Data from the "2023-2024 China Pet Industry White Paper (Consumption Report)" show that "nutritional ratio" and "ingredient composition" have become the decision-making factors that pet owners are most concerned about, which also means that "health" has become The number one demand for pet food consumption. Such changes in demand are not only reflected in the iteration of pet products themselves, but also in the "shuffle and reconstruction" stage of China's pet food industry that focuses on technology and research and development.

Faced with such changes in the consumer environment and industrial environment, the international pet food giant Nestlé Purina has given its own answer - to fully implement the concept of "precision nutrition". At the recently held 2024 Asia Pet Beijing Exhibition, Nestlé Purina also brought its latest achievement-the release of the industry's first "Pet Stepped Feeding Manual", further consolidating its expertise in "precision nutrition" market position in the field. Full coverage of precision nutrition, how does Purina define "stepped feeding"?

Nestlé Purina believes that pet food should provide targeted daily nutritional care for pets at different life stages, and lay a solid foundation for the health of Chinese dogs and cats with high-quality nutrition.

Chen Xiaodong, head of Nestlé Purina’s pet food business in Nestlé Greater China, said in an interview that based on the staged feeding concept, Nestlé Purina’s product planning is two lines, one is life cycle and The second line of immunity needs is to provide targeted solutions in the adult stage according to the individual constitution of dogs and cats, different health conditions and special nutritional needs. Based on these two lines of comprehensive nutrition and product solutions, Nestlé Purina is committed to meeting the nutritional needs of cats and dogs in different situations throughout their life cycle.

The "Pet Feeding Manual" released this time explains the general principles of pet feeding in stages, popularizes the importance of staged feeding, balanced feeding and nutritional assessment, and shares the basic principles of pet feeding. The scientific and authoritative step-by-step feeding method formed by multi-party evidence includes the key points of development and nutritional assessment of dogs and cats at each stage, prone health problems in adulthood and nutritional prevention suggestions, etc., which will provide scientific information for industry practitioners and pet owners. Staged feeding recommendations for pets.

With the help of the "Pet Stepped Feeding Manual", Nestlé Purina will also cooperate with its complete product line to further expand the influence of "stepped feeding" on the industry and consumer sides: Consumer influence: Complying with the scientific pet-raising needs of contemporary pet owners, meeting the multi-dimensional development needs of pets in terms of physiology, nutrition and behavior, we provide exclusive feeding suggestions for pets at each stage, and use product combinations at different stages to meet different needs at different stages. Allow pet owners to choose pet food suitable for each stage. Guide Chinese pet owners to make reasonable choices of pet food and promote pet health.

Industry impact: Through the step-by-step feeding manual, Purina hopes to share professional knowledge with pet stores, pet hospitals, breeders, and industry KOLs and KOCs, and help them continue to improve their professionalism and service capabilities. Ultimately, it provides pet owners with more professional and refined scientific feeding guidance and nutritional solution suggestions.

To build a “polygon warrior” for pet food, how does Purina improve its product strength?

The realization of "staged feeding" also means bringing the company's production technology and research and development to a higher level. As a pioneer in the global pet food industry and one of the leaders in pet care, Nestlé Purina has created an industry history of more than 130 years and is the first in the world to devote itself to animal nutrition research and establish R&D centers.

From Purina’s establishment of the world’s first pet care research center in 1926, to the establishment of eight R&D centers around the world, Nestlé Purina has more than 1,700 research and development centers ( Including scientific and technological patents that have been approved or are under review). On the production side, Nestlé Purina Tianjin Factory has brought the world's leading dry food research and development technology and production standards to China, and continues to promote Chinese production and Chinese innovation to meet the consumption upgrade needs of Chinese pet owners.

Based on its strong production and research capabilities and the product concept of "staged feeding", Nestlé Purina has made full use of its century-old R&D experience to bring a full range of precision nutrition products.

For the life cycle line, Nestlé Purina has subdivided the life stages of dogs and cats - subdividing the life stages of dogs into infancy, adulthood and middle-aged and old age, and dividing the life stages of cats into The stages are subdivided into weaning, infancy, adulthood and middle-aged and old age, bringing the "Life Stage Series" products to meet the nutritional needs of dogs and cats at each stage.

In addition to the product concept of "staged feeding", based on the individual physique of dogs and cats, Crown Energy focuses on common "gastrointestinal health, weight management, urinary system health, skin health" etc. for pets. Several major functions form the "Professional Care Series" products.

In addition, in response to the allergy phenomenon that occurs when raising pets, GN has also introduced the world's first GUAN Neng Changfu series of adult cat food (PRO PLAN LiveClear) to the Chinese market that can solve the problem of human allergies to cats. It can gently and effectively neutralize the special allergens in cats that trigger human allergies, thereby reducing human allergic reactions to cats.

In addition, GN has also extended its product tentacles to the prescription food field, which is more niche but requires higher production and research capabilities, and has cooperated with veterinary scientists and veterinary scientists to meet the special health and nutritional needs of pets. Nutritionists jointly developed and after extensive clinical verification, the "Guanneng Prescription Food Series" products were launched.

From age groups, immune needs, and special nutritional care, GN has achieved comprehensive coverage of pet nutritional needs, and provided scientific and accurate nutritional solutions for dogs and cats at different life stages, truly helping pet owners. Realize "staged feeding".

With a comprehensive layout in the big market, how does Purina implement "global marketing"?

Based on its strong product strength, Nestlé Purina achieved extremely outstanding performance achievements in 2023 and achieved double-digit performance growth. Nestlé also pointed out in the financial report that Purina pet care business is Its largest contributor to organic growth. In addition to its strong product strength, the "global marketing" strategy that Chen Xiaodong mentioned many times in interviews with the white paper team is another key to success.

In the past few years, Nestlé Purina has been pursuing a global marketing strategy in channel construction. At present, the consumption environment of Chinese consumers is developing rapidly, which means that their demand for products and services will also increase, and they even hope to get good product and service experience anytime and anywhere. Therefore, on the business side, Nestlé Purina does not simply emphasize online or offline, but provides customized products and services based on consumers' diverse needs.

It is also based on this principle that Nestlé Purina has made a comprehensive layout from the brand, marketing and channel sides:

On the brand side, Nestlé Purina implements a comprehensive Market level coverage: In the ultra-high-end track, it has introduced cross-border products such as North American high-end brand Merrick and PRO PLAN LiveClear; in the high-end track, it has deployed the scientifically nutritious Guanneng brand; The wet food track creates exquisiteness; the mass price track has the Xiyue brand. So far, Nestlé Purina product lines have spanned dry food, wet food, high-end and mass markets, providing Chinese consumers with more comprehensive and detailed product services in this way.

On the marketing side, Nestlé Purina finds a consumer-gathering content platform based on the consumption and media habits of different consumers, and produces content accepted by consumers for customized content marketing. Taking the young people, the largest group of pet owners at present, as an example, Nestlé Purina has created an expert group of 100 people based on the needs of young people. Based on their media habits, it selects opinion leaders and Kol, and publishes them on Xiaohongshu, Douyin, etc. The platform launches customized content to promote Nestlé Purina's excellent products and concepts in a rhythmic manner.

On the channel side, Nestlé Purina has also specially formulated a sales strategy for global distribution based on the shopping habits of Chinese consumers. In the past two years, Nestlé Purina has launched online-including traditional e-commerce , emerging e-commerce, store-to-home, offline professional channels, traditional channels and emerging channel distribution layout, allowing consumers to hear recognition and finally turn into actual consumption conversion.

Chen Xiaodong also emphasized on this, "For Nestlé Purina, whether it is a product or a brand, the big principle is to strengthen the concept of global services. According to the consumer's consumption scenarios, in different scenarios, Developing different product and service standards based on his different needs. Frankly speaking, this global service model is more demanding than traditional business services, but as long as it is done well, it can become our core competitiveness. ”