The COVID-19 pandemic has changed many things in our lives, including the way we interact with other people. During this difficult time, many people feel lonely and isolated. One way to cope with loneliness is to get a pet.
Data shows that the search volume for the word “Pets” in Search Engines increased by 88%, where before COVID-19, the search term in Google was only 222,000 and jumped to 419,000 searches in 2021.
In line with data from Bisnis Indonesia in 2022, 45% of Indonesians had pets during the pandemic. This shows that pets are becoming increasingly popular as friends and companions for Indonesians. This trend also influences the pet food in Indonesia.
Domestic Cats Are the Favorite, What About Dogs?
Indonesia is a country with a Muslim majority, where in the Quran and Hadith, it is not recommended to keep dogs. Therefore, raising a cats is more popular than dogs. Aligned with the data from 2021 Rakuten Insight Property, also shows explains the proportion of pets in Indonesia, cats (47%), fish (22%), birds (18%), dogs (10%), and other pets (3%).
Although the number of dog owners is not as large as cats, the pet food in Indonesia and pet care industry for dogs is very promising. This can be seen from the GMV of the best dog food and the best cat food which only differ by 8% in 2022 based on data from Euromonitor International in 2022.
From the above, dog owners have a greater buying power, as can be seen from the price of the best dog food and dog care which is more expensive than other pets.
Opportunity for the Pet Food Industry in Indonesia
The pet food business in Indonesia has positive growth. The CAGR of the Indonesian pet food industry is 24.7%, showing an increase in CAGR from 2016 to 2021. The value of the Indonesian pet food business market in 2021 was USD 370.6 million based on data from Euromonitor International 2022. Indonesia is the second largest market in ASEAN after Thailand.
The growth of the Indonesian pet food business is driven by several factors, such as the increasing number of pet owners, increasing awareness of the importance of pet health and welfare, and the increasing number of pet food products available on the market.
In Indonesia itself, pet food in Indonesia is still dominated by imported products, around 95%. On average, it is dominated by products from the USA, Switzerland, and Thailand. Therefore, local or new entry products still need more effort in regards to expanding the market.
It is important to emphasize that the buying power of Indonesians to buy pet food in Indonesia is below IDR 200,000 per month. This shows that Indonesians are very “price sensitive”, and tend to choose goods that are affordable. Therefore, pricing in the pet food business in Indonesia is very crucial.
In terms of distribution, based on data from Euromonitor International 2022. In fact, most of the distribution of pet food in Indonesia is 64% through retail in 2021, but this retail distribution is dominated by products that have a high market share and a large capital.
Therefore, for new entry products that are just starting a pet food business in Indonesia, e-commerce is the most appropriate and economical channel. Although e-commerce distribution only covers 26% of the market share, but in terms of distribution growth it is quite fast, around 92.7% in the last 5 years.
Effective Marketing Strategies for Pet Food in Indonesia
How is the marketing trend for the pet industry? Now pet influencers are becoming an option to increase awareness, especially for new entry products. Pet Influencers are people or animals that have many followers on social media and are known for sharing content about pets, such as recommendations for good cat food.
Unlike Taiwan or the United States, which use websites for transactions, in Indonesia, most product sales use e-commerce and social media. Especially for new products with brand awareness and GMV that are not too high. Therefore, E-Commerce and Social Media Marketing, especially TikTok, is an effective way to reach pet owners and increase pet food in Indonesia sales.
Opportunity to Develop the Market to Indonesia
The opportunity to develop the market to Indonesia is very wide, but it needs to be very detailed in understanding the Indonesian market. cacaFly Metrodata Indonesia provides great end-to-end solutions support for those of you who want to go deep into the Indonesian market. Feel free to contact us www.cacaflymetrodata.com
