"The reason why humans need cats is because they can solidify the sadness that you and I tend to fall into when we are alone into the beauty of peace"

O1

OPENINGS

Preserved Egg

The first step of the brand determines 70 % thing.

“We are a group of people who make sculptures in the square. We will not shout with loudspeakers or hold banners. If you like it, just stop and look at it for a while. If you don’t like it, just walk away. We You know, even if we disappear in the square, the square will not become boring because of our disappearance, so we just made a 'sculpture' that we are satisfied with. If you like it, buy it, and if you don't like it, just leave."

The story begins with a cat named "Preserved Egg". In 2015, Ma Wenfei, a drama actor living in Japan, raised his first cat, named Preserved Egg. He was 24 years old at the time. He was standing at a crossroads in life, in relationships, life, and career. He felt that it was time to face his mediocre life, and he was very anxious.

In the few months he spent with the cat, he gradually healed himself. He was responsible for shoveling poop every day, and Pi Dan accompanied him through every moment of his random thoughts. In the same year, Ma Wenfei registered the eponymous brand Pidan in the name of Pidan, and Pidan also became the "chief experience officer" of Pidan.

“If Pidan goes bankrupt tomorrow, your cat will still be able to live a good life. I believe in our specialness, but I don’t believe in our importance. To make products, rely on various content expressions and craft creation to compete This sense of emptiness, when the needs of kittens conflict with consumers, stand on the side of kittens."

Ma Wenfei has always calmly expressed a point of view: "Humans need cats, not cats. Humanity". Just like when we see Pidan's "sculptures", there are no too many words, everything is solidified in calm beauty. If you like it, you can stop and look at it for a while, and if you don't like it, just walk away.

With the literary and artistic temperament of "calm beauty" and the Red Dot Design Award, Pidan breaks out of the circle. With annual sales exceeding 700 million, the brand has gone through ups and downs and seems to have become an unavoidable name in the domestic pet market.

02

CAPITAL

Financing

Before starting the following story, let us look at some data. According to iResearch, the domestic pet industry market size is close to 300 billion yuan from 2015 to 2020, with a compound growth rate of 32%. The industry is expected to maintain steady growth, and the scale may reach 445.6 billion yuan by 2023. As of 2022, at least 22 financings have occurred in the domestic pet track, including 5 financing events of 100 million yuan.

From iResearch

Time cost, feeding cost, living space and urbanization process have boosted the rise of the pet economy, and intelligent and refined pet raising has become a trend.

03

ALONENESS

Loneliness

As Miura mentioned in "The Fourth Era of Consumption", "People are beginning to be more Pay close attention to the meaning of existence and the value of life." Standing at the bifurcation of the third and fourth consumer era, we hear "I would rather raise a kitten than a child." Today's young people are still becoming pets. Mainstream people give pets emotional roles, combat individual loneliness by raising pets, and also make life happier.

Pidan, a cat-first pet products brand, hopes to create a space where humans and animals can coexist harmoniously through its products, and to fight against individual human loneliness.

04

CAT FIRST

CAT FIRST

Pidan’s product line selects about 40 products from 500 SKUs. On a 90-day basis, products that cannot sell a minimum production unit will be cut off. Under this seemingly simple and crude product strategy, in Ma Wenfei's view, "SKUs are what consumers choose to keep with their money." He always believes that there is a natural contradiction in the pet industry, which is that the users of the product and its consumers Not uniformly, what do pets really need? The "Igloo" is an interesting experiment.

Pidan creates a space for humans and animals to coexist harmoniously by designing functional and aesthetically pleasing products and services for pets. It uses artistic and humanistic thinking to create product series, covering cat food, cat Sand, health equipment, tableware, home furnishing, aftercare, cleaning care, toys and peripherals.

Cat-based usage scenarios (home, travel, outdoor) expand the SKU link users’ minds. The price anchors the mid-to-high-end market, focusing on high-net-worth people aged 18-30, who are not price-sensitive, pursue a better life, and have high brand loyalty. 50% of these users are high-frequency repurchases.

The "Snow House" cat litter tray, which won the German Red Dot Award, triggered spontaneous endorsements from Han Han and Fan Bingbing, with sales exceeding 6,000 units in the first half of the year. In 2022, revenue of 500 million yuan will be achieved, with comprehensive gross profit reaching 50%. In July and November of the same year, Pidan completed B+ and B++ rounds of financing worth 50 million each. While many brand owners are still worried about traffic, Pidan uses restrained marketing and serious brand expression to break the myth that traffic is king.

05

EXPRESSION

Humanistic Enlightenment

During the brand’s rise period, Ma Wenfei made an important decision: “Sell cat food in Pidan Until monthly sales reach 20 million, no money will be spent on marketing and promotion.”

Pidan is a niche brand, and its label is unique. In addition to sales, it has done a lot of things that traditional pet brands do not have to do, including creating brand publications and allowing photographers from all over the world to travel around the world with its products. By allowing different creators to participate in brand building, Output high-quality content to deepen users’ awareness of the brand.

The brand promotional video co-produced with director Xin Shixiang Bi Gan does not deliberately reveal the brand, but uses a subtle insight to express the understanding of cats and human life. (The brand’s first cat film was shortlisted for the short film competition of the 75th Cannes Film Festival)

Pidan’s marketing strategy always runs through the brand’s value proposition, through insight into the empathy of different groups of pet owners Point, locate creators in different circles to create content without disturbing users, reach target users, and then use offline and cross-border brand cooperation to attract opportunity groups.

Joint artist Yang Tianzhen launches a series of interview programs to present the stories of different individuals getting along with cats. Together with 6 podcast hosts, from the fields of art, film, culture, psychology, women, lifestyle, etc., individuals will present their understanding of "why humans need cats" from different perspectives.

Co-organized the "Have You Seen the Animals?" animal science exhibition in conjunction with Ming Contemporary Art Museum and ABC Art Book Fair, conveying the beauty of life art and the expression of a wonderful pet-raising life. This public cultural living room belonging to pidan helps it deepen its spiritual attributes and connect users' minds.

06

BENEFIT

Common Welfare

“Why do we do charity? It’s not that we are born good people. Without me selling 20 million packs of cat litter a year, the world would produce 20 million fewer plastic bags. We want to do charity , to make up for these not-completely just behaviors in my heart.”

Pidan has always put cats first and included charity plans as the top priority of the brand. Every time a user purchases a Pidan product, 0.15 yuan of proceeds will be used for the Pidancare charity program that rescues stray cats.

Go deep into communities, campuses, rescue stations, etc. to disseminate to the public the use of sterilization instead of killing, encourage purchasers to pay attention to stray cat groups, etc. to practice the sustainability of the brand and create a dynamic and balanced coexistence space for different creatures. Public welfare claims.

Pidan encourages partners to use donated funds to purchase cost-effective pet food and cat litter with lower transportation costs. Heytea and It Foundation cooperated to launch a charity outdoor supply station for cats, and jointly launched Greedy Cat-friendly menus, shopping bags, etc. with hAo mArket and Fake Magazine. They shared the brand proposition with partners and also attracted more poop scoopers to participate. Go to charity projects to deepen your recognition and trust in the brand.

07

CLOSINGS

Written at the end

In this era of quick success and instant gain, some people choose to slow down and calm down. Put user needs first, deliver brand value through products as content delivery carriers, and do not pursue efficiency-first traffic penetration, but become a long-term brand that slowly tells stories.

Pidan’s office is located on the Suzhou River in Shanghai. It was renovated on the site of the former Fuxin No. 3 Flour Mill. This building built a hundred years ago tells the business legend of the Rong family in the last century. Now it It is a space integrating office, exhibition hall and cafe (shared by 40 people and 2 cats). By the way, the name of the cafe is Sorry Dog.

Recently, Ma Wenfei and his team have just completed the production of the music album "Watching the Moon with Kittens", which will be released in the New Year of 2024.