Taiwan Today

Pet-related businesses are thriving by introducing services similar to those available for humans.

On a warm, sunny afternoon, a dozen guests were enjoying VIP amenities provided by a five-star hotel. One was catching a nice nap on a mattress covered with cartoon prints in his cozy, individual cubicle. Another was getting her black hair carefully dressed by professionals in an exclusive beauty salon. In an airy playroom, a visitor was running with a ball as two others chased after him, showing their natural athleticism. Inside the daycare center, several boarders were enjoying the food at a sumptuous, but healthy, afternoon tea party. Meanwhile, two of the hotel’s most frequent customers were strolling at a leisurely pace in a nearby riverside park while a hotel bus waited close by, ready to pick them up and take them back to their lodgings—Pet’s Dream Park in Taipei City, as these guests were of the canine, rather than the human variety.

Taiwan has turned into an aging society with a sharply declining birthrate. As of the end of last year, there were just 1.05 children being born per woman, according to the Ministry of the Interior, a situation that prompted the US-based Population Reference Bureau to label Taiwan’s birthrate the world’s lowest. At the same time, there has been a sharp increase in the number of “single nobles,” or financially independent singles, as well as “DINKS,” or couples with a double income and no kids. Free from the expense of raising children, many of these individuals and couples are choosing the much less costly—and, as they see it, often less troublesome—option of caring for pets.

With more ready cash available, many members of this new generation of pet owners treat their animal companions as family members, sometimes even lavishing them with attention as if they were human babies. As a result, at places like Pet’s Dream Park, some of Taiwan’s most pampered pets can be seen spending their days in the lap of luxury. At the high end of the pet-care market, the simple boarding facilities of the past are giving way to top-class dog and cat hotels complete with private sleeping cubicles, recreation centers and other amenities, and businesses that offer pet-related services such as grooming, training and veterinary care are also booming.

“As services for pets become more closely modeled after those offered to humans, the gap between the quality of pets’ lives and our lives is shrinking,” says Steve S. Tsou, chairman of the Taipei Pets Appliances Association (TPAA). “That indicates a huge market potential for the pet products and services industries.”

According to the Council of Agriculture (COA), the central government agency responsible for animal welfare, there were approximately 1.27 million pet dogs and 280,000 pet cats in Taiwan as of the end of 2009. A study by the Japan-based Animal Human Bond (AHB) International Group in November 2008 found that about 12 percent of households in Taiwan kept at least one pet. That study also estimated the annual value of Taiwan’s pet-related market had reached NT$25 billion (US$781 million), with about 80 percent of that amount dedicated to food, veterinary care, grooming and boarding, while the remaining 20 percent included the initial purchase of the pet as well as funeral services. In a survey of pet owners conducted by InsightXplorer (IX) Ltd. in January this year, 69 percent of respondents listed an average monthly expenditure of less than NT$1,000 (US$31) on their pets, while 7 percent spent more than NT$2,000 (US$62) each month.

Willing to Spend

“To keep their pets healthier, help them live longer and even look prettier, people are now much more willing to—and are able to—spend what it takes; definitely more than they did before,” Tsou says. “That can also mean enormous profits for businesses in the field.”

The success story of Pet’s Dream Park is a case in point. Founded in 2005, the 835-square-meter hotel is dedicated to dogs, providing ample facilities for their accommodation and amusement. Depending on the size of the dog and whether it has been neutered, costs for a single day and night of boarding range from NT$420 to $850 (US$13 to $27), while prices for a 12-hour period of daycare run from NT$280 to $620 (US$9 to $19).

“We aim to provide an environment for our guests similar to that of a summer camp, instead of just trying to make them feel like they’re at home,” says Kevin Lin, the owner of Pet’s Dream Park. “We want to offer an excellent alternative for pet ‘parents’ who lack the time or space to take good care of their puppies.”

At Lin’s establishment, dogs can happily socialize, run and play in a spacious playroom to their hearts’ content. The hotel’s air conditioning system is set to maintain a dog-friendly temperature of 24 to 27 degrees Celsius and a humidity level of less than 70 percent. After five years of effort, Pet’s Dream Park has become popular among pet owners, as rooms are often fully booked, especially on weekends.

“I’m pretty satisfied with the services they offer here—the accommodation, salon, swimming pool, playroom, training classes, you name it. And Jenny loves it here!” customer Jennifer Chu says while standing at the hotel’s check-in desk with her “daughter,” a one-year-old Shih Tzu. “I’m going on a two-day vacation for the weekend, so I feel relieved to be able to leave her here. It’s really a paradise for dogs.”

AHB subsidiary Pet Plus Co. Ltd., Japan’s largest pet retail and services enterprise, began its first overseas venture by opening a branch at the Dream Mall in Kaohsiung City, southern Taiwan in July 2007. The mall is Taiwan’s biggest shopping complex and was built by the nation’s food and convenience store giant, Uni-President Enterprise Corp. A year later, Uni-President decided to venture further into the booming pet business by again working with AHB to set up a second Pet Plus store at the Global Mall in Taipei County. The end of 2009 saw the opening of two more new Pet Plus locations, with one at Taipei County’s J-Mart and another at Taipei City’s Living Mall.

In addition to an array of quality pet goods and nutritional supplements, Pet Plus offers overnight lodging as well as a beauty salon featuring grooming and spa services. Pet Plus boutiques also sell live animals, including cats, dogs, rabbits and mice. “We hope to create a friendly shopping environment for both pets and their owners,” says Allen Wang, sales manager for the chain. “We want to encourage more people to become animal lovers and maybe even pet owners by visiting our stores. That’s why we selected shopping malls and department stores as our locations.”

“I love it here because I can purchase all the daily necessities for Nunu at one time,” customer Sandra Chang says during a visit to the Living Mall store with her five-year-old female red poodle. “I’ve brought her here for grooming several times. Sometimes I think she’s getting too familiar with this place.”

Although Pet Plus shops are taking up more and more floor space in Taiwan’s trendy shopping malls, the largest pet emporium in Taiwan, at least for a few days each year, is the AquaPets taipei trade show. The show has two parts, with one devoted to the aquatic side and featuring animals such as fish and turtles, and the other dedicated to pets like dogs and cats. This year’s AquaPets show marks its 13th consecutive installment and is scheduled for July 16−19 at the Taipei World Trade Center. For those who want to learn about the latest trends in pet products and enjoy being surrounded by various kinds of adorable animals, the show is a must-see event. “Besides focusing on healthy and organic products, we’ll also hold several exciting competitions starring pets and their owners,” says Steve S. Tsou of the TPAA, which is one of the three organizers for this year’s event.

During the four days of AquaPets Taipei 2009, 99 exhibitors from Taiwan and abroad hosted 413 booths, the highest numbers in the show’s history, according to organizers. Products on display included live animals and a variety of pet foods, veterinary products, accessories, publications and videos.

Meals for Human and Pets

One of the latest trends in Taiwan is pet-friendly restaurants—places where people can take their pets out for a good meal as well as play with those belonging to other guests. At the LaLa Café in Taipei City, for example, a bevy of Labradors and golden retrievers can be seen standing in the doorway, welcoming pets and their owners to come inside. LaLa features a variety of meals designed to entice humans and their animal companions, as well as plenty of magazines and pet toys to keep both customer groups entertained.

While most of Taiwan’s pet restaurants cater to dogs and cats, one eatery—To House Café & Food—stands out for serving as a residence to various breeds of rabbits, as well as a miniature pig, three parrots and several geese and ducks, all of which roam inside a spacious restaurant located just behind the Shihsanhang Museum of Archaeology in Bali Township, Taipei County. Shih Bo-hsin, the owner of To House, says the restaurant’s name comes from the Mandarin word for rabbit, which is pronounced like “to.”

“I visited numerous pet restaurants in northern Taiwan, only to find that they had no defining characteristics other than offering a place for owners and pets to dine together,” Shih says. “So I decided to open a restaurant with an open outdoor space not only for our leading actors to walk around freely, but also for our human guests and their pet bunnies to join in the fun.”

Cat and dog owners can bring their pets inside the restaurant area at To House, but they are banned from mixing with the rabbits in the outdoor area. When asked why he chose to focus on rabbits instead of other pets, Shih says that dog and cat restaurants “are quite common, and I really hoped to do something different. My first thought was to start a restaurant featuring goats. But, as you know, it’s not easy to dispose of their droppings. Even worse, their horns could hurt guests. That’s why I chose rabbits, which have a lovely, mild temperament, as the stars of our restaurant,” Shih adds.

Shih’s unconventional vision has turned into an unusual success, as since its opening in March 2009, To House is often packed with a crowd of visitors, especially on weekends, and heartfelt smiles can almost always be found on the faces of his clientele. “This is the second time I’ve visited this wonderland with my son,” says To House customer Wu Jing-bing as he watches his three-year-old son chase after a lion rabbit on the lawn. “My son told me he’d love to play with the bunnies he’d heard about, and he kept on begging me to bring him here. I took today off from work so I could make his dream come true.”

As more people welcome pets into their family, there is an increasing concern for pet healthcare, and more and more of these pet owners are requesting pet treatment options similar to those for humans. In response to this trend, National Veterinary Hospital, founded in 1989 and headquartered in Taichung, central Taiwan, has continued to expand the scope of its services. To boost the quality of veterinary care in Taiwan, the hospital chain—which has 16 branches nationwide—works with well-known foreign counterparts such as Banfield Animal Medical Center of the United States and Tokyo-based Japan Animal Medical Center to keep abreast of developments in procedures and technology. National Veterinary Hospital is also known for cooperating with local welfare groups to offer a variety of free diagnostic tests for stray animals.

Pet Healthcare Emphasis

According to COA statistics, as of March this year there were 1,366 veterinary hospitals and clinics in Taiwan, more than double the number found a decade ago. A survey of pet owners conducted by IX in June 2007 also indicated that 41 percent of the respondents would consider buying pet health insurance. Further notice of the increasing emphasis on pet healthcare came in February this year when the first Asia Pacific Pet Economic Conference (APPEC) was held in Taichung. Some 300 participants from local and overseas veterinary clinics and pet-related businesses attended APPEC, where they shared their experiences in pet health business management and discussed future business opportunities. Speakers included Scott Campbell, the founder and former chief executive officer of Banfield Animal Medical Center, the largest privately owned veterinary hospital chain in the United States, as well as AHB chairman Ogawa Akihiro.

“This conference aims to help accelerate the growth of the pet industry and improve our service quality, so that the welfare and health of animals will be better protected,” said Chen Dao-jie, founder and CEO of the National Veterinary Hospital, APPEC’s organizer, during his opening remarks at the event.

Some may claim that pet owners today lavish an inordinate amount of time and money on their pets, but for those who have brought pets into their lives, no effort or expense is too great when it comes to their beloved companions. As the population ages and pets increasingly take the place of children in homes, it appears certain that spending on pets will continue to climb. This is welcome news in the industry, especially given its strong performance during the recent recession and ensuing lukewarm economic recovery. “The amount consumers have been willing to spend has helped the pet industry grow at a time when many other sectors are struggling to survive,” the TPAA’s Tsou says with a smile.

Write to dennis0602@mail.gio.gov.tw