Big winner in niche track: market breakthrough enabled by localization

"Life is ragged, and dogs patch it up." This is not only the title of a best-selling book that records pet healing stories, but also a vivid portrayal of contemporary consumers' view of pets as spiritual comfort.

As emotional value becomes the focus of consumers, the "pet economy" has emerged and become one of the hottest fields in recent years. From its inception to its popularity, the domestic pet market has attracted many sellers in just a few years. Niche pet products continue to emerge and are highly favored by pet owners, and dark horses frequently appear in many subdivided tracks.

The rise of the pet economy and Puainta’s path to breakthrough

When Indian business magnate and investor Ratan Tata died last October, his will left the bulk of his personal fortune, valued at around £91m, to his dog Tito, with a separate requirement that his butler and chef, who received part of the estate, provide Tito with "unlimited care".

The story sounds incredible, but it is not an isolated case.

In 2022, a woman in Florida, USA, left her $2.5 million mansion and a large inheritance to her cat after her death; in 2021, a wealthy businessman in Tennessee, USA, left a $5 million inheritance to his sheepdog; in 2015, a woman in New York, USA, left a legacy of more than $1 million to her dog; in 2010, the famous British fashion designer Alexander McQueen also left a legacy for his pet dog after his death...

In modern people's lives, pets are becoming more and more indispensable, and they play an increasingly important role as companions.

With the help of this trend, the pet economy has continued to expand in depth and breadth, giving rise to various sub-sectors ranging from basic pet food and care to high-end pet therapy and insurance, covering all aspects of pet life.

Against this backdrop of advantages, Puainta, a new domestic brand, entered the pet medicine market, which has a higher threshold, and chose the anti-parasitic products segment for a breakthrough.

In the early days of Puainta's entrepreneurship, the domestic pet deworming market showed a clear imbalance between supply and demand: on the one hand, the variety of pet deworming products available was relatively scarce; on the other hand, high-priced foreign brands dominated the market with their first-mover advantage.

Puainta has a keen insight into the huge and continuous demand for pet deworming, pet skin health and daily health care products. Deworming products have a high repurchase rate because they need to be used regularly every month or every two months, which provides an excellent opportunity for Puainta to enter the market.

After more than ten years of deep cultivation in the market, Puainta has won the first place in sales volume, sales revenue, word of mouth, etc. on multiple platforms, with annual sales reaching 1 billion yuan, becoming a leading brand in the industry.

In 2022, Puainta noticed that the competition in the domestic pet deworming market was becoming increasingly fierce, and "going overseas" had become a consensus among domestic companies. With a mature supply chain system, Chinese brands are able to make products that meet consumer needs and respond quickly to changes in demand; at the same time, as domestic marketing theories gradually catch up with the world, they have even gained a leading position in content marketing fields such as live broadcasts and short videos.

In order to break through the market bottleneck and seek new growth opportunities, Puainta is targeting overseas markets, especially Southeast Asia, a land of potential. To this end, Puainta has set up an overseas business department dedicated to expanding its international business. However, its ambition is not just to simply "go global", but to move towards a deeper level of globalization. In cooperation with Shopee, a leading platform in Southeast Asia, Puainta has achieved a gorgeous transformation from product exports to brand exports.

Accurate layout to achieve market breakthrough

It’s not surprising that Puainta chose Southeast Asia.

In recent years, the boundaries of Chinese companies' radiation circle are constantly expanding, whether in industry or market. Between the European and American markets where trade barriers are gradually increasing and the African market where all industries are waiting to be developed, the Southeast Asian and Latin American markets are attracting more and more Chinese companies and cross-border sellers.

From the perspective of the pet industry, the number of pet owners in Southeast Asia is encouraging. According to a 2023 survey by TGM Research, more than half of households in Vietnam own multiple pets; and 73 % of people in the Thai market keep pets, exceeding the global average of 58%.

According to industry insiders, in terms of the maturity of the pet market development, the Southeast Asian market is generally in the third tier of industry development, which shows that local consumers' awareness of pet health and wellness needs to be improved, but it also means that the region is a blue ocean market with great potential.

This provides Puainta, who has rich experience in the domestic market, with an invisible growth possibility.

Devon, head of Puainta's overseas business center, mentioned in an interview, " The cultivation of pet health awareness is a process from scratch. In many Southeast Asian markets (such as the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand), consumers' awareness of pet health and wellness is still in its infancy, and many pet-raising families have not even formed the habit of regular deworming, using health products or pet care. In such an environment, market education and waiting for consumers' awareness to improve is a necessary stage . "

"By observing the behavior of pet owners in the market, such as the process of pets gradually transitioning from leftovers as the main food to higher-quality food such as cat food, dog food, and even wet food, we can judge the maturity and consumption level of the local market, as well as the key health needs of pets at this stage , and then accurately determine the product lines that can be entered . "

Affected by the tropical climate, the incidence of pet skin diseases in Southeast Asia is significantly higher than in other regions. The hot and humid environment provides a breeding ground for parasites, bacteria and fungi, resulting in skin diseases being extremely common among pets. The demand for deworming and skin care products among local pet owners continues to rise. With the improvement of the status of pets in the family and the awakening of consumer awareness, pet owners pay more and more attention to the health and hygiene of their pets and are willing to invest more resources in the prevention and treatment of skin diseases.

This strategy, which relies on China's mature experience and combines the characteristics of the Southeast Asian market, is the main reason why Puainta chose to focus on Southeast Asia.

Admittedly, the Southeast Asian pet market also shows significant regional differences, which are mainly due to ethnic composition, economic level and the diversity of pet types.

Take the Philippines as an example. The country has a long history of keeping pets, with a household ownership rate of 81% for pet dogs and 50% for pet cats. As the aging trend of pets intensifies, the proportion of elderly dogs is relatively high, which makes the demand for joint health products increasingly prominent. According to relevant data, more than 70% of pet owners have purchased bone and joint health products.

In response to this , Puainta has made precise arrangements. In addition to focusing on promoting skin disease care and anti-parasitic products, it also promotes pet joint and gastrointestinal health products in some markets .

In addition, there are significant differences in the price sensitivity of consumers in different markets. Take Malaysia as an example. Due to the relatively low overall consumption level, local consumers prefer small-sized products with affordable prices. Based on this, Puainta abandoned the product strategy of unified specifications with the domestic market and turned to developing "mini" specifications that are more suitable for the local market.

For example, in China, the common specification of pet vitamin tablets is 200 tablets per bottle, but in the Southeast Asian market, consumers prefer 100 tablets per bottle, because the small size is more in line with their purchasing habits, and lowering the threshold for first-time purchases is more in line with consumers' trial psychology. In addition, some consumers prefer liquid dosage forms, such as products that can be mixed into pet food or drinking water, rather than tablets that pets can take directly.

Based on detailed market research results and Shopee's platform recommendations, Puainta flexibly adjusted product specifications and usage methods to meet the needs of different markets. It also provided strong support for the promotion of other products through gift marketing and trial packs, gradually opening up the Southeast Asian market.

Puainta successfully entered the market with precise product promotion strategies and highly localized product layout . During the Shopee 11.11 promotion, its order volume surged 4 times compared to normal days, and GMV reached 3 times that of normal days . In the past year, relying on precise market positioning and efficient operation strategies, Puainta's sales on the Shopee platform have doubled .

“Localization” is the key to breaking through

When asked about the reason for choosing Shopee, Devon, head of Puainta's overseas business center, said that when the brand first entered the Southeast Asian market, it mainly promoted its brand and product selling points through new media channels. As the brand's influence gradually increased, the team began to test different e-commerce platforms to find a platform that could effectively take over social media traffic and convert it into actual sales.

As a result, local consumers asked for Shopee store links on various social media platforms , and Shopee, which has been deeply engaged in "localization" , stood out.

During the two years of expanding into the Southeast Asian market, Shopee, as the region's leading e-commerce platform, has provided strong support for brands to go overseas.

In terms of off-site marketing, Puainta has invested heavily in the CPAS advertising strategy of Shopee and Meta , with advertising on this channel accounting for more than 50% during the promotion period . This precise marketing strategy has stabilized Puainta's average daily order volume at 500-600 during the promotion period , significantly improving the brand's market exposure and sales performance.

Devon emphasized, "In operations in the Southeast Asian market, the 'localization' strategy provided by Shopee is one of the key factors driving our success." This advantage also makes Shopee the preferred platform for many cross-border sellers going to Southeast Asia.

Following the platform 's "localization" footsteps, Devon summarized the reasons for its success into three aspects :

The first thing to bear the brunt is the localization of fulfillment . In the Southeast Asian market, pet owners usually choose to buy related products only after their pets show obvious symptoms. Therefore, compared with other types of warehousing needs, pet health products have higher requirements for delivery timeliness, and their demand for timeliness is particularly urgent . Therefore, Puainta joined Shopee's Localized Fulfillment Service (LFF) to improve fulfillment stability by stocking overseas warehouses in advance.

Devon mentioned: "Compared with traditional long-distance transportation, local warehouse shipments reduce the risk of multiple handling of products during sea or air transportation, thereby avoiding problems such as leakage or breakage. Of course, more importantly, local warehousing can significantly shorten the delivery cycle and better serve the urgent needs of consumers." In addition, in view of the special needs of pet health products, Puainta has also set up a "cool warehouse" in the overseas warehouse - a small storage area dedicated to storing products with special requirements for temperature and humidity, which can effectively avoid product damage caused by high temperature or humidity and ensure product quality.

It is revealed that Shopee's localized fulfillment service can improve delivery time by up to 70%. A seller who enjoys this service shared: "Last year, our order volume doubled, and more than 95% of orders can be shipped on the same day. Localized fulfillment not only optimizes costs and speeds up delivery, but also significantly improves buyers' shopping experience."

The second is marketing localization . At a time when content marketing is popular, Puainta, who is well versed in marketing, has not missed the trend of short videos and live broadcasts. They prefer to use local anchors and opinion leaders who are familiar with the aesthetics and shopping preferences of local consumers to promote products and brands, and are committed to conveying brand information in a more friendly way.

Finally, the team is localized . Puainta has set up a localized team in each Southeast Asian market, which is led by local employees . The customer service team facing consumers is also mainly composed of locals. Although English can be used as a communication language, the culture and language habits of Southeast Asian markets vary greatly, and pure English customer service cannot completely solve consumers' problems. The customer service team composed of locals can better understand and respond to the needs of local consumers and provide more personalized services.

Devon admitted that with a series of localization measures, Puainta has successfully integrated into the Southeast Asian market with the help of Shopee, providing consumers with products and services that better meet their needs.

As the brand influence continues to expand in the market, Puainta plans to further enhance the brand's popularity in Southeast Asia in the future. The company will continue to expand its product line and launch pet care and nutrition products. Relying on Shopee's platform advantages, it will achieve a double increase in market share and brand value and become a leading brand in the pet health market segment.

Niche

Winner