Sector Trend Analysis – Pet food trends in South Korea

Trade overview

Global imports

The major pet food importers are located in Western Europe and North America, and Japan. Canada was the fifth-largest importer of dog and cat food, reaching US$1.3 billion in 2023. South Korea was the twenty-first largest importer of pet food, reaching US$307.5 million in 2023.

South Korea imports

South Korea has a diverse supply network of pet food providers. China, US and Thailand were the largest suppliers of pet food to South Korea in 2023 with values of US$100.2 million (32.6% market share), US$48.8 million (15.9% market share) and US$37.6 million (12.2% market share) respectively. Canada as South Korea's fifth largest pet food supplier, experienced an increase in CAGR of 5.4% as pet food values grew from US$18.7 million in 2019 to US$23.1 million in 2023.

Canada's performance

In 2023, Canada ranked the tenth-largest exporter of dog and cat food in the world, exporting US$713.2 million worth of dog and cat food to the world, a 3.1% share of the total global exports of dog and cat food.

South Korea, ranked the sixth-largest importer from Canada, received 3.0% (US$21.3 million) of Canadian dog and cat food exports in 2023 with a 6.6% CAGR from 2019 to 2023.

Ontario accounted for 47.9% (US$10.2 million) of the value of pet food exports to South Korea in 2023 followed by Alberta at 41.0% (US$8.7 million).

Given the expected growth of the pet food market in South Korea, Canadian producers have an opportunity to expand their exports and products within the South Korean pet food sector. However, due to South Korea's strict import requirements, including regarding raw materials derived from ruminants, Canadian suppliers are encouraged to work closely with their importers and local partners to ensure their products meet all import requirements before shipping.

Pet food market overview

In 2023, the global pet food market was worth US$134.0 billion retail value. South Korea was ranked the fourteenth-largest market in the world, reaching US$1.5 billion in 2023, representing an increase by a CAGR of 11.3% (2018-2023). The pet food retail sales in South Korea are expected to grow to US$2.1 billion in 2028 at a CAGR of 6.9% from 2023 to 2028.

Pet humanization

Consumers are increasingly treating their cats as family members, and are willing to spend more on their nutrition and wellbeing. This trend has led to an increase in demand for premium cat food that is made from high-quality, natural ingredients and does not contain any artificial flavours, colours, or preservatives. As a result, cat food brands are focusing on developing premium products that meet the demands of consumers. The trends towards pet humanization and premiumization are expected to continue in the future, coming in different shapes and forms, such as human-like food and customized pet technology, providing an opportunity for cat food brands to capture significant share (Euromonitor International, 2023).

Premiumization

With the pet humanization trend, cat food is becoming more premium, and foods specifically for healthcare and functionality are increasing rapidly. Royal Canin offers customised nutrition solutions for different cats based on their condition and their breed. In terms of local brands, Dongwon F&B introduced the Dish series, which uses the same ingredients as human food, while Harim Pet Food's freeze-dried brand The Real offers various products based on human-grade ingredients and functional needs. Harim's The Real Raw product costs as much as KRW47,000 for a 360g pack, making it one of the most expensive pet food brands in South Korea. (Euromonitor International, 2023).

Convenience stores and general merchandise stores potential distribution channels

South Korea has a culture of feeding stray outdoor cats. From small children to adults, many people buy treats or food to feed outdoor cats. Unless they also raise indoor cats, and/or feed outdoor cats daily, it is rare that they buy cat food either online or at a physical store in bulk. For those who like cats but do not raise one at home, convenience stores and general merchandise stores could be a convenient and affordable option to buy treats for outdoor cats (Euromonitor International, 2023

Pet population and ownership

The pet population in South Korea has increased at a CAGR of 5.5% from 5.9 million pets in 2018 to 7.8 million pets in 2023. The pet population is forecast to increase by a CAGR of 6.9% as the pet population is expected to decline to 10.9 million pets by 2028. In 2023, cats and dogs accounted for 62.2% of the pet population while other pets accounted for 37.8%. The cat and dog populations will reach 1.9 million and 3.6 million respectively in 2028. Cat grew much faster than dog at a CAGR of 8.8% and 1.7% respectively from 2018 to 2023. Other pet grew fast too at a CAGR of 9.3% 2018-2023.

Small mammal and reptile increased significantly at the CAGR of 44.3% and 49.8% respectively from 2018 to 2023.

South Korea's dog ownership experienced a 2.3% increase in CAGR from 2.4 million households in 2018 to 2.7 million households in 2023. The corresponding percentage of those households owning dogs increased from 11.5% in 2018 to 12.0% in 2023. The number of households owning cats increased from 0.6 million in 2018 to 0.9 million in 2023 representing an increase in the percentage of those same households owning cats from 2.8% to 4.2% in the same period.

Market segmentation

Cat food

Current value sales of cat food grow by 18.0% (CAGR, 2018 to 2023) to US$614.6 million. Mid-Priced Wet Cat Food had the best performance most dynamic category in 2023 with a CAGR of 31.5% from 2018 to 2023.

South Korea customers spent US$365.7 million on dry cat food and US$136.6 million on wet cat food in 2023. They spent more money buying premium dry cat food (US$210.8 million in 2023) than mid-priced (US$43.6 million) and economy dry food (US$111.2 million). And they also spent more money buying premium wet cat food (US$82.4 million in 2023) than mid-priced (US$54.3 million).

Retail sales of cat food will continue to grow throughout 2023-2028 with an expected CAGR of 9.1%, achieving US$950.7 million by 2028. Premium Wet Cat Food will experience the highest CAGR of 14.0% while Mid-Priced Dry Cat Food will experience the lowest CAGR of 4.3% in the forecast period.

Dry Cat Food will continue to lead cat food categories at US$520.2 million, representing 54.7% of the total cat food in 2028.

Dog food

High inflation rates severely affected dog food in 2022, and this has continued in 2023. Many dog food brands have increased their retail prices by 10-20%, as every cost involved in producing dog food, such as raw materials and shipping, has increased rapidly, having a knock-on impact on prices. With higher prices, consumers have started to look for different ways to minimise their expenses. For instance, they have started to more actively look for discount deals, both online and in physical stores. Thus, economy dry dog food is set to see stronger current value growth than mid-priced and premium dry dog food in 2023 (Euromonitor International, 2023).

The retail sales of dog food reached US$875.6 million in 2023, at a CAGR of 7.6% from 2018 to 2023. Premium wet dog food had the best performance in 2023 with a CAGR of 15.1% from 2018 to 2023, reaching US$183.5 million in 2023. Premium dry food led the sales of dry dog food (US$331.9 million in 2023) with a 6.2% CAGR from 2018 to 2023.

Retail sales of dog food will recover throughout 2023-2028 with an expected CAGR of 4.5%, achieving US$1.1 billion by 2028. Retail sales of Premium Wet Dog Food will experience the highest CAGR of 7.5% while Mid-Priced Dry dog food will experience the lowest CAGR of 0.9% in the forecast period. It is forecast that premium dry food will continue to lead the sales in dry dog food (US$410.4 million in 2028) with a 4.3% CAGR from 2023 to 2028 while premium wet dog food (US$263.0 million in 2028) will continue to lead the wet dog food with a 7.5% CAGR from 2023 to 2028.

Other pet food

While overall pet food is expected to reach sales of nearly US$1.5 billion in South Korea in 2023, other pet food only accounts for less than 1.5% of this total. This shows that dog and cat food still overwhelmingly dominate, and other pet food holds only a fraction of sales.

Retail sales of other pet food increased at a CAGR of 25.0% from US$7.5 million in 2018 to US$22.9 million in 2023 and is expected to recover at a CAGR of 4.9% reaching US$29.1 million by 2028.

Small mammal/reptile food was the largest category of other pet food in absolute value terms with retail sales of US$15.2 million (66.4% market share) in 2023, increasing to 43.5% in CAGR from retail sales of US$2.5 million in 2018. Retail sales of small mammal/reptile food is expected to increase in CAGR by 4.5% to US$18.9 million by 2028.

During the 2018-2023 period, retail sales of fish food experienced the increase in CAGR of 9.5% from US$4.0 million in 2018. Retail sales of fish food are forecast to recover by a CAGR of 6.2% backing to US$8.5 million by 2028.

Retail sales of bird food increased at a CAGR of 7.0% from US$1.0 million in 2018 to US$1.4 million in 2023 and is expected to recover at a CAGR of 4.0% reaching US$1.7 million by 2028.

Company shares

Mars Inc, Daejoo Co Ltd and Inaba Pet Food Co Ltd clearly dominate the cat food sector, representing 44.5% of the market share in 2022, ahead of other competitors. However, Mars Inc and Daejoo Co Ltd had negative CAGRs of −2.6% and −2.2% respectively from 2018 to 2022. Harim Co Ltd gained the highest CAGR of 106.0% over the past five years.

Mars Inc, Wooriwa Co Ltd and Natural Core Co Ltd dominate the dog food sector, accounting for 34.3% of the market share in 2022. Mars Inc and Wooriwa Co Ltd had the negative CAGRs of −0.3% and −3.2% respectively from 2018 to 2022. In particular, Harim Co Ltd had the highest CAGR of 35.8% from 2018 to 2022.

JBL GmbH & Co KG, Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc and LIP Parrot Co were the top three in the other pet food sector, accounting for 8.1% of the market share in 2022. JBL GmbH & Co KG and Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc had the negative CAGRs of −3.3% and −6.9% respectively from 2018 to 2022. In particular, the others had a high CAGR of 0.3% from 2018 to 2022.

Brand shares

Royal Canin by Mars Inc is the top brand in cat food (17.6% share in 2022), followed by Catsrang by Daejoo Co Ltd (9.7% share) and Ciao by Inaba Pet Food Co Ltd (8.4% share). The Real by Harim Co Ltd saw the biggest CAGR of 86.1% from 2018 to 2022.

Royal Canin by Mars Inc leads the brand in dog food (10.6% share in 2022), followed by Natural Core by Natural Core Co Ltd (6.5% share) and Nutrena by Cargill Inc (5.1% share). The Real by Harim Co Ltd saw the biggest CAGR of 84.8% from 2018 to 2022.

JBL by JBL GmbH & Co KG leads the brand in other pet food (3.5% share in 2022), followed by Tetra by Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc (3.0% share) and Lipparrot by LIP Parrot Co (1.6% share). Grovita by Daehan Feed Co Ltd experienced the most negative CAGR of −22.2% from 2018 to 2022.

Distribution channels

Pet food retail sales in South Korea were distributed primarily through retail e-commerce channels (68.9% market share representation), while the remaining pet food retail sales were distributed via retail and veterinary clinics (24.2% and 7.0% market share respectively) in 2023. Most distribution channels' market share representation declined in varying CAGRs between 2019 to 2023. Retail e-commerce increased by the largest CAGR (7.0%) in all channels.

Product launch analysis

From 2019 to 2023, a total of 1,418 pet food products were launched in South Korea. The number of yearly product launches has increased by a CAGR of 1.6% from the launch of 269 pet products in 2019 to the most recent launch of 273 pet products in 2023. Dog Snacks & Treats, Cat Snacks & Treats, and dog food wet were top categories of newly released pet food product launches. No additives/preservatives, Low/No/Reduced Allergen, and Functional Pet - Other were top claims associated with new pet food products released during the prescribed period.

Product examples

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Resources

• Global Trade Tracker, 2024
• Euromonitor International, 2024
• Euromonitor International 2023, Cat Food in South Korea
• Euromonitor International 2023, Dog Food in South Korea
• Euromonitor International 2023, Other Pet Food in South Korea
• Mintel Global New Products Database, 2024

Sector Trend Analysis – Pet food trends in South Korea
Global Analysis Report

Prepared by: Hongli Wang, Market Analyst

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