Vetreska Has Received Another 50 Million in Financing. Pet Economy is Developing Briskly.
The role of pets has changed over the years. It no longer feels like a “functional” or inconspicuous part of the home. On the contrary, the companionship of a pet is like having a family member. In order to improve the quality of life of their pets, owners are spending more and more money on their pets.
Thirty years ago, people named their children after “dog”; today, people call their pets “sons.” This is an interesting phenomenon that contains unlimited business opportunities. Browsing social media, you will find that many of those lifestyle celebrities live alone, and are often accompanied by one or more cats and dogs. The video content is refreshing and healing, and the amount of interaction during playback is also considerable. As such, trends in living alone (partly due to younger generations marrying later) and an aging population are further fueling the growth of this hairy wealth. “I can work hard, but my pets can’t.” Therefore, more and more consumers are increasingly willing to spend money on pets.
With demand soaring, venture capitalists are also eyeing markets dominated by dogs and cats. According to EqualOcean statistics, a total of 29 financing events occurred in the domestic pet track in 2021. In mid-2022, pet lifestyle brand “VETRESKA” announced the completion of three rounds of financing worth tens of millions of dollars. Its Singapore subsidiary “VETRESKA FUTURE PET FOOD” has also received a strategic investment of US$50 million from Quest FoF, a fund under the Southeast Asian food giant.
Firstly, the team started with cat supplies, used unique designs to improve brand recognition, and laid the foundation for a mid-to-high-end pet lifestyle brand. Secondly, Vetreska expanded sales through its online and offline agent system, ensured stable cash flow, and replenished “ammunition” for subsequent brand building. Finally, the team used the spokesperson effect, offline direct-operated cat spaces, and co-branded with other companis to make Vetreska outstanding.
A video on Youtube of a cat using a Vetreska sleeping mat had 430,000 views. In addition to the content of the cat acting cute on the mat, there was also a scene of the owner and the cat interacting and sharing space, which was very contagious. This human pet brand creates a psychological feeling that pet owners share their preferences with their pets and thereby helps strengthen the bond between them.
In the sales process, Vetreska’s approach is to “channel first”. The brand has already mastered relatively mature channel resources in its early stages of establishment. Different from most emerging brands that mainly sell on online e-commerce platforms, Vetreska still relies mainly on offline distribution models. Distribution accounts for about 90% of total sales. Vetreska started with cat supplies, and for high-consumption products such as cat litter and cat food, the repurchase rate of supplies is low, which restricted the long-tail development of the brand. In 2021, Vetreska launched cat food imported from New Zealand. Relying on the existing mature distribution channels, it was easier to sell cat food.
Build brand power and break through all channels
Before 2021, Vetreska had been using pet bloggers on major social platforms to reach pet owners and pet lovers. However, there were only a limited number of vertical pet bloggers, and the promotion ceiling was too low, making it difficult for the brand to break out of the industry.
In 2021, Vetreska opened Vetreska Cat spaces in shopping malls in Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Chengdu. As part of the marketing department, Vetreska Cat Space was not sales-oriented. It mainly displayed products and provided pet lovers with cat petting experiences. In this space, Vetreska was not only a cat-loving experience space, but also planed to conduct cross-border activities with other brands to meet user needs from different angles.
Vetreska, who had an international perspective, had begun to deploy overseas business as early as 2020. 2021 was the first year of overseas expansion. Not only had overseas distribution business achieved exponential growth, but the online self-operated territory including DTC, Amazon flagship mall, etc. had also matured.
Vetreska Future Pet Food, which received funding this time, is a pet food company under Vetreska. After the organizational reorganization, Vetreska Future Pet Food will manage Vetreska’s entire pet food business. Vetreska Future Pet Food will also receive research and development support from global research academic institutions, professional veterinarians and veterinary institutions. Relying on an unblocked overseas pet products supply chain, it will be able to provide a series of high-end pet foods to consumers around the world.
Human pet products continue to be upgraded and innovated to create a brand matrix
At the beginning, the Vetreska design team upgraded pet consumer products from the perspective of anthropomorphism and sceneization. They combined elements that women like to with product design, enhanced the uniqueness and topicality of the product, and gave pet products social attributes. This year, the popular products launched by Vetreska included the “Pet Bubble Box” that opened up a new way of traveling and the “Milk Tea Cat Bar Cup”, a cat snack inspired by milk tea.
In Internet slang, it’s “owners empower pets” and “pets empower owners.” After anthropomorphizing pets, Vetreska began to try to apply elements from pets to human product design. For example, they had cross-border cooperation with the nail polish brand Miss Candy to launch a nail polish set with cat-inspired sequins; they also cooperated with the makeup brand Hashtag to launch a cat-themed eyeshadow palette. Next, Vetreska will develop towards a group approach and develop a brand matrix around women’s consumer needs.
Nail polish, dressing tables, jewelry… From the very beginning, it coverd the cat climbing frame to the hostess’s bedroom, living room, study and other scenes, and even the entire clothing, food, housing and transportation of female consumers. The goal of Vetreska is still very clear, just to capture female consumers and never let go. One scenario that may eventually occur is that a female consumer does not have a pet, but she will still pay for Vetreska products. As long as there are elements of Vetreska design, she is willing to pay for it, and then share the “Vetreska lifestyle” on social media. This strong product innovation is also one of the reasons why investors favor it.
At the same time, in the second half of 2022, Vetreska introduced partners in new fields. They jointly launched NFT products, built a virtual “VETRESKALAND”, and created a “metaverse” pet-raising life with consumers. This kind of brand development with clear strategic thinking was the thing that investors are happy to foresee. Starting from pet consumer products, Vetreska has gradually built a vibrant brand, allowing it to embrace the global market with more confidence.
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