth with Category Diversification
The top five pet product categories by sales volume during the 618 festival were:
- Cat food
- Dog food
- Fish supplies
- Cat litter
- Cat snacks
Notably, the top three categories each surpassed 100 million yuan in estimated sales, demonstrating the substantial market potential. The pet industry's top 10 categories on TikTok showed an average growth rate of 21%, indicating that promotional activities remain a significant driver for consumer purchases.
Market Structure: Fragmented Landscape Creates Opportunities
The pet market shows remarkably low concentration levels. The top five brands collectively hold just 9.5% market share, while the top ten account for approximately 15.5%. This leaves 84.5% of the market to numerous small and medium-sized brands, creating ample opportunities for new entrants with innovative products and unique value propositions.
Category Trends: Cats Dominate While Fish Emerge as Dark Horse
Cat Food: Maintaining its leading position, the cat food category continues to show strong growth despite market maturity. This reflects both industry-wide expansion and China's growing cat ownership.
Cat Snacks: Experiencing the fastest growth in 2024, the cat snack segment's performance highlights pet owners' increasing willingness to spend on products that satisfy their pets' taste preferences and emotional needs.
Fish Supplies: Emerging as the third-largest category by sales, fish-related products represent a new growth area, possibly due to consumer preference for pets requiring less space and maintenance.
Brand Performance: Leadership and Rapid Growth
Among TikTok's top 50 pet brands, the leading brand commands 12.5% market share, demonstrating strong sales performance and brand influence. Following closely are brands like Miaofansi and GoldenTales with 6.1% and 4.5% shares respectively.
All ranked brands showed positive sales growth, with traffic indices consistently above 99, indicating excellent platform visibility crucial for conversion. The standout performer was Kuanfu brand with 988% year-over-year growth, while median growth rates remained between 100-200%, reflecting the sector's overall vitality.
Competitive Strategies: Traffic Dominance and Operational Excellence
Market Leaders: The top brand's significant market share underscores the advantages of established brand equity and marketing capabilities.
Mid-Tier Competition: Numerous brands clustered in the 10-20 million yuan sales range face intense competition, requiring continuous innovation in products, marketing, and customer engagement to differentiate themselves.
Growth Drivers: The positive correlation between traffic indices and growth rates confirms that effective content creation, live-streaming commerce, and influencer collaborations remain critical success factors on TikTok's platform.
The 618 festival results reaffirm the pet economy's strong growth trajectory. For brands seeking competitive advantage, understanding market trends, innovating product offerings, and mastering platform-specific operations will be essential for success in this dynamic sector.