Gourmet products and e-commerce driving pet food industry

A model dog shows pet clothes at a pet food and necessities fair in Beijing. [Photo/VCG]

This year, sales of dog and cat food will likely increase by 10.65 percent to 4.57 billion yuan, according to London-based market research company Euromonitor International.

There is a great potential for further sales growth as experts estimate that 75 percent of pet owners in China still feed tablescraps to their pets.

In fact, Mintel calculated that sales of dog and cat food will grow to 7.1 billion yuan in 2020, thanks to higher disposable incomes.

Swiss food giant Nestle SA, owner of six pet food brands in China, including Dog Chow, Friskies, Cat Chow and Fancy Feast, notes pet food is a promising market in the country with an annual growth rate of 25 percent.

It plans to expand its distribution networks to reach smaller cities, and launch more wet food products to meet the demand for premium food.

"There is a huge opportunity to further explore the non-dry business in China. This includes wet food and treats," said Nancy He, a spokesperson for Nestle. "Although its scale is still relatively small, the growth is expected to be very fast."